A common mistake in our society is that sustainability is an option. Our ears are no strangers to phrases like conserving energy, using renewable resources and saving the environment. Those are the things that we know we should do and yet we easily find ourselves on the opposite side of the spectrum. Sometimes, ignorance is a blessing. Â It would have been easier to simply sit back and watch the TV as the rest of the world burns before our eyes.Â
But sustainability is never an option.Â
Some people may argue that not everyone can afford a sustainable lifestyle. It seems that a sustainable lifestyle is a luxury that only rich people can do enjoy. They drive electric cars, eat only organic foods, and their houses are installed with all those expensive green technologies that we couldn't even think of. A classic Fjallraven bag which guarantees their customers that the whole process from the beginning to the end including the fabric is eco-friendly can come at a whopping price of $80. How can an average person afford all that?Â
However, this is a false belief. Truth is: we can't afford not to be sustainable. Living sustainably doesn't mean sacrificing all you have. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) define living sustainably as a kind of development that provides real improvements in the quality of human life and at the same time conserves the vitality and diversity of the Earth. It's supposed to improve our lives and not the other way.
There are a lot of ways that we can do in regards to sustainability: Switching to public transportation, do recycling, growing a plant, using a shopping bag instead of plastics, stop smoking and even something as simple as picking up the trash. Sometimes, we take these things for granted.
So, the next time you go out to pick up your groceries, remember that everything you do may just determine the future of mankind.
