In my opinion, human consumption is the greatest contributor to the issues we are experiencing with sustainability. People are so unaware of their consumption levels of un-renewable energy and other non-recyclable materials that we are in danger of creating a non-sustainable environment for future generations. If we today can take a few simple steps such as reducing our waste, using renewable energy and supporting sustainable agriculture, I believe we can ensure a sustainable environment for the future.
I cannot understand why people in Canada are constantly purchasing and consuming food that has been produced across the world. Why would you choose to eat something that was grown in a different country, preserved with pesticides and then shipped to your home town for purchase, when you could be consuming the same product that has been grown organically, locally and is probably more cost efficient. If we put more of our consumer dollars into local farming, we could be preserving sustainable food systems close to home, helping to make sure that there will be a sustainable food source to provide for others hereafter. Next time you pick up an apple shipped from China versus the one next to it that was grown in Ontario... think of what kind of planet you want your future children, and their children to be left with.
When talking about sustainable or renewable energy, it seems like a large task to tackle, but it’s not. It is as simple as switching to a renewable energy source. There are so many alternatives to fossil fuels as a source of energy these days such as solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectricity and more (Wikipedia,) that there is no reason why we should not be all shifting over and using a more sustainable use of energy.
Finally, the thing that every person should be doing to help improve our environment’s sustainability is to properly dispose of waste, and use products that have less packaging and will therefore create less waste. So many products are either sold in bulk or are sold with recyclable or compostable packaging these days that I do not understand how we are still creating so much waste. We all know about recycling and its importance, and by now, in 2012, we should all be actively recycling. An example of a great way to improve sustainability is a new program that the province that I live in participates in called the “Green Bin” program, which is where all “organic” waste such as food and paper packaging go into your green bin and is picked up weekly with your garbage and recycling and then taken to a site where it is turned to compost and used as soil. (Toronto.ca.) All you have to do is take items such as food waste, paper packaging, tissue, paper towel and other like products and put them in your green bin instead of the garbage. On your garbage day, put your green bin out with your regular garbage and recycling and notice how much your regular garbage waste has been reduced. This is such a great program that has become mandatory in my city, and I believe that it would be so helpful in reducing non reusable waste as well as harmful waste emissions from landfills that are just burning heaps of garbage rather then turning it into something useful.
Sustainability is a major issue when looking towards the future. But I believe that if we are all to takes simple steps such as reducing our waste, using renewable energy, and supporting sustainable agriculture, then we can make a real impact on maintaining a sustainable environment for future generations.
References
Green Bin Program – Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from
http://www.toronto.ca/greenbin/faq.htm
Sustainability. (n.d). Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability
No comments:
Post a Comment