Where Is the Environmental Sustainability Movement Headed? Experts Offer Their Predictions.

Where Is the Environmental Sustainability Movement Headed? Experts Offer Their Predictions.

People, planet, and climate: none of these are predictable and yet there are many who have already predicted how the world or the environment will look in the future.

People Would Eat Less Meat

People Would Eat Less MeatWhile I respect people who make the decision not to eat meat or even become vegan, and while I also perfectly understand that meat production has side effects –both on the organism and on the planet – I just love to have a nice cut or stew…every second or third day. Of course, I try to buy from sources that are or have a reputation for being on the “humane” side of animal treatment.

Anyway, where were we?

Right, meat consumption varies widely around the world, with some countries consuming much more meat than others. In general, people in developed countries tend to eat more meat than those in developing countries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the average global per capital consumption of meat is about 43.7 kilograms per year. However, this number is heavily influenced by high meat consumption in a few countries and the actual amount of meat consumed by individuals within a country can vary greatly. Some people choose to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, which does not include meat (of course), while others choose to consume meat only occasionally and obviously, there are some who are great meat lovers and cannot live without it (like me).

However, according to Tim Benton, Professor of Population Ecology at the University of Leeds, UK, by 2030, people will eat less meat. Just like old times, meat would be considered as a luxurious treat rather than a staple.

Gender Equality and Sustainability

Gender Equality and SustainabilityMy views on gender equality are that the concept in itself is quite unfair and reduces both men and women into molds of sameness. Equality between men and women would be like both of them having the same sex organs, same body types, same body strength, same height and same emotions. In other words, for me, for men and women to be “equal” would mean that there’d be no men and women.

Anyway, that’s what I think, but according to Susan Adams, “educating the next generation regarding gender equality can help create a sustainable environment.”

We Will Be Able to Control the Weather

We Will Be Able to Control the WeatherExcuse me, what?

Control the weather? Really?

Weather forecast is based on rigorous, multidisciplinary sciences of the atmosphere, ocean, and land, and the interactions among them. The weather forecast that you see on TV or on your mobile app actually starts with collecting real-time data using satellites, weather radars, and ground and upper-air in situ measurements. There are now over 20 weather satellites worldwide and over 150 weather radars in the US alone. For each round of data forecast, many billions of data points are integrated into a numerical weather prediction model using a process called data assimilation.

Weather forecast is an initial value problem. To produce a forecast, a model processes today’s observed weather parameters (hence the name initial value) based on millions of highly nonlinear differential equations that evolve the dynamics, thermodynamics, and radiative processes for the entire earth surface, allowing the atmosphere, ocean, land surface, and snow and ice to interact with each other. These equations describe the earth’s atmosphere at tens of layers in the vertical, the upper and lower layers of the oceans; and the entire earth at horizontal intervals of tens of kilometers and at time steps of minutes. These models are very computationally intensive and run on supercomputers.

The accuracy of weather forecasts still has much to be desired. This is because within the description above, there are several ways (not in a particular order) that errors could be introduced. This is why weather observations are not perfect. But, apparently, it is predicted that hundred years from now people will be able to control the weather.

 

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Top 5 Best Tips For Living A More Sustainable Lifestyle

It’s 2022, and we need to start acting together. We have to do better because if we don’t start to get our act together, our planet is going straight to hell. We need to change the way we live and consume products. You can focus on the little things, and yes, even the little things can make a big difference.

Changing your lifestyle can sometimes be difficult, but according to some research, if you do something continuously for 21 days, you can adopt that lifestyle. Without further ado, let’s take a look at how you can adopt a greener lifestyle.

What is a sustainable lifestyle?

It is difficult to clearly define the concept of sustainability. The basic ideas behind it have been known for centuries. But for a long time, there was no word for it. Basically, people have always tried to live by this principle. Sustainable living means not consuming more than can be grown, regenerated, or made available in the future.

It is especially in the case of indigenous peoples that we can still see the corresponding action plans today. As a rule, they only produce or harvest what they need. Sustainability first appeared as a term in 18th-century forestry literature. However, the concept at that time was based more on economic interests than on environmental protection.

It was not until the United Nations conferences in the 1980s and 1990s that a somewhat clearer picture of sustainability developed. Since then, the main concern has been “to live in such a way that a life worth living is still possible on earth for future generations”.

1. Consume less fast fashion

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The first way to adopt a sustainable lifestyle is to abandon fast fashion and buy from ethical companies instead. By consuming eco-friendly brands, you can minimize the damage to our society and environment. Reformation and Vetta are among the many fashionables and sustainable companies that practice ethical means of production in hopes of minimizing the fashion industry’s impact on the environment.

However, the best way to make a positive change when it comes to clothing consumption is to recycle your current wardrobe or donate or buy from thrift stores. And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to save the Earth in a pair of vintage Levis? These pieces are always chic and timeless and minimize the damage to our environment.

2. Promote reusables in the bathroom and kitchen

As our grandmothers and previous generations did, favoring reusable items in the home is an ecological gesture that avoids finding disposable products in the wild afterward. Especially since some products can take up to hundreds of years to degrade, for your hygiene, prefer, for example, washable discs and wipes to remove your make-up and to wash your baby, rather than the classic disposable cotton pads.

As for the traditional sanitary napkins, cotton swabs, paper towels, aluminum foil… ecological alternatives exist, such as menstrual cups and panties, oriculi, or even beeswax conservation paper: they are reusable and biodegradable! Use glass jars for your groceries to limit plastic packaging that pollutes the environment in the kitchen. The result is zero waste and great savings!

3. Avoid single-use plastic

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Most plastics are not biodegradable and end up in landfills or the ocean, causing damage to wildlife and the environment. Often, plastics also contain chemicals that can make animals sick or injured. Single-use plastic can be easily replaced with reusable items such as straws, water bottles, etc. You can also use reusable containers instead of wrapping food in foil, plastic wrap and/or Ziploc bags. If you have no alternative to single-use plastic, recycle it like many of us on a college campus!

4. Limit your meat consumption

It’s not for everyone, but stopping or completely limiting your meat consumption has a huge impact on the well-being of our planet. Not only will it promote a healthier lifestyle, but it will also promote a healthier planet! The meat industry is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, so by supporting it, you are directly supporting its unethical and unsustainable practices. In terms of food production in general, anything produced organically has a more sustainable value than the alternative.

5. Reduce water waste

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In my experience, limiting unnecessary water use is easier said than done. However, I have found that shortening my showers from 15 minutes to 5 minutes is a good place to start! Other ways to reduce water waste are: not leaving running water unattended or unused, doing laundry only when there is a full load, etc.

Many environmental and societal benefits can be reaped by reducing water consumption, including minimizing droughts, reducing carbon, and preventing pollution from infecting our global water supply.

Sound off in the comments section below and tell us what you want to read next and if you want to read more about living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Vegan

How Does Veganism Really Help the Environment?

Some people claim that going vegan will save the planet but to what extent is this true? There is a rise in the number of people going vegan nowadays and for numerous reasons. Vegan people supposedly have lower health risks for conditions such as heart diseases or cholesterol, although the science behind this is still very skewed.

Meat and dairy (farmed cattle) now account for 14.5 percent of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations. That’s nearly the same amount of pollution as every vehicle, rail, ship, and airline on the globe! If the world decided to go vegan, this will drop by 70 %. The relationship between carbon emission and farming is undeniable.

There are many other impacts of meat consumption. Meat production is linked to the destruction of forests in South America, both directly and indirectly. Large swaths of the Amazon are being deforested to make way for cattle ranching and soybean cultivation for animal feed. Meat-eating contributes to greenhouse gas emissions such as methane, Carbon dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Climate change, such as global warming, is exacerbated by these gases. Also, meat production requires a large amount of water.

Should You Stop Eating Meat?

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How Does Veganism Really Help the Environment?

The meat industry has been getting a lot of bad press in recent years, as fad vegan diets and the associated industries put more pressure on governing bodies to alienate meat-eaters. However, it is true that with a growing global population, the amount of meat that would need to be produced to satisfy everyone is staggering, which does lead to valid environmental concerns.

No one can dictate what others should eat (although vegans are trying their best to). Everyone is free to make their decisions, however, a lot of experts do recommend the reduction of meat consumption and even suggest government make policies about meat consumption.

Having a vegan diet does not mean being unhealthy. People nowadays often associate being vegan with being unhealthy, as there is less protein in plants than what is found in meat, but there are a lot of substitutes to meat to replace the protein requirement.

Alternatives such as…

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Alternatives…

Many individuals regard cow’s milk as essential to their diets. It may be drunk, poured over cereal, or mixed into smoothies, tea, or coffee. While many individuals can or choose not to consume milk owing to personal choices, dietary constraints, allergies, or intolerance, it is not for everyone. Alternatives are soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, and so on… There now are a lot of more expensive alternatives to cow milk.

This can also be seen in the rising demand for meat substitutes. Plant-based burgers, sausages, and other meat alternatives are now available in all well-known supermarkets, made from legumes, vegetables, grains, and other components. When compared to meat, meat alternatives have a number of advantages. Vegan burgers, for example, are supposedly cholesterol-free and typically have fewer calories.

Some alternatives are tofu, soy protein, oat flakes, chickpeas, or pea protein. Once considered as bland food, there are now so many recipes linked to these alternatives, that happen to be very tasty.

Health Benefit

People who don’t eat meat — vegetarians — generally eat fewer calories and less fat, weigh less and have a lower risk of heart disease than non-vegetarians do. People who eat red meat are at an increased risk of death from heart disease, stroke, or diabetes.

There is a new term “flexitarian”, to describe someone who eats mostly plant-based food, but at time consume meat and I think everyone should be ‘flexitarian’. We should have a quota of meat consumption and not go beyond it, for Earth to be a better place. Everyone should work on a flexible diet to protect the planet. Let us know in the comments if you are thinking of giving a vegan diet a try…