Baby Steps Towards a More Sustainable Future

Most of us are living a non-sustainable lifestyle.  We have progressed, gradually at first, over the last few hundred years, to the point where we are depleting our natural resources at an alarming rate.  The most obvious resource that is disappearing is oil. There are now official predictions as to when we will run out of fossil fuels.   Whether or not we actually run out will remain to be seen, but as the demand for fossil fuels continues to increase it will become far too expensive for us to afford.   There are government incentives to change or decrease our reliance on oil and oil-based products, but the changes are too small, too late.  It took us many years to get to where we are right now, and will take years for us to change our reliance on these products.  We can bury our heads in the sand and hope that our governments make the right changes at the right time, we can lobby our politicians for change, we can vote carefully, and/or we can make little changes ourselves in our own daily lives that really will make a difference.   Thieves Sustainable Clothing "Green Living" is a growing trend.  It no longer refers only to "hippies" and "crunchy mamas", stiff hemp fabric and natural colored cotton.  From Hollywood to your neighbourhood there is a quiet revolution taking place.  Ethical fashion from home decorating to clothing and beyond is becoming popular.  People are becoming more aware of what is in the products we use.  Studies are showing us that the amazing items we have created and things we have done recently are potentially causing health problems and are stripping or harming our environment.  We are relying heavily on foreign countries for goods and services, including food, that don't have such strict safety guidelines.  These situations are becoming evident in recent recalls, growing health concerns, and loss of national revenue.  Awareness is the first step to change.  The next step is to do something about it.    Sustainable living is, in my mind, a way of living that uses natural resources efficiently, without using them up.  Sustainable living allows for the usage of our natural resources to continue in the generations to come.  Perhaps there is no perfect example of sustainable living, but there are many ways we can work towards a more sustainable lifestyle and thereby protecting our children, and our children's children, from a used-up earth. We don't have to change our lifestyle overnight.  There are many, small steps we can take that will keep ourselves and our children healthy, will support our local economy, and will leave a smaller carbon footprint on our earth.  Start today! Shop locally. Turn off the lights you don't use. Walk, cycle or take public transit to work once a week. Buy organic food and make an organic meal once a week for your family. Use cloth napkins instead of paper. Take your cloth bags to the grocery store. Take your stainless steel coffee mug to the coffee shop instead of using a paper cup. Buy only whole foods and prepare meals from scratch.   Put your child's school lunch in a non-disposable container. Drink water from your tap. Grow a vegetable in a pot.  Or grow a modern day "victory garden". Buy one clothing item for yourself or your children that is made in your country.  Try a "no spend" day.  Week.  Month.  Buy secondhand.  Have a romanic dinner by soy or bees wax candlelight. Replace one of your plastic food storage containers with a glass or stainless steel one. Replace your incandescent lightbulbs with compact flourescent bulbs. Buy (or make) a snack that doesn't contain preservatives. Recycle your paper, cans, plastic and glass. Wash your clothes in cold water and line dry them. Look for products that have less packaging.  Wait until your washing machine or dishwasher are full before turning them on. Read your newspaper online instead of on paper. Avoid GMO products at all costs. There are hundreds of little things you can do to make a difference.  Each little thing adds up.  And once you start making these little changes you will realize that not only are you saving money in the long run, but it isn't too hard to make a difference.  After all, we are living for our children, and anything we can do to protect our earth for the future generations has value. We will be writing blogs on each of the above topics and more, in the days and months to come.  Please check back regularly for more indepth explanations of each point listed above.  Feel free to comment with your own ideas on baby steps to a better future!

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