Individuals consumption of resources and environment footprint
As human beings on Earth we are used to consuming resources on a daily basis. Whether it is a necessary resource such as the air you are breathing, food you are eating, or water you are drinking all result in a form of pollution to our environment. Cars, houses, travel, appliances, entertainment and other resources that continue to pollute our atmosphere at high levels, from people desiring more, which in result is creating more waste. Everything that is consumed on Earth comes from our “natural world,” and if we continue consuming already limited resources from wanting more, eventually all of the natural resources on Earth will run out. With human beings continuing to consume various resources that are extracted from land, water, and the atmosphere to create a comfortable life for themselves at the cost of our planets well-being. Over consumption causes the planet to suffer from the over extraction of resources, this will result in a collapsing ecosystem, habitats, and species.
US FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES
Our essentials for life on earth are air, water and land; over consumption of resources is increasing pollution and waste which will pollute our essentials for life on earth. The United States is among one of the highest in most consumer consumption nationally. To put this into perspective let’s look at the fossil fuel consumption in the United States versus other countries. In America, the average consumption of fossil fuels is two and a half times the average fossil fuels consumed in Japan, and twice the average in Great Britain. The Unites States contributes to half of the global solid waste on our planet, yet the population in the US only accounts for five percent of the entire population on Earth.
What is severely lacking in America is the use of sustainable resources, and creating a sustainable behavior culture for individuals. Only seven percent of Americans use public transportation for their daily commute, the rest or majority of individuals in the states use their personal motor vehicles for transportation. These actions result in pollution to our atmosphere and environment from the over consumption of gasoline for motor vehicles to be reliable to take an individual from point a to b with their own mode of transportation.
Most Americans are not conscious of the individual impact they have on our environment on a daily basis. In countries such as China, India, and Brazil individuals feel guilt over their impact on the environment, this leads to these individuals making sustainable consumer choices because they are conscious of the negative effects their consumption of resources has on the environment. Creating awareness to individuals of their environmental footprint is the first step to creating change for our environment. Decreasing individual’s consumption, and making individuals aware of the impact they have on the environment will create them to think in a more sustainable fashion.
As we are discussing sustainable behavior, we must also discuss ways to protect and restore our ecosystem as well. Having a respect for nature is fundamental. Protecting and caring for natural ecosystems such as rivers, wetlands, oceans, forests. In these ecosystems mangroves absorb large quantities of carbon, as more carbon is being used the ecosystem is unable to produce as many mangroves, and the temperature is slowing warming. A way to care for these ecosystems is by planting more trees, maintaining the soil to assure healthy plant growth, encourage more agricultural production.
We need to care for and protect our ecosystems. It is beginning to be a race against time for our ecosystem, and we need to help rewind the excessive use of resources.
Sources:
World Centric, Dec 2, 2017, ‘The Rise of Global Consumption,’ World Centric For a Better World
Robby Scheer and Doug Moss, September 14, 2012, ‘Use it and lose it: The Outside Effect of US Consumption on the Environment,’ Sustainability, Scientific American 175
