6 Challenges And Solutions For Living A More Eco-Friendly Lifestyle
Why limitations don’t have to hold us back to make a positive difference for a healthy planet
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Credit: This article is based on the scientific article “Emerging sustainability concerns and policy implications of urban household consumption: A systematic literature review” by Olamide Shittu (Full citation and link available at the end of the article)
As environmental challenges becoming worse, I hear many people wondering no one is doing anything. In my previous article “Stop Asking “Why Is No One Doing Anything (For A Sustainable Future)?”, I explained why this question is unjustified. As I believe “a better world starts with yourself”, I prefer to ask the question “what can I do to live more environmentally friendly?”. By asking this question, I am able to come up with many ways that suit my daily life. This allows me to adopt a green lifestyle and my behavior to become more sustainable. Sustainable behavior means using goods and services that serve basic needs and improve life quality, while at the same time minimizing the use of natural resources, use of toxic materials, and generation of waste.
And yet, I am aware that there are challenges on the household level that can hold us back from adopting a sustainable lifestyle. To allow the current and future generations to live a high-quality life, it is important to overcome these challenges and live a more eco-friendly life. This is how:
Consumption patterns
The first challenge households face in achieving more sustainable behavior is their current consumption patterns. These consumption patterns show an upward trend, meaning more is consumed faster. For example, households own on average more cars per household than in the past, consume more food, waste more food, and more clothing and electronics is bought. This also means that the amount of indirect energy consumption and carbon emissions caused by households is increasing.
