We keep hearing how everyone is switching to eco-friendly and sustainable living, but why should you? Why should you go through the trouble of making the switches? Here are 5 reasons living and working sustainability are beneficial to you:
1.
Money. Sustainable living is actually the best way to cut day-to-day living costs. Conserving energy and water reduce your monthly payments, using reusable products decreases your shopping bill, and making your food lowers your restaurant costs, just to name a few. Those and more are ways you can save money while also protecting our planet!
2.
Health. Living an environmentally conscious lifestyle is good for your health. Eliminating plastics, chemicals, and pollutants from your home improves your and your family’s health. Opting to bike or enjoying nature with a hike are great for you, and our Earth too. There are also psychological benefits to living sustainably. A lot of people have eco-anxiety, or a scary sense of doom or foreboding about our Earth. Making environmental changes can ease that anxiety and create a strong sense of fulfillment.
3.
Responsibility. We are citizens of the Earth. As humans, we are morally obligated to protect our planet. This also protects the longevity of our species, now and for future generations, including your own children.
4.
Complexity. Our earth is COMPLEX: everything is interconnected. When you do something that has a small impact on one thing, you might not realize its large impact somewhere else. For example, spraying pesticides on your lawn damages our local waterways and the organisms that live in them due to water runoff. Because of biomagnification, a negligible amount of toxins absorbed by a small fish, for example, makes its way up the food chain and the top level predator actually gets more of that toxin. So, spraying pesticides on your lawn can poison an entire food chain, including our top predators, which our ecosystems rely on.
5.
Culture. Our culture globally, nationally, and even within Cincinnati is leaning towards environmentally conscious practices more now than ever, and it’s only going to increase. Businesses are using sustainable practices, cities are putting on Earth-friendly events, and Organic products are becoming most people’s first choice. Join the movement!
