What exactly, does green or sustainable living mean?

Different people use different definitions, but it all comes down to one fundamental

concept: The Earth’s resources shouldn’t be depleted faster than they can be replenished. From that concept comes everything else, including caring for

the environment, animals and other living things, your health, your local

community, and communities around the world.

When you start to look at all the different kinds of resources — from fossil fuels to forests, agricultural land to wildlife, and the ocean’s depths to the air that you breathe — it’s easy to see how everything is interconnected and how the actions that you take today can affect the future. This chapter looks at the impact your lifestyle has on the Earth’s resources and then summarizes positive steps that you can take to protect and preserve those resources — starting today.

Understanding the Impact of Your Choices

Think about the concept of sustainable living as being a lot like your family

budget. If you spend more than you make each month and neglect your bills

as a result, the bill collectors start calling, and if you keep going down the

same path, you end up owing so much that you can’t possibly pay it back. On

the other hand, if you’re careful with your monthly expenses (maybe even

saving a little), you’re able to live within your means and keep everyone

happy, especially you.

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The planet’s no different. Right now, its resources are being depleted far

faster than they can be replenished. The call of the bill collectors is getting

louder all the time, with the clear implication that bankruptcy’s down the

road if something doesn’t change.

Fossil fuels such as oil are becoming more

difficult and more expensive to bring out of the ground, and their reserves

are dwindling. Burning fossil fuels to provide energy for homes, vehicles, and

industries emits carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases along with pollutants

that affect the health of the planet and its people.

Other resources are in trouble too, including water. In some parts of the

United States, drought conditions are becoming more common and more

widespread. Debates continue about where to find sources of water: to pipe it

in from other areas, to drill into underground aquifers, or even to build

desalination plants to take the salt out of seawater. One possible effect of

global warming is the further reduction of groundwater sources. Decreasing

the demand that people place on water sources is essential in order to continue

having enough water to go around.

Thankfully, it’s not too late to turn the situation around — to make the

changes that the planet and its people need for a safe, healthy, prosperous,

and compassionate future. Changes need to happen quickly, however:

According to the United Nations, some parts of the world are nearing the tipping

point, after which the damage will be irreparable.

A useful way to understand your impact on the environment is to measure

your ecological footprint, which is the land needed to support your consumption

of goods and resources. Think of it as a way of describing the amount of

land required to farm your food, mine your energy sources, transport your

goods and services, and hold your waste. You make decisions every day that

have an impact on the planet: choosing between the car and local rapid transit,

for example, or selecting local or organic fresh food instead of packaged,

processed food that has been transported long distances. Think about the

impact that each individual decision has, and weigh the pros and cons of

your everyday actions.

Carbon emissions are another measure of your ecological footprint. We have

more about how carbon and other gases contribute to climate change in for now, it’s enough to know that carbon is released when many substances — particularly fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal — are burned by vehicles and planes; by the manufacturing processes of many consumer goods; and by the heating, cooling, and electricity for your home.

The Earth Day Network, a network of environmental organizations and projects,

estimates that there are 4.5 biologically productive acres worldwide

per person. The average American’s ecological footprint, however, is 24

acres, which means that a lot of people are using more resources than the

planet can afford.

Being Greener for the Good of People and the Planet

You can measure your own ecological footprint simply by visiting the Earth

Day Network Web site at www.earthday.net and entering some information

about your lifestyle. You’re asked questions about

_ The size and type of your home

_ How often you eat meat and processed foods

_ How many miles you drive or take public transportation each week

_ How energy efficient your home and vehicle are

_ How much waste you generate

If you’re only just starting a greener lifestyle, reducing your ecological footprint

may seem a little daunting. You can reduce it significantly, though, and

it won’t take long. Use the questions from the Earth Day Network to think

about where you’d like to start reducing your impact.