Our choices depict our lifestyles. Even our smallest actions set a long chain of events that directly or indirectly impact everything or everyone around us.
Human activities can be attributed directly or indirectly to the cause of several large-scale problems such as global warming, pollution, climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and non-consumable water.
Being environmentally aware means being familiar with the behavior that affects the ecosystem and committing to making changes to our daily life practices to protect the planet. It’s high time we undertake initiatives with less harmful environmental influence.
Here is a list of 5 daily activities that we do that harm our environment in one way or another.
Five day-to-day life activities that we do that harm our environment
1. Excessive usage of plastic bags
Plastic bags are very useful in our day-to-day lives, and we seemingly can’t do without them. Whenever we buy food and beverages, clothing, or groceries, the shopkeeper normally packs them for us in a plastic shopping bag. But once we get home, we find no use for that bag, and it ends up thrown in the dustbin outside.
It is the most common way that plastic bags end up yielding a threat to the environment. However, in recent years, markets have pushed to reduce the use of plastics, and some shopkeepers or stores have managed to discontinue them altogether.
The major effect of plastic bags on the environment is that it takes many years for them to deteriorate; hence, every year, our oceans and seas become shackled to more and more bags that find their way there through sewers and waterways.
When thrown into the sewage and drainage systems, these plastic bags clog pipes and drains. When burned, it releases harmful gases into the atmosphere that induces ambient air pollution. It affects all organisms in the food chain when ingested accidentally by animals.
Long-term usage and exposure to plastics and plastic bags lead to the leaching of toxic constituents into food, drinks, and water. Reuse of bags instead of throwing them away after one use and the usage of biodegradable cloth bags can save the environment.
2. Smoking
When cigarettes or cigarette debris post-consumption aren’t disposed of properly, it makes its way into the environment, where it pollutes water, air, and land with toxic chemicals, plastic butts, and residual nicotine.
It is no surprise that cigarette butts comprise 30%-40% of trash collected in annual coastal or urban cleanups. They are one of the most prominently littered items on roadways, retail areas, drains, construction sites, and recreational locations.
When disposed of in the environment on streets, sidewalks, and other public areas, it may be carried as-
- runoff to drains
- pollutes rivers
- pollutes beaches
- pollutes oceans
Cigarette butts are primarily made of plastic filters that don’t biodegrade, so they simply load up on shorelines or at the bottom of bodies of water. And see how tremendously it reduces the impact that may lead to irreparable damage to the planet’s ecosystem.
3. Driving
Driving is the most polluting activity that most people from urban areas engage in.
In cities, automobile emissions often create smog and bad air quality, resulting in significant health problems. Toxic substances such as carbon dioxide are emitted when fuels such as gasoline and diesel oil are burned in automobiles, which leads to global warming.
Cars consume a lot of energy before they even get on the road. Automobile production leaves a giant footprint because elements like steel, rubber, glass, plastics, and many more must be organized before a new ride is ready to toll.
Similarly, the end of a car’s life doesn’t end its environmental impact. Plastics, toxic battery acids, and other non-biodegradable products may stay in the environment. Fuel production also causes significant emissions, which drivers and automobile owners encourage by filling up their tanks with gasoline. With time, the reduction in carbon credits has forced companies to launch new cars with a less harmful environmental impact.
Poorly maintained vehicles cause most of the pollution from cars, but electric, hybrid, and other fuel-efficient cars have reduced carbon emission impacts on the environment. But how do you know how much CO2 your car emits? The carbon footprint calculator helps calculate the carbon emissions from a conventional vehicle compared to an EV.
4. Meat consumption
High meat consumption is attributed to adverse effects on the planet’s ecosystem and potentially undesirable impacts on human health. Despite the negative connection between animal-based products and planetary health, people continue to adhere to meat-rich sustenances.
The global meat industry impacts the planet’s ecosystem in many harmful ways. Meat production is responsible for releasing greenhouse gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide. These gases contribute to global warming, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Meat production is also directly or indirectly related to the loss of forests. It’s not just forests that are in threat.
As lands are repurposed to raise animals, many habitats are affected. Many species face extinction or are in danger due to the destruction of the environment. Gazing and raising cattle such as sheep, goats, and other livestock leads to soil erosion, the second largest contributor to CO2 emissions globally.
5. Excessive usage of paper
At the time, paper use was thought to decline with expanding digital technology, but it has increased through printing data. In addition, using paper for packaging, toilet tissue products, and newspapers shows how important paper usage has become.
One of the greatest problems driven by paper and paper products is deforestation. Discarded paper is a major component of many trash yard sites. Most of the paper and its byproducts can be recycled. This accounts for more than 25% of solid waste. The discarded paper accounts for 34% of municipal trash.
Conclusion
Humans impact the environment in so many ways that we must be conscious of our environmental input. Mother nature is an unrelenting and unforgiving force, so it is possibly best if we treat her sufficiently, and maybe we can make up for the destruction that has already been dealt with some minor changes in our daily lives.
The world needs to help itself to live. Being mindful of habits like these takes you one step closer to reducing your harmful effects and helping to take better care of the environment.