Recognizing Connections Between all Parts of the Environment
No matter where you look today there is change happening. Some of it is natural, some political, some scientific. Change is of course nothing new, things change, that is the basis for all life and society. Some change however, is not natural, some change is decidedly unnatural. That change, the unnatural is what we, are here to talk about, analyze, and demystify.
In order to begin our discussion on environmental change and its impacts on our world and our society we need to establish what we mean by the term Environmental Change. Additionally, we’ll look at how it differs from the more common Climate Change.
Defining Environmental Change
Climate change is one of the most common phrases used in today’s mainstream society. While this is definitely a positive topic to focus on, it is only one – albeit large – piece of the environmental puzzle. There are many factors in the health and wellbeing of the environment that need to be included in the environmental conversation. That is why we prefer the phrase environmental change as this is a more inclusive phrase.
Environmental Change is a blanket term used to describe various forms of environmental change. Recognizing the many forms of change occurring to the environment can help illuminate ways in which individual people can work toward a more positive overall change. While something as large-scale as climate change is not something that is easy for the everyday person to fight head-on, reducing single-use plastics is.
Everything is Connected
Countless connections can be made between different environmental problems and global environmental change. In making these connections, issues that may have seemed isolated or unrelated to another problem suddenly become linked. It is this concept of connection that seems to have taken a back seat in mainstream discussions of environmental change. This is an issue in itself that needs to change, the importance of discussing connections couldn’t be more important.
Some connections span multiple “levels” of the environment and can have an extrapolative impact if changes are made to one or more of the aspects. Due to the interconnectedness, making simple changes to everyday activities and choices can have ripple effects throughout the environmental ladder.
Using Connections to Help Improve Your Life and the Environment
There are several ways to utilize the interconnectedness of the environment for the betterment of the state of things. Simple choices such as choosing sustainably made consumer items or retrofitting your home or office with LED lights rather than conventional lights have compounding beneficial impacts on the environment.
Often, making small lifestyle changes allows you to make an impact on multiple environmental issues while improving your health and even your financial situation. To get an idea of how these choices and changes are impact multiple environmental issue an in-depth overview is needed.
Quality Products and Consumerism [Selectable]
Choosing to purchase fewer high quality items rather than many low quality items can improve various aspects of your life as well as tell companies how and where consumer dollars are being spent. When it comes to consumer goods, quality beats quantity nearly every time. The fewer consumer goods that are needed means less harmful compounds you are exposed to, less pollution for the environment, and oftentimes more money you save.
LED Light Retrofitting [Selectable]
LED lights are safer for your family and for the environment. Retrofitting your living and working spaces with LEDs can save you money in the long run and outlast conventional bulbs. Additionally, the light from LEDs is brighter than nearly any other bulb type and most LEDs run much cooler than traditional bulbs. Increased light makes projects easier and decreased heat generation means less likelihood of fires. As an added bonus, LEDs use much less power than traditional bulbs which leads to less environmental pollution and a smaller electric bill for you.
Lifestyle Changes and Sustainability [Selectable]
Reorganizing your lifestyle to be more sustainable is not only exciting and can benefit your health, there are many positive impacts to the health and wellbeing of the environment. People wrongly think that, since environmental issues are so grand in scale, my individual action won’t make a difference. Once people buy into this nonsense they are less inclined to actually try to change things.
The main reason this logic is fundamentally flawed is due to the fact the most environmental problems exist because of collective action. It stands to reason then that collective action, contrary to popular belief, is the best option for average individuals to pursue to make a difference.
Making Changes Doesn’t Mean Making Sacrifices, It Means the Opposite
We as a society have been conditioned by corporations and popular figures to think that we need to live life according to the status quo of capitalism, this is one of the great tragedies of our time. Many people never find true happiness because they think that happiness is only attainable with more and more material possessions. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Peace and happiness come from having rich life experiences and making fond memories. The endless pursuit of material possessions that drives people to buy more and more has little to do with those rich experiences. Having fewer higher quality things means more time with family and less time looking for replacement items and more time enjoying life.
Since everything is connected, the environment also benefits from pursuing a more rich and meaningful life by choosing high quality goods and services. Making small changes such as making your own coffee at home rather than buying from a drive-thru coffee shop can have large impacts on the amount of pollution that ends up in the environment.