Although I’d like to consider myself to be eco-conscious and environmentally friendly, I feel as though my awareness of my personal effect on the planet didn’t come as fast or naturally as I expected. I’ve done countless papers, projects, and research on the effects of our actions on our climate, but I always felt that if I were to change my actions to be geared towards being more sustainable, there wouldn’t be any positive effects on the planet, as most of the greenhouse gases and accumulation of waste in our atmosphere are from large companies or industries. However, this all changed when my first car that I got in high school finally took its last breath.
When I had to replace my car, I spent time dreading about finding a reliable, trustworthy company that I would purchase a car from. I relied on my parents to help me in this process, in which they asked around with friends, family, and coworkers, on a good car deal that would at least last me through the rest of my college years. Through my parents’ coworkers, they recommended that I look at the recent deals on electric cars, which were shockingly affordable, especially for a brand new car. Through a lot of research, and talks with the dealership, I finally bought a Nissan Leaf, a fully electric car, which was exciting, but also such a new phenomenon for me.
I honestly was a bit weary about having a fully electric car, as I felt that I would struggle with charging and maintaining it, which is still true to this day, however, I have now been totally consumed and convinced by the electric car culture. Owning an electric car has made me feel so much better about driving from place to place, and has helped kick me into a new environmentally-friendly mindset through other different aspects in my life.
A couple of small tweaks that I have taken into consideration recently have been relatively minor changes, but ones that will hopefully add up in the long run to a more overall sustainable lifestyle. For example, when shopping I always try to find the option with the least packaging, and try to opt for a less waste alternative. I try to also question myself before purchasing, asking “do I really need this item?” or “ will I really use this?” to help justify a shopping trip.
When cooking and meal prepping, I would always over-buy, and end up not eating all that I bought, and leaving the produce or expirables to go to waste. I would always feel bad when I would have to throw away an abundance of food, so I’ve tried different methods to decrease my food waste. I found out that meal prepping or making meticulous lists would never work for me, so I opted to buy less food that goes bad fast, and instead purchase canned or frozen goods, and when needing fresh fruit or meat, I will buy it when needed, rather than thinking of future meals.
Personally, recognizing my daily habits of living, and making small adjustments has made the most impact in my life. Making your life more sustainable does not have to drastically change your eating, driving, shopping, etc, but by making tiny changes in your day-to-day life, you can become as sustainable as you desire.