Question 1 - I think i lead a fairly sustainable lifestyle.

In this question I will be looking at the way that I am and am not living my life in a sustainable way. Sustainability when looking at environmental science is ‘the quality of not being harmful to the environmentor depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance’ (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/sustainability).  There are different ways of having a sustainable lifestyle and these can affect the environment, the economy and also the people living in an area differently.

One way I feel that I lead a sustainable lifestyle is by the way I use my water. Because I live in the east of the United Kingdom, water has to be pumped from the West of the country to the east of the country to provide clean drinking water in this area. I feel that I do not take this for granted and try and use water in the best and most economical way possible. When using water I think about how much I use; I have a shower on a morning and not a bath as the average shower uses 62 liters of water compared to the average bath which uses 80 liters of water. (http://www.waterwise.org.uk/news.php/11/showers-vs.-baths-facts-figures-and-misconceptions).

This way I am not using up unnecessary amounts of water which could be used in other ways or saved for a later date. I also have a water but in my garden to collect and store rain water so it can sometimes be used instead of clean drinking water. This means I can water the plants in the garden and wash my car with having to use clean water. Instead I am re-using the water from the rain, saving and reducing the amount of clean water I use for an activity which does not require it.

Another way I feel I am trying to live a sustainable lifestyle is by buying (where I can) produce that has been grown in England. When shopping, myself and my family always look for products that have been made or grown in the United Kingdom. This means there are not as many food miles in the products we buy, and therefore reducing the amount of pollution going into the atmosphere when transporting the products from their origin to the shops. I feel this is my contribution to helping decrease the amount of global warming in the world but is also beneficial for the local economy too. Local produce tends to cost a small amount more than produce cheaply bought from some other countries as companies look for countries that can supply cheap labor so they can reduce the cost of their product, but still gain a large profit. By buying locally sourced products I may be paying a bit more, however the money is going into the British farming industry, meaning they are able to carry on farming crops and livestock, keeping the farming industry in the United Kingdom more sustainable.

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2015/09/us-emissions-test-question-the-future-of-diesel/

However, one way I feel I am not living a sustainable lifestyle is by the use of my car. I drive my car more than 50 miles per day to and from university, work and around the area I live. This means I use around £35 (around 30 gallons of diesel) every two weeks. Although my car is very economic compared to many other cars, this still means I am using up 30 gallons of diesel and putting it into the atmosphere every two weeks; that’s 840 gallons on average every year. I put all of that burnt fuel into the atmosphere each year and will do every year till I stop driving in around 60-65 years. The amount of harmful chemicals I pollute the atmosphere with will be contributing to the amount of global warming happening. The increasing in global temperatures, melting of the ice caps and the rising sea level will all have been contributed to by myself driving to the shops or to work every week. This is not sustainable as diesel and petrol are both becoming harder to find and we are running out of supplies quickly. Not only this but the amount of fuel I burn meaning there I am not looking after the environment of the earth, meaning I am not helping sustaining the future for humans on earth. For example, over 80% of land in Bangladesh is under 1 meter above sea level. Due to ice caps melting the sea level is rising by 3.2mm a year. (http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-level-rise/) This is not helping the people of Bangladesh as they will be more readily hit by flooding and feel worse effects from storm surges and tsunamis. This is not helping sustain the agricultural lives that the majority of people in Bangladesh live.

http://www.tucmag.net/technology/has-technology-caused-society-to-progress-or-regress/

Another way I feel I am not living a sustainable lifestyle is by the amount of electronic products I have and use on a daily basis. In this modern age most people have mobile phones, televisions, microwaves, laptops; the list goes on. All of these products use electricity when on or need charging by using electricity. This means that lots of power is having to be generated to be able to use or charge these products up. Because all the electronic products I have, my house needs a lot electricity to be supplied. This means power stations are having to burn more fuel to meet the demands of each household, sending more pollution into the atmosphere and, again, increasing the impacts of climate change of the earth.

I feel that in some ways I do live a sustainable life, however, overall my lifestyle isn’t sustainable. I feel that people of my age will struggle to live with a more sustainable lifestyle than I do as we have grown up around using computers every day, mobile phones being readily available and driving to get everywhere. We haven’t lived a part of our lives where we could not call someone at the click of a finger or get to a different city easily. However, I also feel that it is nearly impossible to live a fully sustainable lifestyle in this day and age as technology is in improving and people are taking advantage of this and becoming lazy so would rather take the easy option that the more economical option. People are also becoming more materialistic so need the latest phone and the biggest television, even if this is at the cost of the environment around them.