What Does Sustainability Mean?

For the last few weeks I have been analyzing my life in school and out of school to find out where I can try harder to  lead a more sustainable life. It all started with a video I had watched over the break that was recommended by a friend called “The Story of Stuff”.  In the back of my mind I always wondered how sustainable the things we consume are but until recently I never received a full-on wake up call (or more like a punch in the face).  Why does this matter you ask? Well, because the fact of the matter is that our race is not sustainable as we are living now. What does this mean? This means that generations after us that are on this planet will be dealing with all of the problems we have decided to not worry about now.

After reading this one might say a few things like; Our problems are too big and I do not know where to begin; Isn’t global warming and the theory of having finite resources just a political point of view? I once asked these same thoughts and until now at 29 years-old am I actually beginning to realize how I truly impact the planet. The answer is that we only live on one planet so that means we have to conserve what we have. If we keep living like we have infinite resources, one day our planet  will not be liveable.

As I have tried again and again to make more sense out of sustainable living I have found that in order to know where to begin I have to start making choices. With all changes in one’s life there must be a certain amount of planning just like in school projects. Be aware that many of the choices you make in order to be more sustainable will begin to challenge your morals in ways you never thought possible!

Today, I make changes to my daily life with the always asking myself “ How sustainable is this process?” My wife is beginning to hate the fact that I am against bottled water but  the truth is water bottles are horrible  on the planet and the quality is not alway better than tap water. It’s these small decisions in my life that I have made that lead up to the big picture of being just that much closer to  living a sustainable life. Don’t get me wrong,  you will have a hard time but isn’t the planet we live on worth fighting for?

Ask yourself what you can do today to make tomorrow better.
-J