What Is Living Green? (We Find Out)

In the age of climate change and frequent environmental disasters, there is much rhetoric about how we as humans need to live our lives in more environmentally friendly ways. This rhetoric often includes talk about how we should “go green.” But what does it mean to be living green?

Living green is about making decisions in your lifestyle that minimize and reduce harm to the planet. Living green means that you make lifestyle decisions and engage in practices that focus on promoting the sustainability and health of the planet.

Since living green does not necessarily have a specific or detailed definition, it is only natural to wonder what it even means to make good lifestyle decisions for the planet. Luckily, we have found answers to the questions that you have probably wondered about.

What Does Living Green Protect?

In the simplest terms, living green protects everyone and everything on the planet. The sustainability of the planet as an inhabitable place means that all species are protected. As we all know, we cannot exist without our planet.

Living Green Protects All Species on the Planet

The main goal of living green is to minimize and reduce the harm that we as humans cause to our planet. Even though there are over a million identified species on the planet, humans inflict the greatest harm by far. By living green, humans can work to exert more positive effects on the planet and its species.

Let’s look at an example. Humans often partake in deforestation, which is the destruction of forest environments; this usually happens so that the areas can be developed for people to live in. This deforestation displaces animal and plant species, causing death and loss of biodiversity.

If humans reduce their amount of deforestation practices, then animal and plant species are not disturbed. This means that there is far less loss within species or loss of biodiversity. In addition, by focusing on living green, humans are less likely to disturb the conditions that many plant and animal species depend on for survival.

Living Green Protects Humans Specifically

Even though living green often seems like it must be at the cost of humans, this is not the case. Without more sustainable living practices, there will not be a planet for humans to exist on. So when we choose to live green, we are working to ensure that future generations will still have a planet to call home.

Living Green Protects Our Natural Resources

One of the benefits of living green is that it results in protecting our natural resources. The planet only has a finite amount of its natural resources. Once we deplete these natural resources, they are gone for good.

Although there are many efforts to come up with alternatives to our natural resources—this is one way that living green can be seen in practice—there is still an incredible reliance on natural resources.

Instead of using oil and coal (natural resources) for energy, alternative sources are great examples of living green. Some alternative sources include:

Solar power through solar panels
Wind power through windmills
Water power, such as through irrigation systems

Alternative forms of energy are not yet used on a truly widespread scale. You might be able to start living green yourself by using alternative energy sources in your own life, even if the world around you has not quite caught up to you.

Living Green Protects the Nature of Our Planet

The practice of living green helps to protect the world as we know it. Living green protects the way that our world looks because it protects the environments and climates that allow our planet to look the way it does.

For instance, living green protects our arctic areas. Many of the practices in living green are implemented to prevent and even counteract climate change and global warming. Without these practices, our world will simply become too warm for these arctic areas to remain the same way.

Rising sea levels from warmer planet temperatures also mean that the very shape of the land on the planet will change. It will even become unrecognizable, which has already happened in some places. By making better lifestyle choices for the planet, we can minimize the ways that our planet is becoming unrecognizable.

How Can I Live Green?

Living green is about much more than one simple decision or practice that you decide to implement. Even so, we all must start somewhere. You can start by implementing practices of living green slowly and on a level that you can manage. Just make sure you stick with it.

Eat an Environmentally Friendly Diet

You can live a much greener life simply by changing your diet and nutrition. Not only is a greener diet better for the planet, but it is also better for you. Many foods are processed in ways that have many chemicals added, which is just not good for your body.

Focus your living green diet on fruits and vegetables, especially those that are locally sourced and free of many of the chemicals you will find from mass-produced foods. Cutting down on your meat consumption also helps to cut back on greenhouse gases.

Reduce the Use of Plastics

Plastic is one of the most harmful materials on our planet. It also is used for packaging in so many parts of our lives. Living green often includes cutting back on the use of plastic. Some examples might be:

Opting for reusable water bottles instead of disposable plastic bottles
Avoiding individually wrapped products when possible
Using reusable bags at the supermarket

When you cannot avoid using plastic for something, try to use it as many times after as you can to avoid putting even more plastic into landfills.

Final Thoughts

Living green is the practice of making lifestyle decisions that are focused on minimizing harm to the planet. Protecting our planet means that we are protecting everyone and everything on it, meaning that living green is truly good for all.

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