sustainable living 101 | how to achieve a sustainable lifestyle to save the environment

what is sustainable living? why does a sustainable lifestyle matter?

Á undanförnum árum höfum við séð aukna meðvitund um umhverfisfótsporið sem við skiljum eftir á þessari plánetu, sem svar við öllum afleiðingum fortíðar og núverandi aðgerða okkar á umhverfið í kringum okkur.It is undeniable the impact we humans have had on this world, and the necessity to change it to avoid permanent damage in our world, that is where sustainable living comes into play.

Hvað er sjálfbært líf, gætirðu spurt?Jæja, sjálfbært líf samanstendur af þeim aðgerðum sem við grípum til í daglegu lífi okkar til að draga úr umhverfisáhrifum okkar í lágmarki, either by eating a sustainable diet, sustainable tourism, finding ways to reduce waste, consuming fewer things we don’t need… There are many options for us to choose from when it comes to living a more sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle, we just have to start doing them.

Við munum tala um nokkrar leiðir sem þú getur gert það núna frá þægindum heima hjá þér because achieving a sustainable lifestyle is not hard at all, all you have to do is to have the interest and care to just start changing your actions. So do not procrastinate in your journey to become a sustainable and productive member of society.

Að lokum er sjálfbær lífsstíll einn sem miðar að því að minnka umhverfisfótspor okkar á þessari plánetu, a world that we are sadly destroying with our careless actions every day and one that we cannot ever replace. We highly recommend that you check out Hvernig á að hafa sjálfbært mataræði heima. 

Can Sustainable Agriculture Really Feed The World? Sustainable Living

how to achieve a sustainable diet at home

A sustainable diet is focused on eating healthy food that also has little impact on the environment and has a low carbon footprint because the current food industry is producing around 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and uses about two-thirds of the world’s water usage worldwide. It’s a diet that, even if it promotes a healthy living style, does focus a lot more on the environmental impact our food choices have and plans to reduce them to a minimum, improving our society’s overall life and future generations.

How do begin to eat more sustainably? You may ask, well, it’s not as complicated as it may sound at first glance, here are 5 tips so you can begin eating more sustainably at home:

  1. Borðaðu meira af ávöxtum og grænmeti, þetta eru ekki aðeins hollir valkostir sem ættu að vera í mataræði allra, heldur eru þeir líka einn besti umhverfisvæni kosturinn sem til er. Þessir framleiða miklu minni gaslosun og krefjast færri auðlinda en aðrar tegundir matvæla, svo ekki hika við að borða eins marga ávexti og grænmeti og þú vilt! Nú veistu hvers vegna þú hefðir átt að hlusta á mömmu þína þegar hún sagði þér að borða grænmetið þitt þegar þú varst lítill.
  2. Forðastu mikið unnin matvæli,þetta er ekki bara mjög slæmt fyrir heilsuna heldur hefur framleiðsla þeirra og flutningur stórt umhverfisspor sem þú vilt forðast að taka þátt í. Forgangsraðaðu alltaf matvælum sem eru náttúruleg og óunnin, þú þarft samt ekki að ýkja (Ekki fara þarna úti að borða grænmeti beint úr skítnum).
  3. Reyndu að kaupa á staðnum,eins og við sögðum áðan er þetta frábær kostur því almennt skiptir ekki eins miklu máli hvað þú borðar því það er framleitt á staðnum, á litlum bæjum, sem hefur alltaf minna umhverfisfótspor en hefðbundnir stórmarkaðir innfluttur iðnaðarmatur, það sparar líka kolefnisfótsporið sem flutningar skilja eftir sig. Auk þess styður þú lítil fyrirtæki frá bænum þínum eða borg, sem er alltaf frábært.
  4. Veldu sjálfbært sjávarfang,Sjávarlíf er frábær kostur fyrir mataræði okkar, það hefur mörg frábær næringarefni sem bæta heilsu okkar og líftíma í heildina, en þú ættir að vera varkár þegar þú velur sjávarfang. Ofnýting er mjög stórt vandamál fyrir sjávarlífið í heild sinni, svo þú ættir að reyna að kaupa sjávarfang sem ræktað er með fiskeldi eða handtekið, sem er sjálfbær og meðvituð leið til að neyta sjávarfangs.
  5. Minnkaðu úrgang þinn,keyptu aðeins það sem þú borðar og hentu aldrei matnum (þetta er óþarfi), þú ættir líka að molta lífræna úrganginn og forðast að nota plast og einnota efni til að pakka og geyma matinn þinn. Þetta er heilt efni til að tala um í sjálfu sér, svo ef þú vilt læra meira um það ekki hika við að athugaGrein Sameinuðu þjóðanna um hvernig draga má úr matarsóun.

Now that you know how you can eat more sustainably, we recommend a few food delivery options that you can order sustainable, vegan, vegetarian… food directly from your phone! Check them out if you are interested (All Affiliate Links).

  1. (US) Risastór matvörusending

    Þessi netþjónusta er frábær kostur til að kaupa sjálfbærar matvörur þínar og fá þær sendar heim að dyrum til að bæta sjálfbært mataræði þitt. Þetta er frábær kostur vegna þess að það býður upp á mikinn sveigjanleika og það gerir þér kleift að fá bestu tilboðin á matvörunum sem þú kaupir. You can check this service from þennan hlekk.

  2. (Bretland) Simply Cook

    This is a very creative service that sends you the ingredients of the food you order, and then you make it yourself at home. It is a great option for the DIY people, but also for the ones who don’t have enough time to completely prepare their own foods. You can order healthy and sustainable diet options, as well as fully vegan foods. Smelltu hér til að athuga það núna.

  3. (BNA) Gúffa

    This is one of our favorite options for the busy conscious consumer. With this service, you can pick the best sustainable diet option you want (they have really good gourmet options) and their team of professional chefs begin to make the food for you, then they deliver it and you have a delicious fresh-made sustainable meal! Lfáðu hvernig þessi þjónusta virkar nákvæmlega hér.

  4. (CA) Matreiðslumaður Plate

    This service lets you plan all the meals you will have weekly, while also putting an emphasis on healthy and sustainable diet meals, which is what you are going for. You can simply select your meal preferences and how many times you want it to be delivered to your home and that’s it, you can enjoy sustainable meals every day at a very affordable price. Þú getur athugað þessa þjónustu frá þessum hlekk.

  5. (CA) Halló Fresh

    The last online service we will be recommending to you is Hello Fresh, a service similar to Chefs Plate, with great sustainable diet options and a system where they will deliver the number of meals you want every week. They also have a group of qualified chefs preparing each meal, and they are offering a juicy promotion for conscious consumers like you right now. Smelltu hér til að skoða það.

Now that you know what a sustainable diet is and how to follow it, you should take that information into good practice. Having said that, let the cooking/eating begin!

What Is Sustainable Agriculture And How Does It Differ From Regular Agriculture Sustainable Living

how to dispose of waste sustainably saving the environment

There are many ways to achieve a sustainable lifestyle, one of them is of course reducing our waste, one of the most polluting and material byproducts of our existence. Doing so is no easy task either, but with just a few small changes in our habits, we can achieve a massive change for the better in this world. Having said this, here are the best ways to reduce waste and live more sustainably at home:

  • Recycle, one of the best ways of handling the waste we produce is by recycling it. Not only do we make sure our waste is not going to further pollute our rivers, seas, waters, and soil, but we also make sure that we give a second life to the waste, reducing the necessity to create more materials that will end up polluting our planet even more. Check out how easy it is to recycle with the Environmental Protection Agency’s article.
  • Compost, this is a great way of handling organic waste, like banana peels, coffee grounds and filters, eggshells… By composting at home you can make sure that your organic waste is not taking up unnecessary space in the landfill, and resources to transport it to the landfill, but also avoid polluting the air with methane that is produced in the landfill. Not only that, but you are also creating a new type of soil enrichment full of nutrients that help new plants grow and thrive, without the need for potentially harmful fertilizers and other man-made nutrients. Overall, composting is something that is really worth doing at home and could have many benefits to it, check this article out to dive deeper into this subject.
  • Reuse, an equally important step to reduce waste and the environmental impact we have on this planet, reusing something instead of throwing it out is an excellent option, saving not only the environment but also saving you money that you would have spent on something that you clearly did not need to buy. This is one of the most preferred methods of reducing waste, as people are economically incentivized to do it.
  • Anaerobic Digestion, this is a pretty interesting topic in itself and an awesome way to handle our waste, it consists of letting bacteria decompose our waste in a sealed container or generator, producing various byproducts like biogas or digestate that could be used as productive materials in the creation of other useful products.
  • Reduce, this is one of the most straightforward of all these ways to reduce waste, simply reduce your consumption of things you do not need and you will produce less waste overall. You don’t have to be a cheapskate, you only have to think before you buy (a great way to do that is using the 7-day rule, wait 7 days before you buy something to see if you really want it or need it, you will be surprised most of the time you stop wanting the item in just a few days), not only will you reduce waste, but you can be a lot more financially free.

What is the difference between composting organic waste and anaerobic digestion? The answer is simple, composting is the process of decomposing organic waste with oxygen present, while anaerobic digestion takes place without any oxygen present, neither air for that matter. The process of decomposing is quite similar, as we have seen before.

How to create a DIY Anaerobic Digestion device at home to naturally decompose your organic waste and produce useful methane and fertilizer that you can use for yourself? Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is composed of thousands of photos, so you may be interested in this video that will show you just that:

That’s it for handling waste, this is one of the most challenging things to change in one’s habits to achieve a sustainable lifestyle, as everyone produces waste, and rather a lot of it. How about we learn now what we can do to reduce our environmental impact when we go shopping?

The Three R's Of Reducing Waste Sustainable Living

how to shop with sustainability in mind

One of the best ways to shop sustainably is to buy local, prioritizing small businesses. Not only are you helping your local economy, entrepreneurs, and small families that risk a lot just to fulfill your needs every day, en þú ert líka að kaupa af fólki sem framleiðir vörur sínar og þjónustu á sjálfbæran hátt.

Þetta er vegna þess að smábændur og aðrar tegundir fyrirtækja nota sjálfbærari starfshætti til að framleiða vörur sínar, and the local farmer cares for its stock and treats it a lot more ethically and sustainably, the same holds true for the crops they grow. You are also saving the environment by demanding products that do not require such large transportations that have quite a carbon footprint over the long run.

One of the most important aspects of our lives that we need to change is how we treat the clothes we wear. Því miður, skelfilega mikið af fólki veit ekki raunverulegar afleiðingar sem núverandi Fast Fashion iðnaður hefur á plánetunni okkar, most people do not even know what Fast Fashion is in the first place! So to refresh a little bit the subject, here are two of the most important reasons why Fast Fashion is so bad and it’s destroying our planet:

  1. Fast Fashion fæddist á tíunda áratugnum, það er viðskiptamódel sem fylgist fljótt með straumum og breytir þeim eins hratt og mögulegt er í föt sem eru í boði fyrir viðskiptavini að kaupa.Það notar stutta framleiðslulotu sem eru mjög skaðleg umhverfinu og starfsmönnum og framleiðir lággæða fatnað sem fær viðskiptavini til að kaupa meira og meira,fóðra neysluhyggju og kaup-n-kasta menningu sem mengar jarðveg okkar og vötn með allri förgun sem myndast af þessum kastaða flíkum.
  2. It produces 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of global wastewaters that pollute rivers and seas. Furthermore, 85% af öllum Fast Fashion flíkumer hent á urðunarstaði á hverju ári,sem ásamt því að þessar flíkur eru gerðar úr skaðlegum, gerviefnum og óbrjótanlegum efnum er mjög skelfileg staðreynd. Það sem verra er,hræðileg gæðafötin, sem venjulega eru gerð úr pólýester, brotna niður og skilja eftir sig örplast sem mun menga vatnið okkar og jarðveg enn frekar.

Here is where Slow Fashion comes into play:

  • Slow Fashion focuses on producing clothes with respect for the environment, people, and society. Það notar stutta framleiðslulotu ogsanngjörn skipti,sem er vottunarkerfi sem miðar að því að tryggja að sett af stöðlum sé uppfyllt við framleiðslu og afhendingu vöru eða innihaldsefnis, sem er algjör andstæða Fast Fashion.Þetta helst í hendur við Ethical Fashion, með virðingu fyrir starfsmönnum og öllum umboðsmönnum sem koma að framleiðsluferli tískuflíkanna.
  • Slow Fashion leitar einnig að fötum sem eru framleidd með lágmarks umhverfisáhrifum, og það er þar sem Sjálfbær tíska kemur inn. Hún leitar að fötum sem eru unnin úr niðurbrjótanlegum og lífrænum efnum, eins og lífrænni hringspunnin bómull og endurunnið efni,einnig framleiðir hágæða flíkur og forðast óþarfa neysluhyggju og kúlumenningu sem mengar jarðveg okkar og vatn þegar flíkunum er hent.

This is a very extensive topic that we have covered in many articles in our blogg, so if you want to check our articles out feel free to search in our blog or in the links provided in the samantekt.

Buy Local And Prioritize Small Businesses For Living Sustainably

what is sustainable tourism? how to travel sustainably

Sjálfbær ferðaþjónusta er skilgreind sem sú tegund ferðaþjónustu sem hugsar um umhverfið, avoids highly polluting and impacting activities, for the socio-cultural identity of the place of destination, and rétta þróun of the regions visited.

Why is conventional tourism bad and why does it have to be changed? Jæja, þetta eru 5 af ástæðunum fyrir því að hefðbundin ferðaþjónusta er slæm og þarf að breyta:

  1. Ferðaþjónusta getur ofmettað áfangastað, with too many people going to a single spot of the earth in a given season of the year, the destination can be easily oversaturated, with all the socio-economic and environmental impacts that this has on the receiving counterpart.
  2. Það getur valdið ofnotkun auðlinda, tourists are famous for spending a lot of money on the place destination, staying in wonderful hotels, and partying all night. Although this is great for the tourist, it can lead to overconsumption of essential resources like water that the local population may not have easy access to.
  3. Það skilur eftir sig gríðarlegt umhverfisfótspor, to practice tourism people need to get to the place of destination in the first place, which, with our current methods of transporting, leaves an enormous environmental footprint on this planet. We are not saying you should travel riding a horse, especially overseas, but only that you should take in mind the environmental impact of getting to your destination and using that information in a rational way.
  4. Félagsleg og efnahagsleg áhrif ferðaþjónustu, this activity also has some quite deep social and economic impacts in the receiving part of tourism, and these impacts are not always positive. For example, it can make the locals have to move from their place of residence to make room for the new tourist infrastructures that are needed to hold the tourists that come in. Although this is not necessarily bad as it provides a more dynamic economy for the tourist receiving regions, and as long as you are contributing to the local economy and wellbeing of the locals (for example, by buying from local markets) you do not have to worry that much.
  5. Menningarleg áhrif, tourism can have great impacts on the local culture, making the tourist receiving regions adopt the western culture and food in order to please tourists. This is not only bad for the locals in a tourist destination, as they are losing their true identity, but also for the tourist who travels to learn about other cultures and ways of life.

We have, however, a few tips to follow the next time you’re traveling in order to abide by sustainable tourism, here are some tips to practice sustainable tourism with respect for the environment and the local destination:

  • Stuðningur við atvinnulíf á staðnum, this is a crucial step for the correct development of the places of destination. Always try to visit and buy from local markets and businesses, and don’t be afraid to give tips (except in the countries where that can be offensive), the goods and services can be very cheap in some locations, and even a small tip can make someone their day or even week. The main takeaway is that if you are going to visit a destination where the locals welcome you, you might as well contribute to their development and wellbeing.
  • Ekki menga að óþörfu, we haven’t figured out a way to conveniently move across continents of countries in a fully eco-friendly way yet, but there are better options than others to choose from. It’s the same for when you are in the place of your destination, you should not contribute to unnecessary pollution either, always try to choose the greener option and (this is a no-brainer) DO NOT EVER LITTER, many people still haven’t figured this out yet so feel free to call out others for this childish practice.
  • Rannsakaðu ferðamannastaði sem eru nálægt þér,við vitum að það getur verið mjög freistandi að fara á Maldívurnar, en hefurðu skoðað alla valkostina sem þú hefur til ráðstöfunar og ert nær þér? Þú gætir fundið betri valkosti sem þú hugsaðir ekki einu sinni um sem krefjast ekki svo langrar (og eldsneytisfrekrar) ferð, sem sparar þér mikla peninga og minnkar kolefnisfótspor þitt. Við erum ekki að segja að þú ættir aldrei að fara til Maldífanna, en þú gætir verið hissa á öðrum ferðamannastöðum nálægt þér sem þú vissir ekki einu sinni um.
  • Ekki snerta það! this is a very common phrase written by many touristic monuments and structures worldwide, but it applies to many other aspects of tourist destinations. You should not touch, enter or interact with places or objects you are not allowed to, and you should call out anyone that tries to as not everyone seems to understand this simple phrase. You should also not venture out in places you are not supposed to be, like into the woods where you can get lost and disturb the local fauna.
  • Ekki stressa þig, traveling can be the bread and wine of many people, the energy of life, you should not turn it down completely in order to have the minimum impact possible. Just think that by reading about how to travel more sustainably, just by reading this article, you are doing more than 99% of the conventional tourists. You should not be afraid of traveling, this can be a very pleasing and memorable experience, you should just follow a few simple rules in order to reduce your environmental and socio-economic impact.

Eitt mikilvægt sem þarf að muna er að hætta ekki alveg að ferðast, this is an experience that makes many people’s lives, and you should not abstain from it, as það getur líka gagnast þér á marga aðra vitsmunalega hátt. Ef þú fylgir einföldum og beinum ráðum okkar geturðu tryggt að þú hafir eins græna upplifun og þú getur haftGood luck with your next destination! (All Affiliate Links)

Flug Mojohjálpar þér að finna besta innanlands- og millilandaflugið til að komast á áfangastað, saving you money and finding a more direct route to your destination, you can athugaðu það hér.

iVisa provides the simplest solution to process your travel visa.Þeir gera ferðamönnum kleift að vinna vegabréfsáritanir úr tölvu, snjallsíma eða spjaldtölvu. Þú þarft ekki lengur að rannsaka eða verða svekktur að eiga við mismunandi ríkisstjórnir. Ferðaskrifstofur, Destination Mstjórnunarfyrirtæki og fyrirtæki geta notaðiVisa.com to process any travel visa. You can check this time-saving service hérna.

Finally, Travofygerir þér kleift að bóka hótelin á þeim stað sem þú vilt heimsækja, með auðskiljanlegu viðmóti og mörgum bókunarmöguleikum. Þú geturskoðaðu vefsíðuna þeirra hér (using the coupon code MAXBÓK can get you a $12 afsláttur on regular-priced hotels).

What Is Sustainable Tourism and Why Is Conventional Tourism Bad?

can achieving a sustainable lifestyle be a realistic goal?

Many people think about the dreadful environmental situation that our world lives in today, as a consequence of our careless and selfish everyday choices that we do not seem to even care about; and they begin something called green anxiety,feeling totally overwhelmed and not knowing what to do to solve the problem or if it’s even solvable at all, to begin with.

If you feel like this, do not worry, achieving a sustainable lifestyle is not something impossible to do, you can even argue it is quite easy as long as you are barely committed and interested in changing your day-to-day choices. Every little action you make is a big change for the planet over the long run, so do not feel like your actions are worthless because they are not 😉

We have already reviewed the best ways to achieve a sustainable lifestyle, from the comfort of your own home, but how to actually begin to do all of that? Here are some mental tricks to help you in your journey towards a sustainable lifestyle?

It might be a little overwhelming at first, but you do not have to start all in at the same time, as we said earlier, it is the little changes in your day-to-day life that makes a very big difference in the future. And the combined effort of all us can make the ultimate difference that we need to save this planet.

So you can begin by cutting down a little bit of plastic use today, finding healthier diet alternatives tomorrow, and reading and informing yourself more about the environment… The things you can do are endless, and you do not have to do them all at once, so feel free to take your time.

And what better way to practice reading than with Blinkist! This wonderful service gives you access to more than 5,000 nonfiction books and 40 titles added each month that will help you cultivate your mind like never before, and it even lets you listen to these books if you don’t have the time to read. Check this link out and receive a free trial and a 20% discount if you want to buy this service! (Affiliate Link)

Get Informed To Help The Environment

samantekt

That’s it for today! This was more of a summary of our Sustainable Living category. If you enjoyed it remember you can share this blog with your friends using the buttons at the bottom of the page, what a better way to inform your friends about sustainability, right 😀 ?

Við erum spennt að kenna fólki um allan heim 🙂 Einnig,vissir þú virkilega hvað Fast Fashion er í raun og veru og hræðilegar afleiðingar þess fyrir umhverfið, plánetuna, launþegana, samfélagið og efnahagslífið?Veistu nákvæmlega hvað Slow Fashion eða Sustainable Fashion hreyfingin er?Þú ættir virkilega að kíkja á þessar greinar um þetta gleymda og óþekkta en mjög brýna og mikilvæga efni,Smelltu hér til að lesa „Getur tíska alltaf verið sjálfbær?”,Sjálfbær tíska,Siðferðileg tíska,Slow FashioneðaFast Fashion 101 | Hvernig það er að eyðileggja plánetuna okkarvegna þess að þekking er einn öflugasti styrkur sem þú getur haft á meðan fáfræði er versti veikleiki þinn.

Við erum líka með mikið óvænt fyrir þig!Vegna þess að við viljum veita þér réttinn til að kynnast okkur betur höfum við útbúið vandlega sérstaka Um okkur síðu þar sem við munum segja þér hver við erum, hvert verkefni okkar er, hvað við gerum, skoða teymið okkar nánar og margt fleira hlutir!Ekki missa af þessu tækifæri ogsmelltu hér til að athuga það.Einnig bjóðum við þér aðkíktu á okkarPinterest,þar sem við munum festa hversdagslegt sjálfbært tískutengt efni, fatahönnun og annað sem þú munt örugglega elska!

PLEA