The world that we live in today is suffering from deforestation, a depleted ozone layer, massive ice meltdowns, irregular patterns of the seasons, and many other changes that were caused by global warming. Therefore, it pays to start going green.
What’s going green, you may ask? Going green means you’re doing ways to lessen pollution and your environmental impact. It can be as simple as recycling plastic bottles in your yard and turning them into plant pots. Or, it could be lessening your use of harmful detergents and using eco-friendly laundry products instead.
Whichever go-green strategy that you employ, there’s always a plus point for Mother Nature if you do it successfully – and regularly. Here are 10 benefits of going green for the environment:
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Reduced Energy Consumption
Energy is used each time we make something. Manufacturers have factories that spend a lot of time creating items to sell them to their market. For example, if a factory of shoes uses solar energy or other forms of renewable energy for some of their facilities, that would reduce the shortage of energy supply to the rest of the world.
- Reducing energy consumption can be done in the following ways:
- Turning off the lights when not in use
- Buying and using Energy Star-rated appliances
- Resorting to sustainable energy sources (wind, water, solar)
- Doing laundry and ironing clothes weekly instead of daily
- Unplugging appliances when not in use
When you reduce your energy consumption, you’ll leave more energy to use for the poorer sectors of the world. Not everyone in the world has access to oil and fossil fuel, which is the primary and easiest source of electricity, which, sadly, isn’t eco-friendly either.
Because fossil fuels are a limited supply, it pays to reduce our energy consumption. If we do that, we’ll leave the next generation with more resources for emergency use. That’s also why we should switch to renewable and sustainable energy slowly and steadily instead of depending on old ways of powering up the world.
Cut on Monthly Bills
One benefit of going green is that it cuts our monthly bills. By turning off the lights when not in use, limiting your use of the A/C unit or the heater, planning your laundry and ironing activities, and unplugging appliances when you leave the house, you’ll save a couple of kilowatt-hours on your monthly bill in the long run.
Along with energy consumption, turning off the faucet or investing in a water-saving toilet will help reduce your water bill as well. In today’s time, you can also find faucets that use sensors, which will not only help with not spreading viruses but will also help to easily close the faucet to conserve water without having to touch the handle when washing your hands.
So, if you’d like to save your monthly bills, we suggest scheduling your use of appliances only when you need them. For instance, lessen your use of the air conditioner in the summer and cut down on the heater during the winter. Instead, find natural ways to cool down or to heat up, such as eating the appropriate foods.
Reduced Pollution
Pollution gets reduced once you start using a bicycle to work or just walking. That’s not all – with the introduction of e-bikes and electronic/hybrid cars, we’re letting out less pollution into the air. When we reduce our carbon footprint, we save our ozone layer from depleting and we also enjoy the benefits of healthy air as part of our well-being.
Moreover, if we recycle our items, we’re putting less trash into the dumpsite, which, in turn, is good for the animals and plants. Most of our trash ends up in the bellies of whales, turtles, and dolphins, and they don’t turn out to be a pretty sight. Such plastics are toxic to animals and have caused many deaths, which is why banning plastic to reduce pollution is a green act that will show our care to wildlife.
Water pollution is also a problem that’s destroying our ecosystems. When we use toxic chemicals in manufacturing items, cleaning the house, laundering, and much more, we create water pollution that could end up causing the endangering and eventual extinction of species in rivers, lakes, and oceans. Therefore, if we think twice before we use harsh chemicals in our household items, we can save the fishes and other marine life.
Conserved Natural Resources
In the future, we’ll have to keep some natural resources conserved for our children and grandchildren to survive. By going green, we’re saving resources, such as forests and trees.
Our natural gas supply is also limited so using alternative sources of energy, such as solar or hydropower, will help a lot for future use. Natural gas is something that isn’t found in every country, so it pays to consider other ways to generate electricity without hurting our supply. If you’re in a tropical place, solar energy is a worthy investment.
Preserving animals and not hunting them down rapidly will help keep their species alive for the next generations, especially if they are severely threatened. It helps to support the government in its efforts to preserving animals and keeping them away from poaching and other illegal and non-eco-friendly acts.
When we recycle items and/or support reusable products, we’re also saving valuable natural resources. Manufacturers won’t have to keep looking for raw materials to make the items for the market. For example, companies won’t have to grab a lot of wood if we resort to reusable chopsticks instead of disposable ones.
Fewer Greenhouse Gases
Greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect, which, in turn, causes global warming to take place. The most common greenhouse gases include:
- carbon dioxide
- methane
- nitrous oxide
- halogens
- aerosols
Due to carbon dioxide and other harmful gases that get trapped in the atmosphere, the heat of the sun also gets trapped inside, causing the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere to get significantly warmer.
This global warming melts off glaciers in the north, as well as snow on top of mountains, causing avalanches to happen. It also creates changes in the temperature of the sea, which affects marine animals.
Reduce Manufacturing Pressure
When you recycle items, you reduce pressure on manufacturers in creating more products since they won’t need to gather a lot of raw materials. These raw materials may include grown and harvested plants, trees, fruits, vegetables, and even animals as livestock.
When manufacturers save up on raw materials, they save not only energy in processing them but also conserve natural resources while keeping our wildlife safe from harm and population decrease.
Keeping Wildlife Safe
Our wildlife will feel at ease if we go green. Once we stop polluting our rivers, oceans, and forests, our animals won’t inevitably consume plastic and won’t get sick.
Moreover, if we conserve our forests and trees, our animals won’t have to be displaced. The forests are their home so we should respect them and leave some for their sake. We shouldn’t hoard natural resources and instead, we should improvise so that our wildlife won’t have to feel threatened.
Health Benefits
Aside from helping the animals and the plants in the wild, going green will also help us, humans, in the long run. No one wants to breathe polluted air or drink from polluted seas, after all! Pollution has terrible effects on human health, such as the following:
- headache, fatigue, and skin irritation from harmful VOCs
- respiratory problems from air pollution
- gastroenteritis from water pollution
- the risk for cancer from pesticides due to soil contamination
Therefore, it would be beneficial for us if we stop polluting our air, our land, and our oceans. Even as simple as riding a bicycle to work or the market or just walking to your destination will lessen air pollution.
Emotional Benefits
Just the activity of indoor planting is enough of a mood booster – what more if it was applied to a bigger scale? Urban farming has been a trend and continues to surge through cities around the world.
Fortunately, during the pandemic, many of the world’s population are stuck at home and have found plant-keeping to be a great hobby. Not only does it serve a great purpose for the environment in lessening the carbon dioxide in the air and reducing the effects of global warming, but it also helps boost our mood.
Better Reputation and Respect
Companies want nothing more than to earn reputation and respect among their customers and even their competitors. Going green is more than just a cause but also a way to show nobility and respect to the environment.
People nowadays care more for companies and individuals who have a heart for the environment. Therefore, if you’re a company that previously manufactured products that aren’t so eco-friendly, maybe it’s time to switch to a greener way to serve our customers.
Companies nowadays show their eco-friendliness through CSR (corporate social responsibility) and various programs such as the use of solar or renewable energy, better labor practices, little to no animal testing, and various other sustainability measures.
Name: Rebecca Tarvin
Discipline: Integrative biology
Degrees: B.A., Biology, Boston University, 2010; Ph.D., Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin,2017
Rebecca Tarvin is broadly interested in integrating studies of natural history with molecular genomics and phylogenetics. Specifically, she aims to elucidate causal genetic mechanisms underlying novel traits, characterize phenotypic diversification at macro and micro-evolutionary scales, and identify factors that promote and constrain biodiversity.
She also likes to write about eco-friendly lifestyle and other material alternatives that are eco-friendly, aside from other ways to save Mother Earth
