From environmental concern to action Why and where to start

i viewed sustainable living

as something incredibly difficult i

thought it required an enormous amount

of time and

money it seemed like this living would

not take into account

my problems so why would i care

it just seemed like i need to sacrifice

too much

i also didn’t know what kind of effects

climate change has

even the name global warming did not

sound

threatening to me climate is changing so

what yes i was aware of hurricanes and

wildfires in america

heat waves in europe food and water

shortages somewhere else

however all of that has nothing to do

with ukraine

seems like it’s a safe zone in here will

it always be a safe zone

of course not but i still didn’t act

you see anywhere i heard about climate

change

i only heard yelling blame doom and

gloom

it seemed like i as an individual

could make no difference so i would like

to feel at least

some level of positivity it’s been

proven that people who are hopeful

not worried are more likely to act

but to me so far there was nowhere to

start and no reason to

until 10 months ago when i tried

something

that got me into sustainable living

that is when i watched a documentary

about

veganism only because the description

said it was about

vegan bodybuilders which was insane to

me

yet it turned out to be so inspiring

that i became a vegetarian along with my

mom

who watched it too and you know what

it turned out to be easier than i

expected

the only preparation it requires is just

recipes to cook

and loads of those can be found on the

internet

and the best part is it doesn’t have to

be expensive

you don’t need artificial meat to be a

vegetarian

you don’t need to eat only grass

you can go on eating ordinary products

that is

rice buckwheat mushrooms eggs

and all the greens and vegetables in the

world

once i stopped eating meat i truly

discovered all the fruits and vegetables

out there

as it turns out milk fish and mate are

not as crucial to us

as we were told for i feel better than i

did

and my mom too

now how did this documentary make us act

it was the approach it proved that

even by improving my health i helped the

environment

and that’s easy it also mentioned

what effects the livestock industry has

for example did you know that animal

agriculture

accounts for more greenhouse gas

emissions than all the planes trains and

automobiles put together

also 13 000

liters of water are needed to produce

just

one kilo of beef for the same amount of

wheat it’s just one thousand liters

and okay let’s say you drink two liters

of water per day

you would drink those 13 000 liters

for 18 years 18.

so a plant-based diet is largely

beneficial to the planet

and animals but most importantly

to ourselves and

here is the thing once i started with

the intention to make

my life better i later wanted to do

more to learn and contribute more

it became a lifestyle i want to follow

and then i researched what else i can do

is there another simple option as a

plant-based diet turned out to be

the answer is yes and that is slow

fashion

when you buy less but better quality or

sharp secondhand

and i think this is an underrated

solution

because the fashion industry is the

second

largest polluter in the world

just after oil and it’s much easier

effect fashion isn’t it another shocking

fact 10

000 liters of water are needed to make a

single

pair of jeans

these are my only genes and i wear them

all the time

but seriously ten thousand liters

that’s enough for you to take shower

every day for six months

or drinking that water for 14 years

this is just crazy for a pair of jeans

and the production process is pretty

dirty too

just to show you how much water it

pollutes

that that is the river in china

they even say that you can predict the

color of the next fashion season

just by looking at the river and so

overall slow fashion turned out to be

pretty easy too

it just saves you time and money i can

say that for sure

and so these two solutions veganism and

slow

fashion are not only simple

they benefit both me and the environment

it’s a win-win that’s how they got me

into sustainable living

and i don’t stop on that i dive more and

more into this lifestyle

and i love it that

all is great but as my friend asked

do you really think you make a

difference

now researching climate change not only

have i found solutions

but i also understood one important

thing

about this global issue the one that

made me act

it is enough to start by doing something

simple from a single individual

as they say think globally act locally

start improving your lifestyle then

the chain of consequences will go up and

up

until it reaches the global level and

there

industries are going to change

and here is the thing about these

so-called giants

it is up to us customers to decide

how powerful that industry is

and on that global level

your action improves not only you or the

environment

but it can also resolve many other

global issues

as for example food and water shortages

low air quality

and poverty because

global issues are interconnected

their solutions are too

improving living conditions in

developing countries

automatically means fighting climate

changing

we see places with patterns of extreme

weather

experience and hunger the fashion

industry

impacts the lives of people in

bangladesh india

and china and not for good

but we can change it so

as it turns out there is so much we can

do about climate change

and and we have so many reasons to do it

and that’s easy because we don’t need a

handful of people doing it perfectly we

need millions

doing it imperfectly we can make earth a

better place for

all of us improve ourselves

isn’t it beautiful to participate in

something like this

thank you