The Five Categories of Sustainability
As environmental issues continue to make their way into our daily lives, one can easily be overwhelmed by the countless ways that human activities are impacting the environment and contributing to climate change.
One of the main goals of the EarthFix Club is to identify the biggest impacts that humans have on the environment and make it easier to understand what can be done to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
These are the five major categories of sustainability that we focus on:
Energy
Electricity is necessary for so many activities in modern day life and there are cleaner and more efficient ways to generate and use electricity. The energy sector represent roughly two-thirds of the total greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Electricity is largely used for lighting, heating and air conditioning, and transportation. Switching to renewable energy sources, using energy-efficient appliances, and simply cutting down on the amount of electricity we use, are some of the most effective ways to reduce anthropogenic impacts on the environment.
Transportation
People need to get places and there are more sustainable ways to get around. Cars and trucks account for a major part of greenhouse gas emissions, while the overall transportation sector including planes, trains, ships, and freight, accounts for nearly thirty percent of emissions in the United States. For each gallon of gasoline burned, around 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other pollutants are emitted. As oil becomes more difficult to extract from the ground it’s becoming a bigger problem for the environment. Fuel efficiency, cleaner fuels, and electric cars and trucks, along with better mass transit systems, are just a few of the ways that transportation can become more sustainable.
Commercial and Residential Buildings
The buildings where we live, work, and spend a lot of our time have the potential to be more efficient and more comfortable. Greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment come from both direct emissions and indirect emissions, mostly due to electricity consumption. The emissions that result from generating and using electricity in buildings account for about seven percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Shelter is one of the most important aspects of developed civilization, and there are a number of ways to reduce impacts on the environment. Renovating and retrofitting existing buildings to employ more efficient technologies, reducing energy consumption, improving building design, and using recycled building materials are among the many ways to reduce the environmental impact of buildings.
Agriculture
Humans produce, consume, and waste a lot of food each year and there are considerable improvements that we can make in the way we feed billions of people. Agriculture, like most economic sectors, produces greenhouse gases and is linked to nearly one-third of global emissions. The potential improvements in agriculture, wether it is sustainable farm management practices, efficient distribution of food, or localized farm-to-table food networks, can not only reduce emissions from agricultural activities but also reduce famine and ensure food security for a growing human population.
Water
Clean and accessible water is essential for life and is a core issue in sustainability. While water is not a major source of greenhouse emissions, wastewater and the availability of clean water puts pressure on environmental systems in various ways. As climate change patterns begin to emerge, water scarcity is affecting large portions of the world. Protecting clean water and water ecosystems, promoting water efficiency, and controlling the impacts from wastewater are just a few of the ways that we can protect ourselves from the impacts of major droughts and water scarcity.