An essential goal that everyone should aim towards would be to leave this planet as healthy as we’ve found it. Indeed, it’s way easier to say it than actually act toward this manner, even though one of the biggest concerns about daily human habits it’s how we’re slowly ruining both the environment and our health. What is truly interesting is that most of it it’s due to total ignorance or carelessness. Nobody realizes that sooner or later all these bad habits will be turned against us or our children, a reason why everything we do matters.
From brushing teeth, driving a car, throwing our foods, all of these may have a detrimental effect on climate change and our health. Studies have clearly stated that rapid rate of current climate modifications is directly impacting many species in certain cases, and is clearly influencing the evolution, especially when these changes modify patterns of selection. It’s only a matter of time until such changes will occur to humans, given the evaluated potential health effects of living near a landfill and being exposed to the air pollutants released by the waste treatment plants.
Driving
As we know an average car releases 4 tons of carbon dioxide each year which may have detrimental effects on climate change and cause several health problems such as birth defects, cancer, respiratory infections and other serious illnesses. The increased use of cars made people live more sedentary lives, than before, which is directly linked to an increase in heart disease, obesity and strokes. However, choosing not to use our cars can be a great solution and a simple way to avoid unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. By simply choosing to strap on your shoes and walk for a single day can have great benefits on the environment and your health. Research has shown that being physically active or walking for just 30 minutes a day can improve one’s health.
Lack of Recycling
Lack of recycling is one bad habit which affects the environment and our health. By simply choosing not to recycle, we send a huge number of resources to the landfills. Why is recycling so important for our health? Recycling directly reduces the need to grow extract and even harvest new resources from the Earth.
To reduce harmful effects and damage done to the natural world such as deforestation, wild animals harmed or displaced, affected rivers and lessen pollution of water soil and air which are necessary for our human needs, recycling should not be overlooked. No matter where you live and what means of recycling you can find in N.Z, you should encourage and even spread a green attitude for the sake of your own health and environment.
Throwing food and Waste
Some of you’ve been raised into believing that throwing half of the plate during a meal isn’t such a bad thing. But, throwing food is actually a bad habit, let alone that is a basic necessity that many unfortunate people don’t have access to.
Throwing your food is even more detrimental for the environment than you’ve thought and that’s because for the process of cultivation, transportation and processing many forests are cleared and high amounts of emissions are produced. Besides this, in case the food is not disposed of properly, all these organic matters will be released in the waterways and many more aquatic environments which can enhance the growth of algal blooms.
Excessive Use of Plastic
Everything we buy and sell is mostly packed in plastic containers. This is a major pollutant to the environment given the inability to degrade and having a life cycle which can extend to millennia. Thus, the more plastic we continue to use, the more will end up in our landfills which can lead to air pollution and other atmospheric effects.
As we know, there are more than ten toxic gases emitted from the landfills, form which methane gas is one of the most dangerous. The agglomeration of landfills may bring severe health issues such as low birth weight, birth defects and cancer, especially to people living next to the landfill areas. These effects are directly linked with toxic action from the areas. Everything from the air contamination with harmful gases and water pollution which affects our health is the result of our bad habits.
Fashion Industry
After the old industry, fashion is known to be one of the most dangerous pollutants in the world. As this industry keeps growing, the environmental damage is increasing causing numerous health issues. This bad habit has brought untreated toxic wastewaters containing mercury, arsenic, lead and many more which are highly devastating for the aquatic life and the health of millions of people that leave closer to these river banks.
The heavy use of the chemical has also brought an increased number of deaths among cotton farmers. What you can do? You can simply avoid buying from companies that encourage the use of toxins and choose instead of clothes made in countries with strict regulations for factories or invest in natural and organic fibres that do not use chemicals.
As humans have become increasingly dependent on houses, luxury cars and technology which require a lot of manufactured metal and plastic, the environmental effects will keep appearing. Our impact on the environment has also turned to a number one topic for universities all over the world. People have become even more aware of the ways our bad environmental habits have direct effects on our health.
So, to avoid these risks people must act now and spread this news as well as numerous solutions through education. Education has always been a useful tool to spread awareness and instigate change among the people, regardless of their race, age or social strata, therefore if we live with it or not this entirely depends on our decisions and actions. Thus, no matter how small these actions are, as long as we take a stand and act for the sake of our health.