6/24/20 - I have a lot of pet peeves. A lot. I would love to share them, however I am doubtful anyone wants to hear a rant on a blog based on sustainability. So I decided I woud share my sustainability pet peeves.
Food Waste. I can’t stand food waste. When people eat something because it is more fresh, and they know there is food further back in the fridge rotting away, I feel bothered. When others don’t have a system it bothers me. I know this because just a year ago, I had no system. In fact, I only started making my lifestyle more sustainable this past year (2020). I do not like when people eat half of a banana to just let the other half become less and less appetizing as the days pass. Similarly, when people think simply composting everything is fine I am not pleased. I say this because although I think composting is amazing and that everyone should have a compost bin, I do not think that is an excuse to get rid of imperfect produce. I believe with the amount of privilege so many of us have, we refuse to eat little bits or pieces due to their tiny scars. We know we won’t run out of food so why bother eating something that looks slightly less appealing. I have been working on this myself. I of course do not eat mold or rotten food, but I’m not picky about which parts of a fruit or vegetable I’m eating. I believe the more we get rid of, the more we buy, and that means we are demanding more produce to be grown and less organic matter can be produced.
Water waste. This one too. I can’t stand to hear the water run for more than a few seconds. We need to start living like we have a water shortage-- because we do! Whether it’s brushing your teeth, doing the dishes, or taking a shower. Turn off the water when it isn’t in ative use. I also promote saving any water you can to use on plants or your lawn.
Speaking of lawns… I hate them. Or at least I do not appreciate the land given no use but to take our water. I remember one time specifically, I was at a friends house and I was standing on her deck when her sprinklers turned on. I immediately looked up at the sky to see grey clouds. A storm was on its way within another day if not just a few hours. I told her that it wasn’t sustainable to have sprinklers on especially when there was a storm coming. She responded with “yea but it’s okay because they’re on a timer”. A timer is great, but a sprinkler is totally unnecessary. That is a perfect example of unintentional living: when you have a timer because you can’t decide when it is the right time to turn on your sprinklers. Just look outside and look at the weather for the next few days! It’s not that hard!
Leaving the lights on. This one is similar to letting water run. When people use electricity unproductively or for no use and leave the room, I get aggravated. Many people can relate to the hastel of chasing others around my house to make sure the lights are turned off when no one is in the room. I do not appreciate when people use energy unconsciously.
Littering. Sorry to end on an obvious one, but this one I can’t stand. Litter plays a part and affects many things including wildlife, human health and safety, and even the fact that it is a fire hazard. Animals consume a lot of trash cluelessly. They aren’t smart enough to avoid something that looks interesting. When they eat trash not only are they harmed, but human health is also hurt. By eating any animal, you can be garentined to consume microplastics. Speaking of microplastics, litter is a huge reason why we breath, eat, and absorb a creddit cards worth of plastic every week!
I hope you guys enjoyed this week's blog. If you have any environmental pet peeves, feel free to comment them. I definitely have many more pet peeves especially on waste but today's blog was focused on our environment as a whole. If you would like me to write a part two of this, I would be happy to.
Check Out This Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beo6McRiClQ&t=88s
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