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Practise Sustainable Living for Our Own Future

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Every day we are reminded through different ways that it is necessary for us to protect and conserve the earth that we live in. How you may ask? The pitter-patter gush of rain that comes at odd times, the sun rays getting hotter and hotter each year, or news of melting glaciers in the Arctic as times passes. One realisation can bring an awakening to our Mother Earth’s illness — global warming.

Hence it is important to be aware of the contributors that cause climate change and the environmental decline on earth. Not only are we conserving it for us to live comfortably, but also for our future generations and the many centuries that come after.

Eco bags

Due to human activities producing greenhouse gases, scientists are convinced that global temperature will rise in the coming decades. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a forecast of our temperature rise will increase by 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century.

IPCC also added that the extent of climate change effects on individual regions will vary over time and with the ability of different societal and environmental systems to mitigate or adapt to change.

The IPCC predicts that increases in global mean temperature of less than 1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 3 degrees Celsius) above 1990 levels will produce beneficial impacts in some regions and harmful ones in others. Net annual costs will increase over time as global temperatures increase.

Sustainable living to conserve Mother’s Earth

Acknowledging the dangers of what the earth is facing, environmentalists has come out with several solutions to conserve the environment. One of them is to use eco-friendly products that promote green living, help conserve the energy, and prevent air, water and noise pollution.

Speaking to Adriana Abdullah, co-founder of Manoy Handicraft, a non-governmental organisation and the organisation responsible for Miss Earth Malaysia beauty pageant, she shared through her experience on how to inculcate sustainable living into our daily lifestyle.

Eco bricks

Through carrying eco-bags:

According to her, the trend of eco-bags should be introduced in order to lessen the usage of plastic bags. There are million tonnes of plastics produced each year, and Adriana chided how we never realise its effects on our environment. She advises the public to carry an eco-bag everywhere, and if they left it at home during grocery shopping, supermarkets could provide them as an alternative to plastic bags.

The usage of containers:

Bringing along containers to the market when buying wet foods can help reduce the usage of plastic bags. Containers can also be used to take away food and avoid using disposal lunch boxes like polystyrene containers.

The use of reusable and eco-friendly straws/utensils:

Adriana shared that previously, the hygienic solution to drinking at eateries was through straws. However, the result of that causes our health to deteriorate as we placed the plastic containing toxic chemicals into our mouth. Furthermore, it is disposable. “Can you imagine how many times you drink through a straw in a day, and with the whole population using it, it can take centuries just to decompose plastic straws,” she laments.

The use of eco-bricks:

In her opinion, every kitchen must practice making eco-bricks. Due to the uncontrollable packaging system of using plastic, practising the habit of making eco bricks can help manage waste. The practice consists of compressing plastic packaging into plastic bottles. Completed Eco-bricks needs to weight 220 grammes and is stuffed so densely that they can bear the weight of a person without deformation. It is a zero-cost solid waste solution practice to make reusable building blocks.

Have a decompose bucket:

Segregating food waste by having a decompose bucket can help reduce wastage. Through the decomposing food waste, we can use it as fertilisers in our garden. Other than that, clean food waste can also be given to stray animals for consumption.

Lastly, Adriana’s advice to lead a sustainable living is through instilling a healthy lifestyle. “Lessen what we consume, and save our environment at the same time”, she said.

Eco-friendly, reusable bamboo straws.
Bamboo straws

“We can start by creating awareness at home such as educating our children not to spend so much on food as if we cannot finish it, it will end up in the trash. By creating this awareness, it can help our children to understand the value of our planet,” Adriana disclosed.

Planting trees and plants at our backyard can also benefit us in two ways: Plants convert carbon dioxide, water and minerals into oxygen for us, and plucking the fruits and vegetables from our backyard can feed our hungry tummies. “If we can learn how to plant, we will never be hungry,” shared Adriana.

For those who are interested in the endeavour of Manoy Handicrafts can visit their workshop at Borneo744, Pending, Kuching to have more look at their ‘turn trash to craft’ lifestyle.

A little click over to the NASA website shows numerous effects of global warming to the earth:

Continued increase of temperature

Frost-free season lengthen, affecting the ecosystems and agriculture

Changes in precipitation patterns

More draught and heat wave

Hurricanes becomes stronger and more intense

Sea level rising up to 4 feet by 2100

Artic likely to become ice free

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