Sustainable living describes a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources or the individual’s resources. Excessive consumption of resources that can be natural or man-made leads to an imbalance in nature. As Mahatma Gandhi has said,


“There are sufficient resources on this planet to answer the needs of all, but not enough to satisfy everyone’s greed.”

Sustainable living means we have to cut down upon what is harming our environment. To start with, remember the strategy as the 3RT Strategy.

3RT:

Restriction, Reuse, Recycle and Think

• Restricting the use of components that causes pollution
• Reusing our old items for other purposes
• Recycling our items whenever possible and thinking before buying or consuming anything
• Differentiating between need and want

Restricting the use of plastic bags:

• We can make cloth bags out of old clothes
• Carry them with us always
• Keep one bag in our family members’ bags too

Differentiating between NEED and WANT:

Need is the basic needs of a human being which you need to survive for your physical and mental wellbeing. For example, food, water, nowadays, we can count electricity in that, some pairs of clothes, hair oil, toothbrushes and so on. You need your school uniform, shoes, a bag to carry your notebooks. These are your needs. Needs may slightly vary depending on the situation of each individual.

Want is something that is not required to survive but you want that in your life. For example, I want a gold ring for my birthday this year. Ankita wants to buy new party wear for her friend’s birthday because she does not want to repeat her dress. These are our wants.


There are many ways that people can live sustainably and it is especially important now that the climate is in crisis and suffering tremendously. People need to protect their natural resources so that they can be used now and in future generations. There are many ways energy can be saved through new technologies, and there are many reusable products in which people can store food. Composting food also helps to reduce food waste. Shopping locally helps reduce toxins and chemicals in the environment. Not using plastic helps reduce pollution in oceans and other forms of land. Sustainability is extremely important for our world’s future, so we must start protecting our Earth now.

About the author