University Of Ilorin,
Department of Biochemistry (300Level)
02/10/2012
sustainable living
Sustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual 's or society 's use of the earth 's natural resources and his/her own resources. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their “carbon footprint” by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet. Proponents of sustainable living aim to conduct their lives in ways that are consistent with sustainability, in natural balance and respectful of humanity 's symbiotic relationship with the earth 's natural ecology and cycles. The practice and general philosophy of ecological living is highly interrelated with the overall principles of sustainable development.
Lester R. Brown, a prominent environmentalist and founder of the Worldwatch Institute and Earth Policy Institute, describes sustainable living in the 21st century as "shifting to a renewable energy-based, reuse or recycle economy with a diversified transport system."
Sustainable living is fundamentally the application of sustainability to lifestyle choice and decisions. Sustainability itself is expressed as meeting present ecological, societal, and economical needs without compromising these factors for future generations. Sustainable living can therefore be described as living within the innate carrying capacities defined by two factors namely; Sustainable design and sustainable development which are critical factors to sustainable living.
Sustainable design encompasses the development of appropriate technology, which is a staple of sustainable living practices while sustainable development in turn is the use of these technologies in infrastructure for economic development without polluting the environment.
To live sustainably, the following needs must be met without causing any serious damage to the ecosystem and with minimal utilization of the earth resources. Some of the needs