The Sustainability of Lifestyle Essay

Introduction

This paper focuses on 2 aspects of the sustainability of my current lifestyle, namely: my water consumption and my carbon footprint. It is hoped that by the end of this paper, an accurate assessment of my overall resource consumption can be ascertained.

Short Contextual Section on Relevant Academic Literature

Based on the work of Kang, Liu and Kim (2013), it is explained that water consumption is one of the most easily controllable means by which a person can contribute towards better environmental sustainability since it is influenced by the rate of consumption (Vinkhuyzen & Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen 2014). Even minor adjustments towards the total amount used can contribute immensely towards long term sustainability especially when factoring in the potential for numerous other individuals utilising the same practices who contribute in the effort (Kang et al. 2013).

Sustainability based on Water Consumption

This section of the paper primarily focuses on my water consumption and how it measures up to the daily water consumption of an average person or even an average household. The following water consumption data was calculated based on the online water consumption calculator. This calculator enabled me to measure the gallons of water I used per day as compared to the average set by CSG, which was based on the amount of water consumed in areas that had significant water scarcity. (Refer to table 1 in the Appendix)

The data shows that on average the amount of water consumed in my residence per day is 463 gallons based on the total amount of activities that have been listed above. In comparison, the total amount utilised by areas that are affected by water scarcity is 135 gallons per day. Taking the data into consideration, it can be calculated that my household consumes 14,075 gallons per month and 168,995 gallons per year. In comparison to the estimated created by CSG, their average household consumes 207 per day, 6,210 in a month and 75,555 in a year. When comparing both data sets, it can be seen that my household consumption rate is more than double the average.

Factors that contribute towards the rate of consumption

When going over the presented data, I have realised that there are multiple factors that contribute towards the sheer amount of water that is consumed within my household, these consist of the following:

Convenience

The dishwasher, the act of hand washing some dishes, the laundry and the amount of water consumed from daily faucet usage are among the primary contributors towards the large water consumption within my household. The reason behind this level of usage is due to the fact that I simply find it more convenient to use a dishwasher, leave the water in the sink running while I am washing a few dishes and do not really think much of the amount of water utilised in my washing machine even if it is just for a few pieces of clothing instead of a full load (Salazar, Oerlemans & Van Stroe-Biezen 2013). The sheer convenience of the machines that I use as well as the attitudes I bring towards utilising water in general have made it so that I think nothing of the amount of water that I use on a daily basis (Leary, Vann, Mittelstaedt, Murphy & Sherry 2014). Simply put, it is the convenience behind the act that makes me careless regarding my wastefulness since I always assume that the water will continue to flow unabated and without pause since it always has (Lowe, Lynch & Lowe 2015).

Social

Aside from the convenience behind water consumption, there are also the social factors that contribute towards my overall usage. On average, I take three 15-minute showers a day in order to be presentable wherever I go. This is in part due to the concept of general sociability and social convention wherein it is emphasised that I must look presentable, smell great and be generally clean for any type of social interaction that I engage in (Marx-Pienaar & Erasmus 2014). It is based on the matter that I shower and change my clothes frequently, which contributes towards the large amounts of laundry that I wash almost daily as well as the number of showers I take (Costa Pinto, Herter, Rossi & Borges 2014). This particular attitude unfortunately has the negative consequence of requiring a large amount of water to sustain and, as such, results in a considerable level of wastefulness on my part (Hall 2013).

Perspective on Hygiene

On average the toilet at our residence is flushed 8 times per day because even if only a small amount of urine is present, our household believes that it must still be flushed due to the potential smell as well as the fact that it seems basically unhygienic to just leave urine in a toilet bowl for the next person. Such a perspective results in the toilet being flushed for even relatively minor reasons (ex: there seems to be a smell despite nothing being present in the bowl) (Lorek & Spangenberg 2014). We have never really thought that such actions are wrong or even wasteful since they are in line with what we perceive as normal behaviour when it comes to ensuring that our household is clean (Dendler 2014).

Primary obstacles to reducing negative impacts from my consumption

The primary obstacles that prevent me from reducing the amount of water I consume on a daily basis have their roots in the level of convenience and social aspects rooted in the way in which I consume water. I have simply gotten used to using a washing machine, dishwasher and other types of devices that make life easier for me (McDonald, Oates, Alevizou, Young & Hwang 2012). In the foreseeable future, I cannot imagine utilising any other method of washing my dishes or laundry in large amounts and it is due to the fact that convenience is a definite factor behind my level of water consumption. Aside from this, the social aspect of my water consumption also needs to be taken into consideration (De Giacomo, Dominici Loprieno, Tarantini, Preka, Litido, Furphy, Vázquez Calvo, Llorach-Massana, Gasol, Rieradevall, Farreny & Gabarrell 2014). I have developed the habit of making sure that I look clean and presentable at all times and few people would fault me for having this sort of behaviour. I want to look presentable since how I look reflects back on me as a person (Lee 2014). In this respect, it is unlikely that I would take steps that make me appear to be in any way, shape or form to be unhygienic. Some small adjustments could potentially be made, such as making sure that the amount of laundry in the washing machine is of a sufficient quantity so that I will not waste water; however, it is unlikely that I will reduce the amount of showers I take during the day (Antonetti & Maklan 2014).

Sustainability based on Carbon Footprint

The table 2 (refer to appendix) is based on the calculation conducted on carbobneutral.com that measured the amount of greenhouse gases that I am responsible for based on the amount of resources that I utilise on a monthly basis for all my needs. As it can be seen, the vast majority of the greenhouse gases that I am responsible for are based on car emissions, electricity and events (i.e. the amount of food I buy on a daily basis (Heiskanen, Mont & Power 2014). Since the amount of food I buy is an essential requirement, this part of the paper will focus on my actions related to my electricity consumption as well as my vehicle usage.

Factors that contribute to my rate of consumption

Convenience

I own a car and utilise it on a daily basis in order to travel to various parts of the city. While public transportation is easily available in my area, I still prefer to utilise a car to get around since for me it is far more convenience and I will not have to deal with other people (Niva, Mäkelä, Kahma & Kjærnes 2014). Whether there are trips to the local grocery store, to the University, or to other areas around the city, my car is my primary means of transport and I rarely, if ever, resort to any method of public transportation. Convenience is the reason why I choose to use a car since it is always available, it does not break down, I do not have to stand in long lines with other people and the fact that I also do not have to compete for seats on the local train or bus is an added bonus towards my predilection in choosing my car over any other method of transportation (Cherrier, Szuba & Özçağlar-Toulouse 2012). Another factor worth noting is that getting around the city using public transportation involves a considerable amount of walking, jostling with other people as well as being subjected to a wide assortment of possible dangers in the city (ex: being mugged) (D’Antone & Spencer 2015). For me, a car is the ultimate form of easy transportation and it is unlikely that I would choose to utilise any other means of getting around the city in the immediate future (Barth, Adomßent, Fischer, Richter & Rieckmann 2014).

Aside from my predilection to choose a car over public transportation, the calculator indicated that I consumed a large amount of electricity. Based on my latest electric bill, it showed that I consumed 200 kilowatt hours within the span of one month. The basis behind this rate of consumption is simply because I do not have the habit of turning of appliances after I am done with them (Finney 2014). Sometimes I leave my laptop on when I leave since I do not want to be bothered with waiting to turn it on. I do not unplug my television and the AC in my room is left on even when I am not there since I want the room to continue to be cold even if I am not there at the moment (though I am still inside the house so such an action is not overly wasteful) (Csutora & Vetőné Mózner 2014).

Comfort

Aside from the issue of convenience, there is also the notion of comfort to take into consideration when it comes to my relatively high carbon footprint. I simply enjoy being comfortable when it comes to travelling as well as being in my home. It is due to this desire that I prefer riding in my car instead of getting squished into a single compartment with other passengers in a bus or train (Saunders 2014). Not only that, with summer approaching and the weather getting increasingly hotter, I normally keep my AC on nearly the entire time when I am at home. While it is true that there are other potential avenues of approach that I can utilise when it comes to cooling off during summer, I simply prefer the sheer comfort that comes with the cool air that blasts out of an AC directed at you (Muster 2012).

Primary obstacles to reducing negative impacts from my consumption

When examining the various aspects related to my carbon footprint, it is immediately obvious that the primary obstacle to reducing the negative impact of my consumption is the fact that I have grown used to the comforts of modern day living (Beckham & Voyer 2014). Simply put, while I understand that my method of consumption is wasteful and that there are other alternatives present, the fact remains that it has already become an ingrained aspect of my daily life and, as such, it would be hard to rectify such behaviour since the alternative would involve less comfort and convenience for me (Adoment, Fischer, Godemann, Herzig, Otte, Rieckmann & Timm 2014).

Conclusion

Based on everything that has been presented, it can be seen that my current level of consumption is far from sustainable and is in need of significant changes to be implemented.

Reference List

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Appendix

Table 1

• Bathroom: 291
• Toilets: 40
• Faucets: 23
• Laundry: 79
• Dishwasher: 15
• Hand Washing Dishes: 15

Table 2