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5 Easy Actions to Adopt Sustainable Lifestyles

Posted February 6, 2023

The Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles, one of the seven Laudato Si’ Goals, is grounded in the idea of sufficiency and promoting sobriety in the use of resources and energy.

In response to the sign of the times, limiting greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere is crucial to the health of both the planet and its people. Urgent and immediate actions are needed by each one of us in our day-to-day lives.

The time to act is now.

 

Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Today

    1. Conserve Energy at Home. There are many ways to save energy throughout your home. Utilize natural light as much as possible. Turn off any appliances that are not in direct use. Avoid single use items like plastic silverware and cups. Starting at home, you can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 900 kilograms of greenhouse gasses per year.
  • Choose Active Mobility like Walking and Cycling. Walking or riding a bike is an emission-free way of transportation that is both good for the planet and good for your health. It can also reduce your carbon footprint by up to 2 tons of greenhouse gasses per year compared to a vehicle dependent lifestyle.
  • Adopt Sustainable Dietary Habits. Pope Francis recently encouraged us to reduce our consumption of meat. In addition to being part of the long Catholic tradition of simple habits, eating more plant-based foods is an excellent way to avoid the greenhouse gasses associated with raising and feeding meat animals, particularly beef and pork. Switching to a vegetarian diet, and buying fruits and veggies from local farmers, can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 500 kilograms of greenhouse gasses per year.
  • Reduce, Reuse, Repair, and Recycle. The popular items we purchase, like electronics and clothes, cause carbon emissions at each point in production—every kilogram of textiles produced generates about 17 kilograms of greenhouse gasses. Repair items instead of buying new, shop second-hand, and recycle items whenever possible.
  • Make a Plan. Outlining in your Laudato Si’ Plan the concrete steps you will take to help protect and improve our world reveals a firm and direct commitment to reverse “the ways in which we have harmed God’s creation through our actions and our failure to act.” Your ecological conversion can start today!  (LS 218)

And this is just the beginning!

When you enroll in the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, your self-assessment will provide you with tailored actions based on your needs, location, energy usage, and much more to guide you towards real ecological progress.

You can then incorporate these tailored actions into your Laudato Si’ Plan and clearly track and measure the concrete steps you are taking to care for our common home.

With the ability to directly contact a community of your peers for inspiration and accompaniment throughout your journey, it is one of the most powerful action-oriented tools of its kind to help you avoid the suffering of others and reverse the deterioration of our planet.

 

Laudato Si’!