Environment
Why
GREEN
is good
Live a responsible life
By Gerda Potgieter
Embracing a greener lifestyle is about being conscious about the environment and the impact our actions have on our planet - to an extent that we want to make a difference.
Green-thinking has taken over the world and the COP 17 conference on climate change brought the issue to the front, once again. To understand the concerns about the environment we need to have a broader look at why we should go green. Even if you do not consider yourself an environmentalist, we all have a responsibility for preserving our environment and we should strive to live greener. In order to understand this massive green world-wide movement it helps to understand why we need to be more aware of and start living in a way that has a positive impact on the environment in general. The extreme growth in human population has extreme social and environmental consequences. According to the United Nations World Population Prospects report the world population is currently growing by an enormous 74million people per year, with the most significant increase in the last 50 years. By 2050 it is estimated that 9billion humans will be living on planet earth! Overpopulation has a huge impact on the standard of living of people, the economy and the environment, among other things. Each human being needs basic resources.The world has limited natural resources, some of which are already depleted. Even if it was possible to distribute the world’s natural resources evenly among all, by 2050 people will only have 25% of the resources per capita that people in 1950 had. To add to that, the garbage that humans generates is enormous; and one of the greatest threats to future resources come from things we throw away every day. To avoid landfills taking over as the result of the trash that people generate you have to be environmentally conscious. This includes taking proper care of used household batteries and electronics. These items often contain dangerous chemicals that may, if sent to a local landfill, leak through the bottom barrier and pollute the groundwater. This can contaminate everything from the soil in which our food grows to our tap water. Many of these chemicals cannot be removed from the drinking water supply, or from the crops that are harvested from contaminated fields. The risks to human health are devastating. The reality is that everything we do every single day impacts on the environment in either a good or a bad way. This is a scary thought and something to think about if we want to keep the world a better place to live in! As Christians we know all things must live in subjection to God’s rule and reign in our lives. God is the Creator and all things belong to Him. Leviticus 25:23 -24 clearly states: "The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land". The environment affects us all and we need to apply a Christian worldview to the matter. If we hope to leave our children and grandchildren with the same standard of living we have enjoyed, we must preserve the foundation of that standard of living. Going green is a lifestyle and not the flavour of the month. We all have a role to pla