Environmental Impact of Personal Lifestyle Paper Example

Environmental impact of personal lifestyle: Behavior: # 1

Food tossing is one of the most common trends in the modern society. This is one of the most detrimental practice and behavior that I engage in frequently that is harmful to the environment. The disposal of food regardless of the amount is common has a degree of effect to the environment. As one of the insignificant issues in the modern society, we don't realize the impact of the food wasted during our daily consumption of food. As a surprise, I came to learn how much each individual could save annually if we embraced consumption of food sufficient to meet our needs. Similar to the disposal of other environmental waste, tossed food contributes to the large portion of US landfills (Palmiotto et al., 2014). One of the agonizing facts is the amount of food tossed by the American society.

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Tossing of food has a much larger impact on the environment than anyone ever thought. Loss of water, climatic pollution through odors and filling of landfills are enhanced by tossed food. However, since most of the food tossed is insignificant, we tend not realize the effect of our behavior on the environment. Similarly, there is a lot of resources lost due to the tossing of food. Small pieces of food are frequently tossed around, however, most families toss individual meal leftovers amounting to large waste at family levels. In my analysis of the trend in the tossing of food and its impact on the environment, I considered the environmental impact such as water consumed and the environmental pollution which yielded astonishing results. According to Hallstrom et al. (2015), 90% of the American population toss food soon enough before it goes bad. Additionally, 40% of food in the US is tossed according to a survey by Council (2018), with regards to the growing population, more food goes to waste as each individual at a time take part in the tossing of food.

Environmental impact of personal lifestyle: Behavior: # 2

Another habit that I have adopted that is significantly harmful to the environment is the reading of the newspaper. Am a big fan of the daily newspapers which I consider a source of a wide range of information. I can say I buy at least one newspaper a day just to keep updated with local and global news, business news and other useful information conveyed by newspapers. There is a vast investment in the newspaper industry by different companies in the US. This amounts to over 50 million newspapers in circulation on a daily basis. However, the media industry stands at a forefront in the consumption of trees used in the manufacture of newspapers. Therefore, this is reflected in the rise in demand for trees to sustain the newspaper producing companies. With regards to the number of newspapers produced across the country, the daily production of newspapers demands for an estimated 9 million tons of paper which amount to over 6 million in excess of virgin fiber consumed by books, catalog, and magazines combined.

The environmental risk posed by continued production newspaper is the average requirement of trees annually along with the powering requirements. Additionally, newspapers produce greenhouse gases which are higher than the amount yielded by an average of 5 million cars. Regardless of the recycling of the papers by most newspaper companies, the emission generated are key contributors to global warming. The greenhouse gases are detrimental to the ozone and the increase in the production of newspapers most likely increases the accumulation of greenhouse gases. On the other hand, the companies cannot rely entirely on paper recycling but have to source for new sources of paper. In this case, cases of deforestation are encouraged to ensure stable production of the newspapers.

Environmental Impact of Personal Lifestyle: Behavior # 3

Listening to loud music is one of the habits that has been part of me for a long time. I personally enjoy listening to music at high volume to enjoy the beats and rhythmic flow and tone of the songs. Am very selective of social places which I attend, I prefer relaxing in areas with loud music which has become part of my lifestyle. This is a common trend for different people across the world. As much as some people can't stand loud music, I experience the reverse as I concentrate fully under loud music. During my academic research work, use of music acts as a relaxant that facilitates my focus on the task at hand. Additionally, loud music has a calming effect which I deploy to reduce anxiety. However, many people are offended by loud music owing to health effects. According to my research in relation to loud music, areas with loud music results in the change in the ecological composition. Animal communication is distracted, hearing capacity is impaired and adjustment in the behavior. Studies have shown that household pets act more aggressively in areas where there is constant noise because they become easily disoriented and begin facing behavioral problems.

Long-term environmental consequences: Behavior # 1

More of the disposed food is directed to landfills. However, landfills are not the most economical way as they occupy areas which lie unused. Additionally, the decomposing material in landfills contributes to more pollution to the environment. According to Palmiotto et al. (2014), food in landfills contributes to more pollution more than the total numbers of cars in Georgia. According to the statistics by Council (2018), 50% of seafood, 48% of vegetables and fruits, 38% of grain products, 22% of meat and 20% milk get tossed which amount to almost half of the total consumed in overall Leaching is a problem associated with landfills contaminating water sources. The decomposing material also contributes to poor odors which fill the atmosphere. Continued disposal of food causes a strain on the food sources and the land for production. With an average of $1500 wasted on tossed food in a 4-people family, saving food can improve the strain on the production farms as well as the family financial position (Hallstromet al., 2015). Water is one of the most important factors in the environmental sustainability. Tossing of food results in the loss of lots of water, for instance, making a pound of chicken requires a similar amount of water required to run a shower for 104 minutes. Fruits, vegetables and animal products also require water in their preparation. However, using water just to toss the food around is a waste of water.

Loss of water, straining the productivity of farms, rendering land unproductive to construct landfills and air pollution and leaching of landfills are some of the long-term effects of continued tossing of food. Demand for more food calls for continued farming and developing new farming methods which may result in the unproductivity of the farms. On the other hand, the total amount of water wasted in the preparation of food may run into extreme values cumulatively (Council, 2018). Water scarcity is a major concern in some areas and therefore, water wastage is more critical since long-term water demands may result to shortage and rationing of water. Landfills yield bad odors due to the decomposition of material, this is unhealthy to the population adjacent to the landfills (Council, 2018). Air pollution can enhance the spread of airborne diseases making areas close to landfills inhabitable. Another long-term effect associated with landfills is leaching. Leaching spreads harmful chemicals to the nearby grounds making them unproductive. Additionally, leaching contributes to the pollution of water sources. Water sip through the soil to the water sources making it unhealthy.

Long-term environmental consequences: Behavior # 2

Long-term demand for newspapers is most likely to increase with the increase in population. Additionally, the increase in the newspaper producing companies calls for more production which impacts the increase in demand for the raw material. The key raw material for papers is trees. The current newspaper industry demand for trees amount to cater to the market demand. However, this results in the detrimental factors of deforestation. Cutting down of trees can result in more dangers to the environment such as adjusting the climatic pattern, loss of habitat for some animals. The scenery is enhanced by the contribution of the trees and forests. The purification of air is also enhanced by the vegetation. In this light, continued cutting down of trees to facilitate the production of newspapers poses the danger of increased pollution. Trees form an essential part of water catchment areas. Interfering with trees may lead to drying of water sources hence lead to water shortages. The greenhouses gases emitted contribute to air pollution which increases the chances of global warming. Additionally, the energy required for the production of the newspapers is very high. Increase in demand and production of energy calls for higher demand for energy and hence higher consumption. Paper production emits large volumes of carbon gases that contribute to the deterioration of the ozone layer. Large volumes of these emissions increase the effect of global warming (Laurent et al., 2012). Additionally, methane gas is one of the gases released in the process of newspaper production.

Long-Term Environmental Consequences: Behavior # 3

Noise pollution affects animals across multiple habitats forcing them to relocate and eventually altering their natural behaviors. Urban environments have shown a noticeable change in population and diversity of birds. Continuous noise exposure causes the birds to adjust their vocal calls in order to adjust to being heard (Wang, 2005). Land animals depend on their senses for survival and hearing is vital. Like birds, there is a high dependency on vocal calls, especially for mating. To compensate for the loss of communication distance, animals resolve to increase the frequency of their calls to communicate. Animals that suffer from hearing loss makes them easy prey and this immensely affects their population. In other cases, predators become insufficient at hunting resulting in the ecosystem balance being disturbed (Wang, 2005).

Research shows that people who listen to loud music are likely to develop hearing problems due to damage of eardrums and reduced sensitivity to sounds. Our ears can comfortably handle a small range of sounds without risk of damage and most man-made noises can be too loud. Sleeping disorders and health issues like aggressive behavior, stress and fatigue are common among people who live near areas with loud music (Goines & Hagler, 2007). High pitched music can lead to irritation forcing an individual to change sleep patterns. Additionally, communication patterns are adjusted in loud music environment to facilitate a good understanding of the message conveyed. Emotional balance can also be disturbed by constant sharp music.

Mitigation measures: Behavior # 1

Thinking of the world without food remnants is far much unrealistic. However, efforts can be formulated to reduce the amount of food that goes to waste. This is mainly a lifestyle practice which calls for lifestyle remedies. Food storage can be an easy task as far as the right procedures are considered. Additionally, food can last long enough if stored under the right conditions. Covering food after cooking reduces short-term food loss due to spoiling. Vegetables can wilt but that does not term them spoilt. Herbs can be stored with their stems immersed in water which enables them to retain their natural state without undergoing fast wilting. Refrigeration can play a big role in the storage of food. Fruits such as avocado can last longer under storage in the refrigerator. Flour can remain fresher almost twice longer by deploying freezing techniques. Milk products such as cheese can be wrapped i...