Impact of Personal Lifestyle Choices on Sustainability

The essay discusses the impact of personal lifestyle choices on sustainability. It covers topics such as urbanization, air pollution, use of air conditioners, and the production of polyester-based clothes. The essay highlights the adverse effects of these lifestyle choices on the environment and the need for sustainable living.

Introduction
Lifestyle is indicative of the interests and behaviour orientation pertaining to an
individual and culture. A person living in a rural environment has a different kind of lifestyle
as compared to an individual living in the urban metropolis. The kind of neighbourhood of a
person has an effect on the lifestyle and the affluence and cultural environment has a bearing
on the standard of life of a person (Hugo, 2017). Sustainability refers to the development that
helps in meeting the need of the present and which does not compromise ability of the future
generations in meeting their need. This essay discusses about the personal life style choices
of the individuals living in the modern era and how it has an effect on the arena of
sustainability.
Discussion
The world is undergoing urbanization and it has brought great amount of changes in
relation to the living standards along with lifestyles of an individual. Promise of jobs along
with prosperity are pulling the people towards that of the cities. It has been found that more
than that of 50 % of the population in the world live within the urban area (Aronson et al.,
2014). Urban living can help in providing a gamut of opportunities which includes access to
health care. It can however be stated that the modern urban environment can be harmful for
the health of the individuals and it can pave the path for the introduction of new hazards. The
health challenges within the cities relate to that of water and environment. Poor quality of air
along with water and insufficient availability pertaining to water is augmented on account of
the population destiny along with that of demand pertaining to urban environment (Soja,
2016).
Commuting behaviour can help in the determination of the exposure to that of air
pollutants within the urban areas. Air pollution is a problem that is caused by emission of
pollutants that can have a negative impact on the health of an individual. It can severely
damage the condition of the environment. There are a large number of people who travel by
car and the vehicle emissions can irreparably damage the environment. The cars are
responsible for the emission of greenhouse gas like that of carbon dioxide that can act as a
contributor to the aspect of global warming. The particulate matter that is emitted from the
cars can enter the food chain of the human being and it can affect the reproductive along with
respiratory system of the animals (Kasman & Duman, 2015) Nitrogen oxide can produce acid
rain that can change the ph of the water bodies and the soils. The air pollution being caused

can cause disturbance in the natural order of the universe. The death of the animals on
account of the air pollution in the cities can cause damage to the balance of the universe
which acts as a threat in relation to sustainability. The acid rain weakens the tress and it
damages the leaves. It can limit the nutrient that is available to the trees which poses a threat
to that of sustainability (Benson, 2016). Roads along with parking take up a large amount of
space. The construction of road along with that of manufacture of the transport equipment
need materials and it produces a large amount of waste. The emissions that come out from the
vehicles harms the environment and it acts as a threat to sustainability.
The air conditioners which is powered by that of electricity can be extremely harmful
for the world. The gases which are released from the air conditioner can severely harm the
environment. It poses a threat to sustainability as the usage of air conditioner can create a
cycle pertaining to damage. The rising income of the common people has changed the
lifestyle of the people who are living in the urban areas. It has been found that residential
along with industrial air conditioning account for consumption of one trillion kilowatt hour
pertaining to electricity throughout the world on annual basis (Van Acker, Goodwin &
Witlox, 2016). The electricity that is instrumental in running the air conditioners has been
generated from the fossil fuels. The space heating that is carried out in the regions that have
cool climates is carried out by the burning of fuels that have smaller carbon emission as
compared to that of coal. This along with energy loss that is involved in relation to the
transmission pertaining to electric power is instrumental in causing greenhouse gas emission.
The greenhouse effect pertaining to heating along with cooling will rise and it will harm the
factor of sustainability prevailing in the environment (Cătălin & Andreea, 2014). The
refrigerants can give rise to air conditioning and it can cause harm to that of the stratospheric
ozone layer. The personal life style choices of the people residing in the urban areas can harm
the balance of the atmosphere and is hazardous for the future generations.
The modern lifestyle compels an individual to wear fashionable clothes so that they
can get a sophisticated look. The cloth can look soft and fresh but toxic chemicals are used in
the production stage that can be detrimental for the individual. The polyesters are the
synthetic petrochemicals and purchasing of the plastic-based clothes can increase demand
pertaining to crude oil (Cohen, Duncan & Thulemark, 2015). Polyester is cheap and is an
inseparable part of fashion but is has an adverse impact on the environment. Polyester is
associated with the wrinkle- free property of the clothes (Uddin, Bokelmann & Entsminger,
2014). Polyester can easily be ironed and it can be washed very easily in the washing

machine. This makes it a popular choice for the consumers of the modern era. Production
pertaining to polyester make use of the harmful chemicals that includes that of carcinogens
and when it is released to the water along with air can pave the path for environmental
damage (Al-Mulali & Ozturk, 2015). The drilling of the oil can lead to the disturbance of the
marine ecosystem and the seismic techniques that are used for exploration of the ocean floor
can harm the life of the marine animals. More than that of 70 billion barrel is used for the
making of polyester in every year. Polyester is non bio-degradable and it continues to stay
within the ecosystem even after it breaks apart. It can thus alter the balance of the earth and is
a threat for that of sustainability.
In past times, people used to buy clothes that they used to wear for a long period of
time. Recent research has shown that an average US woman wears the clothing only seven
times and then throws it away. Consumerism in the modern age makes the people buy more
clothes. Buying of a new shirt can pave the way for water along with air pollution that can
severely harm the environment (Al-Mulali et al., 2015). The people who have to make these
clothes have to live in polluted conditions and they have to live on land which is polluted on
account of the pesticides on account of the pesticides which is required for the growing of
cotton. These workers have to work in the unsafe conditions that can adversely affect their
health (Panayotou, 2016). They cannot easily find that of a better job and this is the reason
why they have to continue working under these kinds of adverse situations. In the event of
the environment being polluted it can pave the path for chronic illness along with that of
unhealthy living condition. Animal species are lost on account of this kind of environmental
conditions and it can harm the balance prevailing in the environment. This threatens the
element of sustainability in the universe.
Conclusion:
The urbanization of people has a great impact on the living standards of the people.
Jobs and prosperity are the two causes that compels an individual to move to the cities. In the
cities most of the people take recourse to cars for travelling that damages the balance
prevailing in that of the environment. Greenhouse gas are emitted by the cars that contributes
to that of global warming. Particulate matter that comes out of the cars can enter food chain
of the individuals. It can irreparably damage the reproductive and respiratory system. Rising
income of the individuals in the cities has led to changes in lifestyle of the individuals. The
industrial air conditioning consumes up a lot of energy on annual basis within the world.
Fossil fuels help in the generation of this electricity and the fossil fuels being used up can

severely harm the environment. The refrigerators emit the greenhouse gases that can prove to
be adverse for the environment. This can cause harm to the stratospheric ozone layer that can
deteriorate the conditions prevailing in the earth. The buying of the polyester-based clothes
can augment the demand of the crude oil. The oil drilling can disturb marine ecosystem and it
can harm life of the aquatic animals. The seismic techniques can cause damage to the lives of
the animals and it can be adverse for that of sustainability.

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