Eco-friendly and climate-smart, two words you want to be associated with, right? But what do they mean, what is most important and what is the difference? Can you be both eco-friendly and climate-smart or do you have to choose? Here we try to clarify the concepts.
Environment
Synonyms of the word environment: surroundings, nature, external conditions, surrounding conditions, world, background, circuit, atmosphere.
About the word environment, taken from SAOL: External conditions affecting all life; surroundings.
The environment means our surroundings, our nature and the interaction between animals, plants and humans. Environmental issues are about how we affect our forests, lakes and seas, open landscapes and nature in general. The environment is therefore a holistic concept that includes the climate.
Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation means human activities that destroy or damage the environment. This can include exhaust gases and emissions from cars, planes and industries, or our consumption of both food and gadgets. A large part of environmental degradation is the loss of biodiversity due to deforestation, among other things.
Increasingly artificial elements in the environment, particularly through urbanization, widespread infrastructure and land use, are making the environment increasingly vulnerable.
How do I go green?
Of course I want to try to be as environmentally friendly as possible, but how? The environment is a very big concept and you can feel quite small in these huge issues. But of course we can also do good as individuals. Every little bit helps, as they say.
Start by overcoming environmental habits at home. Replace your electricity with electricity labeled with Good Environmental Choice. This means you get electricity from the sun, water and wind with the least possible environmental impact. Using a power strip with a switch makes it easy to turn off several appliances at the same time. They won't be drawing electricity unnecessarily.
When shopping for cleaning products, think twice, stay away from chemicals and consider whether there are products that you can actually do without. There are many good eco-friendly alternatives. As for laundry, use eco-labeled detergent, skip the fabric softener and wash full loads.
Our waste can contain both valuable and dangerous substances. By sorting, we can save a lot of resources and protect our environment. Be careful with your sorting so that what can be reused can become new products and that hazardous waste can be handled properly.
Try to think about your food purchases. Eat more vegetables and plant-based dishes. When it comes to fish, it is good if it is sustainably caught or farmed. Choose fruits and vegetables that can be stored and start thinking seasonally. Cut down on sweets, soft drinks, pastries and snacks, as they affect the environment without providing much nutrition. And most importantly, reduce waste! Store your food properly, plan your purchases and take care of the leftovers.
The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has a "Green Guide" with lots of good tips on how to be more environmentally friendly: click here.
Climate
Synonyms for the word climate: weather conditions, weather, air features, atmosphere
About the word climate, from SAOL: Average weather conditions in a large area.
Climate includes, for example, temperature and weather conditions. When we talk about problems related to climate, climate change, the greenhouse effect, global warming and carbon dioxide emissions are often the main issues. The climate is part of our environment.
Climate change
The fact that the climate is changing is not strange in itself; there are natural variations in the climate. But there are also many major causes of climate change due to human activities. The human impact is mainly caused by greenhouse gas emissions, aerosols (small particles dispersed in a gas) and how we use the land surface.
The most common greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Greenhouse gas emissions remained at relatively low levels until the mid-20th century. Since then, they have risen sharply and have been the driving force behind global warming.
The causes of the emissions include the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) which produces carbon dioxide emissions and land use such as livestock and rice fields which produce methane gas.
How do I become climate smart?
So, what can I do to reduce carbon emissions and help stop global warming?
What we do as individuals is actually a very important factor in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. For example, flying less, trying to use your car as little as possible and buying second-hand instead of new makes a big difference and can reduce your climate impact by several tons per year.
What we eat also plays a major role in our climate impact. Today, meat consumption alone causes almost one ton of emissions per person per year on average in Sweden. The question now is whether it is possible to be both climate-smart and environmentally friendly at the same time. Because even though meat consumption must be reduced for the sake of the climate, grazing animals also have a positive impact on the environment, including through increased biodiversity. If we want to eat meat, choose the right meat and at least try to reduce meat consumption and we will be well on our way.
So it is not easy to always make the right choice. But by reading up and trying our best, we can get very far. You can read more about this on the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's website: Click here.
The WWF has a climate calculator where you can measure your own impact on the climate: click here.
Sources:
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
SMHI
Swedish Society for Nature Conservation
WWF
National Encyclopedia
SAOL
