The thing that we all appreciate the most about this planet is its ability to provide everything we need to survive freely. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and even the food we consume. All those things are natural, clean, and green. Well … they used to be anyway. As human beings, we want more from living on this planet in this day and age than air, water, and food. We want shelter, access to technology, fast food, fast cars, fast fashion, everything as fast as possible. Fast, however, doesn’t mean better, cleaner, greener, or less polluted and I can’t think of anything that can be provided fast that is synonymous with sustainability. That’s the problem with living on Earth in the current time. We want things fast, even if they come to the detriment of our planet.
There are ways, things, options that we can turn to so that we can shift the balance towards a more sustainable way of life. The change, however, needs to be collective, universal, and global. It can not only happen in one place, in one home, regarding one kind of sustainability. It has to happen everywhere if we are to truly make a successful change towards sustainable living. We can all look at countries that fight pollution and make a change, like Iceland, but even that seems too little. It’s good to limit the amount of plastic used, but how can we limit the amount of fossil fuels and our carbon footprint. That’s a topic for another article, but taking a closer look at living in the city of Boca Raton, we can see some brave steps being taken towards universal sustainable living, at least within the city’s limits.
The True Meaning of Sustainable Living
The word sustainable is defined as the conservation of an ecological balance by means of avoiding the depletion of natural resources. Through sustainable living, we understand living a kind of life that limits the resources used for every aspect of our lives. As within our modern lives, we consume much more than our cave ancestors used to, it will be a bit more complicated to understand how this applies to our modern lives. But let’s give it a try.
So, in regards to water, think of the amount of water you use for hygiene, washing your hands, washing your dishes, your home, your food, and so on. Regarding fossil fuels, which can be identified as the worst pollutant, don’t only think of your car but your phone, fridge, smart TV, and every other electrical appliance you own, unless you use alternative energy sources like solar power, wind, geothermal, etc. Our food is another element to consider, especially if you also take into account our carbon footprint – beef is the biggest contributor to carbon emissions because of the way the cow’s digestive system works; the solution would be artificial meat. Vegetables and fruits for vegans are great as long as they are locally sourced, in season, and not transported from another continent on ships, planes, or trucks.
Learning to live sustainably can be difficult and some imagine that the only way in which you can do this is by growing your own vegetables, fruits, and foods. However, if you can buy locally grown, use green building materials, chemical-free products, you’re lightyears away from most people. Another sustainable living element is the other products we consume, like kitchen appliances, clothes, furniture, even paint, and yes, the roof over your head. Focus on extending the product’s useful life as much as possible, try to purchase only green products that pollute as little as possible, as chemical-free as possible, and purchase only what you need while replacing items responsibly and recycling what can be recycled. This can be done relatively easily with some stubbornness and responsibility.
Boca Raton’s response to Sustainable Living
Those living in Boca Raton might already know some of the city’s administration and local government’s actions to implement and promote sustainable living. The fact of the matter is that Boca Raton takes real measures not only when it comes to plastic bags but also water usage and waste disposal while also educating and inspiring the city’s residents to think twice about using a single-use plastic bag for their dog’s waste. As mentioned above, we are beyond little steps now. Boca Raton understands that one plastic bag does little to impact the large scheme of things regarding pollution and sustainability.
But let’s take a closer look at exactly what Boca Raton is doing to implement sustainable living in every aspect of living in the city. Establishing the procedures and inspiring the green principles within a community is only the first step towards solving the much bigger problem. Educating the city’s residents is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Real estate agents in Boca Raton FL can direct you towards seminars or courses that explain all of this, and the clean air, water, and food are reasons enough to move to this city. Acting on them can only increase our quality of life and provide the generations to come with a clean environment and infrastructure that will sustain our planet’s future.
Non-Profit Organizations
Many wheels need to function for the machine to work smoothly. The Boca Raton non-profit organizations are just one of these wheels, and we can look at Boca Save Our Beaches. By simplifying complicated recycling and waste disposal concepts in a book for children about a seahorse, the organization introduces these concepts to young children. Like that, children can understand that plastic is bad for the ocean because it hurts the animals that live there, and the empathy levels grow. The concept is much easier applied, once understood, to every aspect of sustainable living.
Companies
The NGOs aren’t the only ones taking the initiative. Boca Raton has several companies that focus on sustainability within their production, implementation, and organizational functions. Cariloha is an eco-friendly company that produces luxury bedding, clothing, towels, and much more from bamboo. The end products are incredibly comfortable, and the carbon footprint is limited because bamboo is a very fast-growing plant. Safetek International is a manufacturer and distributor of eco-friendly cleaning products and green technology. Their non-PVC food film packaging can replace the plastic bags we use every day. They focus on developing marketing opportunities through biodegradable, organic, zero carbon emission, and other green technologies. These and many others are taking a step forward to ensure a much-needed infrastructure to replace what we are currently using.
Markets
As we already mentioned food and how it should be locally sourced, in Boca Raton, you can find green markets that ensure locally sourced food and promote sustainable living. The Boca Raton Green Market is one of these green markets dedicated to locally sourced foods and consumption, products that don’t travel from a different county, state, or country before it lands on your plate. By shopping at one of these Green Markets, you support your local agricultural industry and sustain the local economy while having a healthy meal on your plate every day of the week. The taste is unbelievably better than the greenest salad you can find at a supermarket.
Real Estate
As one of the industries that impact the environment, the fight against real estate environmental threats began. The city of Boca Raton, Florida, is again an example of initiatives taken from real estate companies that are leaning towards passive house technologies. Kogen Design-Build leads the way towards green and sustainable building through eco-friendly construction. But that’s not all, as the company focuses on everything green, from new homes to renovations of old houses, remodeling, and everything in between. The Boca Towers are another excellent example of a green building as the association has a strict policy regarding energy consumption, waste management, and water usage. DeeperGreen Interiors is a company focused on interior design that collaborates with natural food markets to promote sustainable design and living while at the same time providing sustainable interior design services to all their customers. From landscape design, merging green businesses, and interior design, the company transforms mindsets and the way their customers live. Applying all these concepts in every aspect of real estate, Boca Raton is leading the green movement throughout.
Sustainable Living Projects Initiated by Boca Raton
The Mayor of Boca Raton, Florida, Scott Singer, has provided a long-standing focus on sustainability, and together with the City Council, they implemented several directives for a greener city. The focus covers several key elements: the improvement of energy conservation, reducing air pollution, and limiting greenhouse emissions. Given the city’s location, the preservation of water resources has been another key element in their strategy as well as implementing ways through which native wildlife and sensitive lands are protected and preserved.
After the Mayor’s appointment in 2018, he created and hired a Sustainability Manager to solely focus on improving the city’s impact on the environment through every aspect of life. Through the Sustainability Manager, the city focuses on the three important aspects of sustainable living: the economy, the society, and the environment. They started a greenhouse gas inventory to understand the major problems and how to fix them by making a climate change vulnerability assessment and are also working on improving the way the city purchases, builds, and drives to check all the environmental boxes in one go. Some of the agents working on this beneath the administration’s umbrella are the Green Living Advisory Board and the Solid Waste Authority.
Conclusion
Everything that is happening in Boca Raton, Florida, should happen everywhere else. Not only in one city, one county, one state, or one country. We can truly reverse the damage we have inflicted on the planet by acting as one global community. It may seem impossible to pessimists, difficult to realists, or a pipe dream for the rest, but it’s the only way through which we should act. Local initiatives like prohibiting single-use plastics, limiting cardboard boxes, and buying an electric car can be promoted, but they shouldn’t be seen as the answer to all the problems the planet is facing. Acting together as one is the only answer, as tricky as it might be.
Outsourcing production because the country’s environmental laws prohibit water waste, chemical pollution, and cheap labor is a catalyst because while some countries seem proactive, they merely outsource the very negative impact they have on the environment. We all live on the same planet, and if we outsource the damage we’re doing to the environment to another part of the globe, we don’t solve the problem.
If you want to have an impact, buy local, reduce, reuse, recycle, think about the carbon footprint that you are having, promote environmental NGOs and community leaders, and, yes, politicians. The problem needs to be solved at the source. Just like a disease needs to be cured by treating the cause, not the symptoms, the same needs to be applied to the environment. Comment below with local initiatives that you are a part of or can observe in your community and Like & Share this article for a larger audience. Act now before it’s too late!
