naturalhealthmag.com.au AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HEALTH | 81
D
Do you consider Australia a ‘green-
living’ nation? Despite being
surrounded by vast natural beauty
and passionate people lobbying for its
protection, results from the Climate
Change Performance Index (2018)
rated Australia as very low performing
in three of four key categories:
greenhouse gas emissions, energy use
and climate policy. Our nation was
considered low performing regarding
renewable energy, and shamefully
ranked 57 out 60 countries in overall
performance to reduce climate
pollution; beating only Iran, Korea
and Saudi Arabia.
Widespread pollution and waste
contribute drastically to global
warming. This concerning climate
change – and subsequent extremities
of recurring floods and droughts – is
detrimental to various facets of our
lives such as our health, homes, cities,
jobs, wildlife, oceans, reefs, forests,
food and water. We may feel powerless
amid reports of global devastation, but
scaling back and making small changes
to adopt a more sustainable approach
to living (remember the three Rs:
reduce, reuse, recycle!) could have
profound ripple effects.
“Sustainable living essentially
means an average person or family
balancing a mix of financial, social and
environmental needs as responsibly
as possible,” explains Adam Hammes,
author of Stress-Free Sustainability
(self-published, 2014). “In terms
of environmental [actions], this
would include recycling, conscious
consumerism, energy efficiency,
renewable energy, water conservation
and quality, public transportation,
alternative fuels and habitat restoration.”CLEAN ENERGY CARES
FOR OUR AIR
Recent reports released by the
Australian Federal Government
reveal a steady increase in greenhouse
emissions, with a large portion coming
from home energy usage powered
by fossil fuels such as coal and gas.
Population growth naturally means