It is very wrong to think that you can live a healthy life without a healthy environment.
Our environments are one of the important aspects of our lives that we shouldn’t play with.
The truth that many fail to accept is the fact that whatever they do in the environment affects the world in its entirety.
It is very wrong to finish drinking water from a disposable container and fail to dispose the container properly.
This bad behaviour contributes negatively to our environment.
My father would always tell me that a man who loves green, goes green and remains green all the time.
It simply means that a man who loves a healthy environment is always healthy and remains healthy all the time.
Things We Can Achieve From Healthy Environments
Fresh air
I know of a friend who was hospitalized due to the kind of air she inhales at her hostel.
After school, she usually goes to the back of her hostel to start her normal clothes sewing business.
The unfortunate thing is that the surrounding where her small shop was located has nothing to write home about.
The place was messed up and had an unbelievable rate of odour emanating from the area.
She became hospitalized after a few weeks of staying in that environment.
The doctor warned her never to go back to that environment again if she loved her life.
From this short story, it is clear how important keeping the environment clean is.
If she was exposed to fresh and clean air, she wouldn’t have been hospitalized for that reason.
Therefore, we need a healthy environment to help us achieve an environment with fresh and clean air for inhalation.
Healthy food
A healthy habitat amounts to healthy food.
Imagine someone who regularly eats bad food and someone who eats good food.
Of course, you don’t need anyone to tell you that someone who eats healthy food has a possibility of expanding his lifespan.
A good environment helps our crops to grow well and also yields good sweet foods.
Freshwater
A finding has it that water adds 70% support to life while food and others share the remaining 30%.
I can remember when we were kids, after drinking water or after we were done bathing at night we would always say “oh, thank God for water. Water is indeed a source of life”.
Even though we don’t know what we were saying back then, we honestly can attest to the fact that water is one of the best things God made available for man.
In an environment that doesn’t have good water, I don’t need to remind you of what becomes of such an environment.
Some of the people living in places polluted by mineral reserves in the Niger Delta can attest to what oil exploration has done to their water and lives in general.
We need a healthy environment so that our waters can be free from contamination.
That is to say, a healthy environment helps to keep our water clean and free from contamination.
Reduced rate of sickness
Someone who lives in an environment that is free from any form of the disease has an 89% possibility of not falling sick.
This in other words means that our environment or surroundings contribute 89% of our lives’ health.
If you are always sick, before checking whether it is hereditary or not, take your time to check your environment.
The most common disease we get from a dirty environment is malaria.
So if you have been diagnosed with malaria, try and look at your environment.
How We Can Achieve A Healthy Habitat
(1) Eliminate/Reduce the use of fossil fuels
Fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, natural gas, oil shales, bitumens, tar sands, and heavy oils. All contain carbon and were formed as a result of geologic processes acting on the remains of organic matter produced by photosynthesis, a process that began in the Archean Eon 4.0 billion to 2.5 billion years ago (Britannica, 2022).
Fossil fuels are used to power our cars, generators, motorcycles and many other machines that run on petroleum or gas.
These machines produce or emit carbons which are not good for both humans and the environment.
I am not alien to the fact that many societies depend on these resources to feed their teaming populace, I am not also oblivious to the fact that many societies are doing everything possible to go green and achieve a fossil fuel-free environment.
Other societies that are lagging should step up their activities to catch up with other societies that are doing well.
A green environment is and has remained a beneficial aspect of the entire world.
Countries without any intention of going green contribute to damaging parts of the world.
It is therefore important that world leaders look into what it would take to ensure a green ecosystem.
(2) Use reusable water cans
Another way you can promote a healthy environment is by using reusable drinking cans.
Yes, it’s true. Instead of constantly buying plastic water and disposing of it anyhow, why not buy a single water bottle that you can always reuse each time your water gets exhausted?
Disposable plastics pose more harm to our environment. The best solution for it is to buy reusable drinkers.
(3) Plant trees in the environment
It is no longer news the important roles plants and trees play in our environment.
For a healthy environment, planting trees in our yards is highly encouraged.
The availability of trees and plants helps in our inhalation. That is to say, they play a big role in producing the oxygen we breathe in.
Also, trees help to absorb carbon emissions.
The role trees and plants play in our environment can never be underrated.
Try as much as possible to plant at least one or two trees in your environment to benefit from its natural benefits.
(4) Frown at deforestation
Deforestation is the cutting down of trees without any plan for planting new ones.
From the above point, we have been able to establish the fact that having trees in our environment is a good practice.
Stop cutting down trees if you think that there is no way you can plant new ones.
Deforestation poses a great danger to the ecosystem.
It renders the wildlife homeless. Also, it gives room for uncontrollable erosion and many other natural disasters.
To promote a healthy environment, say no to deforestation.
(5) Grow your foods
Another way to promote a healthy lifestyle is by growing your food.
Foods you planted tend to be more nutritious and nourishing than foods bought from the market.
The reason is that many of those foods bought in the market were grown using chemicals that might not be beneficial to your health.
Growing your food gives you enough confidence in how it was grown and nurtured.
Grow your food because it gives room for a healthy lifestyle and an active environment.
(6) Use renewable energy
A promising environment is an eco-friendly environment.
The use of renewable energy goes a long way in promoting a healthy environment.
Instead of using generators that make use of fossil fuels, why not make use of hydro-energy or solar energy?
The bottom line is that you are welcome to make use of machines or equipment that require renewable energies.
These energies are fine for the environment because they don’t pose any threat to the ecosystem.
(7) Dispose properly
Drinking water and disposing of the container anyhow shows a person’s low level of knowledge of his environment.
Someone who has the idea that disposing of plastic materials or any other material anyhow is bad for the environment.
This is why the government has produced waste bins in strategic places to help you keep the environment clean.
Also, homes are encouraged to have personal waste bins to promote a healthy environment.
(8) Use energy responsibly
When you are no longer in need of energy you have to discontinue its usage.
Some people have the habit of leaving their electricity on when they are going out.
They know fully well that they do not need these energies and yet they prefer to waste them.
It is very very wrong to waste energy. This is why when you go to developed countries of the world you will be advised to always use energy responsibly.
(9) Stop the burning of things/bushes
Burning bushes and other materials are still the same things as using vehicles that emit carbon into the environment.
You have to stop burning any material because it is bad for the environment.
Because of the same eco-friendly related issues, countries that witness winter prefer to use heaters in their rooms.
Instead of using naked flames to keep the room or house warm, they use warmers.
These warmers are eco-friendly because they don’t emit any carbon into the environment.
You have to reduce or stop the burning of materials entirely because they are not safe for the environment.
Summary
So far we have discussed how a healthy environment promotes a healthy lifestyle.
Someone who lives in a dirty environment cannot say he is living a healthy lifestyle.
As an environmentalist, it will be wrong and an error for you to be diagnosed with any environmental-related sickness.
This is because you know what it means to keep your environment healthy at all times.
Once again remember that any man who loves green goes green and remains green all the time.