How To Live Sustainably & Economically?

Hello! Okay, so: with global population skyrocketing to 7, 8, 9 billion in most projections, how can we find enough resources to feed everybody and have a good quality of life? Let's look at some common habits today that are contributing to a Not Good Life in the long run.

EATING MEAT

Yeah, eating meat is delicious, but as GDP has gone up, more people can afford it and companies produce more and more, lowering the prices at the same time. Meat should not be cheap. It takes a lot of water, grain, and energy to raise cattle. The cattle produce a lot of methane gas and that contributes to global warming. Large factory farms make it hard and expensive to recall bad meat. What are the solutions?

EAT LESS MEAT. It's healthier for you!
EAT MORE FARM-RAISED FISH. Fish, as far as technology can tell, don't quite mind living in tanks in large numbers, as long as the water is clean and they have room to move. Farm-raised means we stop messing around with the ocean's ecosystems.
EAT BUGS. Just as much protein! Seriously! It's just the 'gross' factor that needs to be worked around. But bugs definitely thrive in the cramped and crowded conditions that we subject mammals to, so we can produce a lot more of them to feed the population with less space and resources. I just don't know who will cook.

BOTTLED WATER

It's so inconvenient to carry around a water bottle. You might forget it- you have to fill it, and clean it periodically. Why not just pay $1 to get nice cold water from the machine, and throw it away? Over time though, if you bought it once a week, you'd spend $52 on something you get for almost free at home. Plastic does not biodegrade, so it stays in the ground, releasing bad chemicals over time. Recycling is great but not every single bottle gets recycled.

DRINK FILTERED/TAP WATER. It's cheap and in your house! Buy a filter for $10 and it can last you 6 months.  Aluminum water bottles can be bought at 99cent stores. You will save yourself money and look cool at the same time.

CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING

Central air-conditioning is convenient because it cools the home all day, however it is wasteful. Cooling one's home is expensive and bad for the environment if it is run all day, the air conditioner releases bad chemicals into the air while its running, it kills the ozone layer.

USING A FAN. If you have a portable box fan or standing fan, then you can just point it right at you when you're at home. Move it to your room, the kitchen, wherever you are. You'll save a lot of money and the environment will thank you.

CARS AND TRAFFIC

Cars make carbon monoxide,  which adds to global warming. If you have a car, you also need to pay for gas and insurance, tune ups and oil changes. If you get in an accident, the consequences can be really dire. And people usually commute to work or run errands with just one person in the car: if everybody drove a vehicle, we'd all be stuck in traffic!

TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. It's way cheaper than maintaining a vehicle. Use This Handy Fuel Calculator provided by PublicTransportation.org to see how much money you could be saving. And this Handy Carbon Calculator  helps you see how much carbon dioxide you won't put in the atmosphere if you take the bus!