Every living thing is connected. Caught in a circle of cause and effect that is constant and continuous. Creating, helping, breaking, and using each other; doing so to the point where it is no longer sustainable, and we, as a human species, must search for a new way to live our lives in a manner where we no longer take more than we give, to live sustainably. Sustainability is society’s ability to support the quality of life indefinitely. It can also be defined using three pillars: Environmental Sustainability, Economic Sustainability, and Social Sustainability. Environmental Sustainability aims to limit the amount of resources used so their use can be continued indefinitely. Economic Sustainability is to support a level of production indefinitely. Lastly, Social …show more content…
Personally, I believe I should change my habits to live a more sustainable life. The environment is incredibly important to me, ranking in the top 5, if not three, of my value hierarchy. In particular, as a marine science major, the oceans are important to me. So when it comes to living a sustainable life, I want to do what I can to keep pollution and waste to a minimum and be smart about my water usage. I do believe that every individual action matters. We are all connected, and in a constant change of cause and effect. Every little action we take has a reaction, and so I want to do whatever I can at this present moment in time to start living a more sustainable life. Though some things may be more uncomfortable, such as not turning on the lights unless necessary, as I usually do just as a force of habit, or even some may just take practice, such as making sure things are unplugged when not in use, I still want to attempt to do these things. I’m going to start prioritizing limiting my water and electricity usage and attempting to consume less animal
While humans are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental issues that are occurring in the world, most human systems are still unsustainable. Being sustainable in a society means that humans treat Earth like it has a limited supply of resources that need to be carefully managed in order to prevent damage to the world around us (Chiras, D. D., 2016). So, being unsustainable is the opposite; when humans treat the world like they are dominant over it, as well as believing that the Earth has an unlimited supply of resources that should be consumed by humans. Human beliefs and practices influence unsustainability, which can, and often do, correspond with the root cause of the problem.
Sustainable development includes both the issues of environment and society and tries to strike the balance between the human being and the environment. Sustainable development means the integration of social, economic and environmental factors into planning, implementation and decision-making so as to ensure that development serves present and future generations;
Living a lifestyle that uses as few resources as possible and causes the least amount of environmental damage for future generations is sustainable living at its most basic. I believe that to be successful at living in an environmentally sustainable manner, we must be willing to make conscience decisions on a daily basis. It is all about personal choice.
“Sustainability means transforming our ways of living to maximize the chances that environmental and social conditions will indefinitely support human security, well-being and health.” ( McMichael et al., 2003).
The concept of “sustainability” is a vital part of our society. Herndl compares sustainability to the concept of freedom “As you might expect, it is not easy to define a concept that has so many applications. It is equally difficult to define “freedom” in a way that makes everyone happy and captures all the fine distinctions of the concept” (Herndl xxii). The way I see it, is that sustainability is how we maintain our world and the conditions that we have under what we all exist in harmony.
Sustainability is when something can be used and not be depleted, destroyed, or damaged past recovery. As we work to live sustainably, we are in effect making use of our resources in a fashion that doesn't eliminate them, and doesn't harm their source. Our resources come from the environment around us and we need to make sure that it is not harmed as we use it. According to the EPA, sustainability stems from a single principle that "Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment” (Sustainability Information). Considering this, it's obvious why we need to make sure we live sustainably and do not damage the source of our resources, our environment.
The name sustainability is derived from the Latin sustinere (tenere, to hold; sub, up). Sustain can mean “maintain”, “support”, or “endure”. There are many ways to define sustainability, but many will define sustainability as the “capacity to endure; it is how biological systems remain diverse and productive indefinitely. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems” (Sustainability). To sum all that information up in general terms, sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes. Sustainability can also be defined as a socioecological process characterized by the pursuit of a common ideal. While an ideal is by definition “unattainable in a given time/space but endlessly approachable and it is this endless pursuit what builds in sustainability in the process” (Sustainability). There are multiple factors that go into a healthy environment which is
The Oxford Dictionary describes sustainability as follows: Able to be maintained at a certain rate or level – sustainable economic growth.
Sustainability is a concept with a diverse array of meanings and definitions – a widely used glamorous, ambiguous, ambivalent and vague concept that is used by different stakeholder groups in various ways. Presumably to avoid noodling over a terminology or to avoid the confrontation with a definition, most widely the concept is broken down a planning process (c.f. e.g. Döring & Muraca, 2010). That is why most common sustainability is understood as sustainable development.1
One habit I need to stop is that I leave the string lights, hung up in my dorm room, on when I go to class and nobody is in there. I enjoy opening up the door after a tough class and coming into a cozy, soft lit room, but it is unnecessary and wasteful to leave these lights on all day. Also, I have noticed that in the café there are more processed food options than freshly grown. One aspect I would like to improve is the amount of fresh produce I consume. As Aj mentioned too, eating fresh produce will not only positively affect my mental and physical health, but also the environment. It is much better for the sustainability of the environment to grow and distribute fresh produce than the energy-hogging processed foods. As a matter of fact, the day after visiting the Convivium, I went to the community garden on campus and picked kale, basil, and cherry tomatoes. Then I went to my room and had a salad that was essentially free. I would also like to continue visiting the garden, at least till it is too cold out and keep in mind how the foods I purchase at the store are produced or grown. Although it can be more expensive, I would like to purchase more freshly grown food when I go shopping so I can eat healthier, improve my mental and physical health, and lower my ecological
...Sustainability is about achieving harmony and balance among the economic, social, and ecological – the personal, interpersonal, and the spiritual. A life of harmony and balance is a life of quality. Sustainability gives people an opportunity to achieve a more desirable quality of life. Sustainability, ultimately, is about people. Sustainable agriculture and the adaption of the newest technologies is the answer to feeding the world in 2050.
Before I go ahead in explaining my opinion, I would want to define about sustainability. What is sustainability? Sustainability is conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources. Based on the definition I have just given, I honestly feel I am living an unsustainable life. The reason why I feel I am living unsustainably is because I take the presence of natural resources for granted. Before joining the Environmental Science class, I have never pondered upon the importance of natural resources and also the risk of not having any of those resources in future.
There is no doubt that human activity is having a significant impact on our environment. These environmental impacts include depleting our natural resources, air and water pollution, climate change, destruction of habitats, and loss of biodiversity. Because of these growing concerns, we need to learn how to live sustainably. Living sustainably will allow us to conserve our limited resources more wisely so they will be available for future generations (Withgott & Brennan, 2011, Chapter 1).
Sustainable development means that the present generations should be able to make use of resources to live better lives in such a manner that it doesn’t compromise the ability of future generations to survive and make better lives for themselves as well. For sustainable development to occur, there needs to be sustainable economic, ecological and community development. Society needs to be educated about ways in which they can use resources, especially natural, in such a manner that it doesn’t cause harm to the environment and put future generations lives at risk.
Is it right that future generations, who have committed no crimes, be forced to live in a contaminated environment with freshwater depletion, polluted air, global warming and biodiversity reduction just because our present generation has caused the damage? Should our future children be ensured an ecologically healthy environment? I think they should. I strongly believe that protecting the environment is extremely important. We are all part of the environment; Earth is what we all share in common. It is our home and we are obliged to preserve it. As someone who is aware, who cares and who is concerned, I’d like to help you understand why protecting our environment is vital. I believe that protecting the environment is essential for healthy living, in creating a healthful environment for our future generation and last but not least, the Earth is our one and only home.