What will the world look like fifty years from now? Many people might imagine living in a future where flying cars and teleportation are possibilities, but for environmentalists the future does not look as bright or exciting. Environmentalists fear that without radical change and global action towards sustainability the earth will soon become completely inhospitable. People see it in the news all the time about how the ice caps are melting, Earth’s forests are disappearing, and natural disasters are more recurrent and severe than ever all due to human activity. It also does not take a whole lot of looking around to notice the price of everything going up or the steady climb of the world population nowadays. Globally, humans are faced with the problem of providing for an ever increasing population with a finite amount of resources. One solution environmentalists have proposed is sustainability. As resources become more limited and the world population grows, the aspects of sustainability- the principles, major components, topics of concern, and human responsibility towards sustainability become increasingly relevant in global society.
Sustainability can be defined in a number of different ways and is characterized by three main principles and several major components. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, “sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations” (“Sustainability”). Sustainability is made up of three principles: environmental, economic, and social. The social aspect of sustainability involves ensuring that all people are treated justly and liv...
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...wledge that current human activities are destroying the earth. Humans taking responsibility toward sustainability is urgent because much of the injury inflicted on earth is irreversible. Drastic, comprehensive changes in all levels of society have to be made before long because the effects of environmental damage are permanent.
Currently, the world population shows no signs of slowing and with that the demand for resources is growing as well. As these two components strain society, the urgency and need for sustainability becomes more and more important. In the near future, environmentalists hope that humans will collectively take responsibility for the harm human activities have inflicted on Earth so that the aspects of sustainability- the principles, major components, and topics of concern come to the forefront of discussion for global action before it is too late.
Humans are living a comfortable and easy life. Most of the wants of humans are becoming needs. This is because humans have begun to rely too heavily on technological advancement. Most of the technology needs natural resources to work properly. Most of these resources are being used in different ways and after usage they are useless. Every year, billions of dollars are spent on resources. Every resource is not available everywhere. Depending on the quantity and demand of resource price are set to keep them in balance. Some of useless resource can recycle, but recycling costs more than landfilling. While exhausting natural resources remain a thorny issue, efforts are being made to address environmental concerns constructively.
In recent years, threats to the global environment have only become worse. We see natural disasters striking one right after the other and climate change, pollution, destruction of biodiversity, deforestation and much more, even the threat of nuclear war becoming a problem every day. In “The New Renaissance,” Daniel Quinn (2002) claims that a second renaissance is coming; a renaissance where people will either learn to live sustainably or they will not. Quinn also stated that if humans continue living the way they do- they will become extinct in the next 200 years. Nowadays, we are faced with the biggest threat to our survival, global warming, that is why we should take the necessary steps such as to reduce fossil fuel, plant trees, conserve water, reduce waste and aim for carbon neutrality and educate people on the sustainable use of biodiversity so that we may sustain our survival.
Society portrays the Earth as a resource, a place that provides an abundance of tools that are beneficial to one’s way of living. As time continues on, humanity’s definition of sustainability with the ecosystem becomes minor, meaning that it is not essential to their own lives. Thus, leading to the environment becoming polluted and affecting the human population. These ideas are demonstrated through these four sources: “Despair Not” by Sandra Steingraber, which provides the author’s perspective on the environmental crisis in terms of climate change.
We are currently at a turning point in time. What the world does today will ultimately determine what the future has in store. We can commit ourselves to continuously working to develop sustainability in every aspect of life, or we can continue to degrade the precious environment like we have been for so many decades. While many people have discussed ways to take action, nothing drastic has been accomplished. Instead of recognizing the importance of this issue, countries turn their attention to fossil fuels and extraction in an attempt to grow their economies and power. As an advocate of sustainable development, I hope that the citizens of the world will make the right decision, but only time will tell.
One hundred years from now the once habitual and prosperous Earth has become chaotic and unlivable. There are endless droughts and intense storms that annihilate everything in their path. Entire species have gone extinct while the ones left alive struggle to fight for survival and dominance until nothing is left. This is Earth; the plant that millions of life forms have called home has become a desolate world. This “future” is a result of Homo sapiens, simply referred to as humans, interfering with Earth’s natural processes leading to global warming. Global warming is a byproduct of our mundane day-to-day human activities such as driving or using electricity for instance. Unless the human race as a whole begins to take action against the threat of global warming then we are setting ourselves up to be the vanguard of our destruction. Despite the belief that climate change is a natural occurrence, global warming is caused by human activity through the release of greenhouse gases, deforestation, and pollution.
For quite some time, life on earth has been nothing but peaches and cream for several people and because of people who live a non-sustainable life, it has left others with an indistinct outlook on earth’s future. Sustainability to me is doing things that will help prevent harmful things from happening to the environment now and in the future. With the support of the sustainability and more quality ways of living, the Earth Charter is gradually introduced. Through key research I will explain what the Earth Charter is and why it was founded, describe one of its four parts along with the goals and overarching philosophy, and share the impact it has on my life now and in the future.
Former Vice President, Al Gore’s speech, The Climate Emergency, was a highly accurate prediction of the circumstances our planet would be under in coming years. The facts relevant as of 2004 are still true in the year 2015. While many companies and individuals have learned to contribute to helping our plant go greener, the dangers of the climate change are still a pressing issue supported by scientific evidence. With occurrences such as extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and ice cap disappearances, global warming is physically being show on our planet and in order to prevent a complete reversed climate on our hemispheres, the population of Earth as a whole must ban together to reduce our carbon footprint.
Every day the world around us is changing ever so slightly in many different ways. Humans can affect the environment through our day to day lifestyle without even noticing the change. An ecological footprint is a measurement of how much a person uses the environment around them to live their life. This given measurement can help one to see their impact on the earth. It is an important tool to understand what actually a human does to change the habitat near them. My ecological footprint results gave me a perspective of how my daily life can impact the world I live in, as well as, how I as an individual can change my actions to make less waste on earth. It is also useful for each person to know their own ecological footprint since no one live
(7) Adams, W. M. The Future of Sustainability: Re-thinking Environment and Development in the Twenty-first Century. Rep. The World Conservation Union, 22 May 2006. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
Sustainable development is a young notion, but a powerful one. Around it, is a conversation that attempts to unite every person on the planet in the hopes that we all might work together to further our species. Climate change fits into this conversation very well. Results of unsustainable development, the effects of climate ...
Sustainability simply defined to me as balancing act between the development of sustainability is necessary for both planet Earth and humans to survive. This is reinforced in the World Commission on Environment and Development report (1987) that sustainable development must meet the needs of the present without compromising the well-being of future generations”. The Earth Charter Organization widened the idea of sustainability to respect for a culture of peace, universal human rights, nature, and economic justice (What is sustainability?, n.d.).
There are lots of environmental issues going on globally. The earth faces problems such as pollution, global warming, waste disposal, and loss of biodiversity. These are just a small amount of issues out of the so many. These environmental problems pose an abundant amount of risk to the health of humans and animals. There needs to be a solution to all these problems and that is by informing others, so that way everyone can make the environment a better place.
By showing the world the severity of our need for conservation, we will be able to save the earth and get the most out of our resources. We need to fix this problem before it becomes uncontrollable to the point of having no resources to supply our needs. By reducing our consumption of resources, we will be able to become closer to fixing the problem of global warming, high gasoline prices and pesticide filled meats. The outcome of respecting our world and “going green” will better how we live our lives, our communities and the environment. The concept of “going green” is a necessity for the future because “our children deserve cities as beautiful as they are.
Environmental pollution has always remained a serious problem in society today. Our planet is often being polluted by many toxins that are not only deadly to us, but our wildlife too. Environmental pollution leads to air pollution, environmental crisis, and global warming. Now there are many different ways that can help these topics be preventable. People need to understand what environmental sustainability truly is. Learning environmental sustainability will give people the tools and knowledge to help sustain our planet before it is too late. Planet earth is our home and people need to understand the damage being done to it. Understanding these important key factors will lead our planet to become healthier and a better place for life to live.
The United Nations recently published a list of goals they hope to accomplish by 2030 called the Sustainable Development Goals. These goals will replace the Millennium Development Goals, which were set in 2000, when they expire at the end of 2015. Some of these goals include ending poverty, promoting gender equality, and improving water and sanitation conditions. Arguably, the most important goal is to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” (in text citation- NY Times Article). Hunger was also an important goal on the MDG list, yet it was not fully accomplished (in text citation- Progress chart). The goals was to reduce hunger by half, and yet, the number of people who go to bed hungry