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Write an essay on strategies for promoting positive behavioural change
Essay : Strategies for promoting positive behavioural changes
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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). Although more people are aware of the impacts we have on our environment, there are still people that choose to ignore scientific evidence, or do not fully understand the consequences. Further education and research are critical components in an effort to become more sustainable. Fortunately, younger generations are learning about the need to address environmental issues so that changes can be made to ensure our way of life is sustainable. Rising global population is hindering our ability to become sustainable, especially in poorer and developing nations. Empowering women through educational opportunities and family planning programs have been shown to decrease population in developed nations through demographic transition. Even though fertility rates are declining in developed nations, there has been a significant increase in resource consumption, and the consumption of material goods and services (Withgott & Brennan, 2011, Chapter 8). Although population control can be a touchy subject, it should be addressed as a solution to our overconsumption and need for sustainability. Getting involved in political affiliations, or voting for candidates that support sustainability is another solution. We can also support companies that prac... ... middle of paper ... ...power from things I am not using; however, I am still trying to train my husband to turn lights off. We currently use energy efficient appliances and light bulbs, but I would like to look into electric cars and solar power in the future. These technologies have high upfront costs, but I would eventually like to move toward using them. Finally, I would like to participate in volunteer opportunities, such as beach clean-ups or tree planting. There are many things we need to change in society to become sustainable for future generations. One thing is for certain, we all need to do our part to contribute to this effort, and there is no time like the present to change our ways. Works Cited CDP. (2013). www.cdproject.net Withgott, J., & Brennan, S. (2011). Environment: the science behind the stories (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.
Generational conflicts, political strife, environmental regulations, stakeholders in big oil, and many more hurdles affect the push to fully sustainable economies around the world and even here in America. In a world where coal, oil, and natural gas are limited, countries are gobbling it all up as fast as they can before other poorer countries come on the grid. Even though America and other countries gobble up these resources the life of the people is still a struggle to meet basic needs. Sustainability is an intermingling of resource use and protection of the “quality of life”, it is met by using resources sparingly and by recycling or reducing the use of other non-renewable resources to provide for our immediate need, but also to conserve and protect the needs of the next generation and to improve the quality of all the lives to come.
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.
As small mobile groups of hunter-gatherers adopted a sedentary lifestyle, they mastered both agriculture and animal domestication. These small settled groups quickly evolved into cities and towns that encompassed the entire globe. Today the estimated population of the world is over 6.2 million people.1 As the population has grown, it has had several deleterious effects on the Earth. These include climate changes, the spread of diseases, declining food production, deforestation, and environment pollution (particularly air pollution). As people have become more conscious of these harmful effects, they have begun to devise strategies to combat this problem. Among the suggested responses include a switch to renewable energy, a call for zero population growth, and adopting sustainable agricultural practices.
There is no hesitation when it comes to whether humans impact the global environment. However, it is questioned in whether human’s ecological footprint is either negatively or positively impacting. In clear perspective, humans share from both sides and their ecological footprint is noted towards whether it will benefit or harm the environment around them. Topics such as overpopulation, pollution, biomagnification, and deforestation are all human impacted and can harm the environment, but some include benefits into helping the world around us with solutions to their problems.
... reduce natural gas consumption. Long-term I am committed to installing new energy efficient windows to truly reduce energy consumption. To help reduce the family’s water consumption we recently installed an energy efficient washing machine that uses over 60% less water than the previous model that was installed. As an additional means in which to help conserve water I will be installing a rain barrel in the summer to water our outdoor plants. While these actions might not seem significant, they can make a significant difference. According to Energy Star, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star qualified CFL, in just one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes. That would prevent the release of greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of about 800,000 cars.
Withgott, J., & Laposata, M. (2012). Essential environment: The science behind the stories. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Discuss the concept of sustainability. What ethical principles are parts of a sustainable lifestyle? Why should we consider sustainability as a guiding principle of our environmental philosophy?
Since the beginning of human history, each new generation has been plagued with an issue unknown, or unsolved, by their predecessors. In the past century, American generations have had to face issues that did not even exist one hundred years prior. Issues, such as the Great Depression, both World Wars, racial equality, gender equality, rebellion against traditional values, and the AIDS epidemic. Each generation was defined by how well they, as a whole, handled the given situation. The current problem that bedevils the modern generation is sustainability and its effect on the environment. This issue has been festering since the dawn of industrialization, but only now have its effects truly threated the survival of humanity.
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.
ATTENTION GETTER: Every day, I see the effects of pollution. From the trash that’s thrown into bushes to the murky lakes to the smog-filled skies, these are examples of the negative human impact on the environment.
I have understood that the Sustainability study involves the transformation of our civilization toward a regenerative system that promotes healthy and stable ecosystems, consumes natural resources no faster than they can replenish, releases toxic pollutants into our habitat no faster than they can be absorbed, fosters healthy and cohesive habitats that can coexist and continue long time in the future. Sustainability initiatives work to change the world by changing activities in our personal and professional lives to achieve these objectives. I have learned that the Sustainability Revolution is a collection of values centered on healthy ecosystems, economic activities, and social justice. From the intensive focus on this topic during the last few weeks and from further readings on this subject, I have learned that Sustainability encompasses not just conservation and pollution, but a wide array of other issues, including Eco literacy, biodiversity, globalization, socially responsible investing, corporate social responsibility, human rights, population explosion, health, social and environmental justice, farming, labor issues, and women’s rights. I have also learned that Sustainability strategies are essential, transformative, and collaborative work involving participation of hundreds of thousands of citizens, communities and businesses around the world. Every organization and informed citizen needs to understand the perils that lie ahead and contribute their part towards Sustainability
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.
People have to start off understanding what environmental sustainability means. Allie Sibole author of, The Ethics of Sustainability: Why Should We Care?, shares a perfect example, “Sustainability is a moral response to an incredible gift” (Sibole 1). What she explains is, our planet is the beloved gift. People need to not take
We all belong to the same world and all of us have the same responsibilities towards the world and its environment. This fact might be hard to digest, but if we continue to pollute the Earth at the current rate, all of the world’s ocean waters will become one-hundred-thirty percent acidic. This means that the ocean will be unable to sustain most of its marine life and only a few creatures will be able to survive in the water. A big population of people think that they do not or have few responsibilities towards the environment. People think that the governor of a country should take steps to help the environment. They leave it to scientists since they have the technology to prevent pollution, or that is what most people think. There are more responsibilities to the world each individual has than most of realize. The amount of negligence and ignorance of humans towards the Earth is taking a heavy toll.
Many people assume that the environment is not in danger. They believe that as technology advances, we do not need to worry about renewing natural resources, recycling, and finding new ways to produce energy. They state that one person in the world does not make a large difference. In reality, each individual's contribution greatly affects our environment. Our natural resources are slowly disappearing, and we must work together to save them and the Earth from ruin.