SUSTAINABILITY

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?                                

Sustainability can be defined as configuring civilization and human activity so that society are able to live well in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems. The primary goal of sustainable development is to save natural resources that can be perpetuated continually for many human generations.

Today, around 50% of the present world population lives in urban areas. By 2050, twice as many people will live in cities as do today. Only through a sustainable living it’s possible to reach the highest of all human goals.

 WHY IS SUSTAINABILITY IMPORTANT?

Sustainability is important because all choices and actions that we make today will affect everything in the future.

For example, if we continue wasting water and polluting the supply of freshwater that we have today, we leave future generations with no other choice than to desalinate saltwater or treat contaminated water for their consumption and daily use. And also, if that happens, all life that depends on clean freshwater will become extinct.

 CRITICAL SITUATION

The Earth has already changed quite dramatically from what it was just a few decades ago and it is still changing rapidly. We can now feel the effects of global warming and many of our resources have already become scarce. If we don’t start living green today, pretty soon our world won’t be the Earth as we know it.

THE FOUR TYPES OF SUSTAINABILITY

The four types of sustainability include human, economic, social, and environmental. All four are required to maintain the entirety of life on Earth.

Human: One of the basic needs of human sustainability is good reproductive health giving children access to proper education, and promoting their health and wellness.

Economic: We must preserve all our resources as we consume them so that human beings in the future can enjoy them as well. To achieve this, we must regenerate our resources at a rate that is equal to or faster than our consumption.

Social: This is an important aspect of sustainability because it is through communities and different societies that humans can easily work together.

Environmental: Environmental sustainability is important because it involves natural resources that human beings need for live. Environmental sustainability also involves ensuring that waste emissions are at volumes that nature can handle.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO LIVE SUSTAINABLY?

We can act on our own even if a large scale effort is needed. We can still make our individual actions matter. Below are few actions we can turn into habits so that we can start to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.

Minimize the necessary car emissions. Maybe we cannot totally do without cars but what we can do is use the car only for essential purposes. We should drive less and instead walk where possible and use public transport more.

Buy less use less. We should buy only what you need and what you will use. Everything that you own comes from raw materials that were once part of the earth. Choosing to buy less is obvious as a sustainable strategy but is not always practical. Sometimes the best choice is to buy well-made and durable items.

 Be an advocate of sustainable living. Preach about what we can do to help our environment. Be a living model of sustainable living and show others that it can be done with a little effort and a lot of concern over our ecology.

Generate less waste. Everything we throw away goes somewhere. Reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfills is an excellent way of protecting the environment. Recycling and reusing also reduce what you need to throw away.

 Respect water resources. Water is one of the most precious resources on our planet so familiarize yourself with water conservation solutions.

Use Energy Intelligently. Turn off all electrical equipment that are not in use and set your air-conditioning to run only during you are using it. Also, take advantage of natural light. If it’s possible use energy-efficent bulbs.

Manage Your Paper. Paper comes from trees so reducing paper we will help to reduce deforestation.

 And remember: think globally, act locally. Because little things make a big difference.

Patricia