What is “Sustainability”? For most, we have an idea of what sustainability
is. Using solar panels to harvest the suns rays for energy, driving electric
cars, and recycling. The books defines its as “ a system or process that are
able to operate and persist on their own over long periods of time.”
(Robertson. P. 3) This is fine all and good but how do we get there. The way we
as country and we as a global community have established ourselves it to use
the resources that we have on the earth.
https://www.theenergy.coop/sites/default/files/styles/full_node/public/slideshow_images/sustainable%20city.jpg?itok=IoV9N6fc
We could not have cars today if it weren’t for the discovery
of oil and the properties that allow it to combust. Anything that uses
electricity, we would not have if it weren’t for the discovery of electricity
and the burning of coil to have it. These are a few things that natural
resources we have on this planet, allowed us to create and pioneer.
The world is burning record amounts of oil, polluting our
air from carbon emission and many other factors because we set it up that way.
It reminds me of the saying my mother always said “It is the way it is, because
we set it up that way.”
In the last decade we have noticed how these advancements
have caused extremely effects to the earth. We as individuals, companies, and
as a country needed to find solutions to change the way we conducted our
everyday life.
The book mentioned being “green” and how its not the same as
sustainable. Which I agree with but the
book when on to say:
“Being green is not
the same things as being sustainable. Greenness is a positive step, but not the
ultimate goal. While actions such as recycling and using less toxic products
are important, focusing only on being less bad by depleting irreplaceable capital
more slowly is till not sustainable. “ (Robertson, p. 5)
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That may be true but once again it takes time. We have been
doing the same thing for hundreds of years. Its going to take more than a piece
of legislation and 5 years to cause change. Being green was a great start and
way to start the conversation. Now we need to create and develop sustainable
way to run those innovations that have set us apart.
Through the evolution of time, greenness and sustainability
has become an important issue. In the 1970’s legislation started to form and be
turned into law. During this time a measuring unit was developed called the
Ecological Footprint. “IT was a measuring unit that measured human impact and
comparing it with the biophysical world’s carrying capacity. “ (Robertson, p.
19)
The ecological footprint was developed by two scholars at
the University of British Colombia. Today ecological footprint is used to see
how much of an impact our actions have on our earth.
Photo by Adam D. Reiter
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