Most people, including me, believe sustainability to be synonymous with solely the environment. However, after reading several articles that deal with the application of sustainability as it pertains to our present society, I have experienced a transformation in my perception of sustainability. This new outlook on sustainability has not only altered my definition of it, but also my observed obstacles to sustainability and my perception of how far reaching and impactful is sustainability’s effect. In my own terms, sustainability is how we utilize and interact with a system, or set of systems, in order to secure our future progress. This definition is primarily based upon the observations about sustainability made by Prugh and Assadourian
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The authors write extensively on how sustainability is not simply a matter of “green” living and limiting our contributions to global warming. I was really interested in how …show more content…
While there are considerable efforts being taken towards building a planet truly capable of sustaining human life indefinitely, such as multiple environmental NPOs and governments offering green initiatives, much of our world still remains relatively lax in their understanding and implementation of sustainability. In recent years, media-attention on global warming has made the public more aware of their environmental impact, it has also opened the door for corruption. Many companies take advantage of consumers trying to live more “green” and make products or brands that advertise themselves as “earth friendly” or “environmentally-safe”. Even though some part of their product/service might be environmentally friendly, most are truly not sustainable in the sense that the good/service is not part of a cycle that can replenish itself. Human corruption also exists in the sense of human error and ignorance. The greatest obstacle to sustainability is ourselves; not in the sense that we are contributing in global warming or destroying environments, but rather in the sense that we fail to recognize our effects and understand their consequences before it is too late. Most simply put, our society is based upon instant gratification and the consequences of our actions are ignored; they are simply chalked up
The authors write extensively on how sustainability is not simply a matter of “green” living and limiting our contributions to global warming. I was really interested in how …show more content…
While there are considerable efforts being taken towards building a planet truly capable of sustaining human life indefinitely, such as multiple environmental NPOs and governments offering green initiatives, much of our world still remains relatively lax in their understanding and implementation of sustainability. In recent years, media-attention on global warming has made the public more aware of their environmental impact, it has also opened the door for corruption. Many companies take advantage of consumers trying to live more “green” and make products or brands that advertise themselves as “earth friendly” or “environmentally-safe”. Even though some part of their product/service might be environmentally friendly, most are truly not sustainable in the sense that the good/service is not part of a cycle that can replenish itself. Human corruption also exists in the sense of human error and ignorance. The greatest obstacle to sustainability is ourselves; not in the sense that we are contributing in global warming or destroying environments, but rather in the sense that we fail to recognize our effects and understand their consequences before it is too late. Most simply put, our society is based upon instant gratification and the consequences of our actions are ignored; they are simply chalked up