Isn’t it funny how a single word can have many different meanings? For example, per many people, well means something good or even being healthy. Well is also the name of a system to retrieve water out of the ground. Sustainability is no different, therefore, it often means different things to different people. Often, sustainability is described as preserving the environment or making wasteful processes more efficient, but these are not accurate. Ethan Goffman’s paper describes the problem of defining sustainability well, it all depends on how particular issues are perceived by those trying to define sustainability (79). The definition that first comes to mind upon hearing sustainability is based on an individual’s personal bias and the problems
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In a world where capitalism rules, this is often deemed as unacceptable and thus the environmental developments are slowed or even stopped. Looking at the aforementioned example of algae farming, we see a very similar situation play out. When discussing the open pond design for algae farming, the most efficient at the time, a U.S. Department of Energy report stated, “The factors that most influence cost are biological, and not engineering-related… Even with aggressive assumptions about biological productivity, we project costs for biodiesel which are two times higher than current petroleum diesel fuel costs.” (as cited in Gallagher 159). It simply costs too much to operate an alga to fuel operation at a high demand commercial level (Gallagher 158). To be economically sustainable, innovative resources would have to cost the same or less than their unsustainable counterparts. But because algae competitors such as oil have fluctuating prices due to their limited nature, if oil prices were to ever sharply increase, then algae would be a sustainable and stable resource. And much like the agriculture industry, it is a farm product after all, the government could make algae more viable through subsidies or tax breaks (Gallagher 162). This, however, begs the question of whether something like algae farming is socially …show more content…
The goal of social sustainability should be to maintain or improve a community’s quality of life, equality, and diversity. In a study conducted in Northern Italy on family owned farms we can see a reluctance to agree to new sustainable measures, “The results of the first model highlight that labour-intensive farming, investment oriented managerial behaviour, as well as a strong dependence of household income on farming activities, act as constraints against participation in any [agri-environmental measures].” (Defrancesco 128). This highlights the fact that any policy meant to encourage sustainability among groups like farmers are less likely to be successful if they cause the farmer to increase labor and potentially make less money. Large organizations are more likely to adopt a practice because they have more buffer room to make mistakes. Even when social dynamics are taken into consideration, any targeted measures with ‘good intentions’ may still not produce the desired results (Defrancesco 128). Making sure that family farms can still operate at a competitive level insures both equality and diversity, at least from a farming perspective. But the same principle applies to any policy put on a community, to make something truly socially sustainable policy makers and solutions would have to fully consider what the community knows about a solution and how it would
In a world where capitalism rules, this is often deemed as unacceptable and thus the environmental developments are slowed or even stopped. Looking at the aforementioned example of algae farming, we see a very similar situation play out. When discussing the open pond design for algae farming, the most efficient at the time, a U.S. Department of Energy report stated, “The factors that most influence cost are biological, and not engineering-related… Even with aggressive assumptions about biological productivity, we project costs for biodiesel which are two times higher than current petroleum diesel fuel costs.” (as cited in Gallagher 159). It simply costs too much to operate an alga to fuel operation at a high demand commercial level (Gallagher 158). To be economically sustainable, innovative resources would have to cost the same or less than their unsustainable counterparts. But because algae competitors such as oil have fluctuating prices due to their limited nature, if oil prices were to ever sharply increase, then algae would be a sustainable and stable resource. And much like the agriculture industry, it is a farm product after all, the government could make algae more viable through subsidies or tax breaks (Gallagher 162). This, however, begs the question of whether something like algae farming is socially …show more content…
The goal of social sustainability should be to maintain or improve a community’s quality of life, equality, and diversity. In a study conducted in Northern Italy on family owned farms we can see a reluctance to agree to new sustainable measures, “The results of the first model highlight that labour-intensive farming, investment oriented managerial behaviour, as well as a strong dependence of household income on farming activities, act as constraints against participation in any [agri-environmental measures].” (Defrancesco 128). This highlights the fact that any policy meant to encourage sustainability among groups like farmers are less likely to be successful if they cause the farmer to increase labor and potentially make less money. Large organizations are more likely to adopt a practice because they have more buffer room to make mistakes. Even when social dynamics are taken into consideration, any targeted measures with ‘good intentions’ may still not produce the desired results (Defrancesco 128). Making sure that family farms can still operate at a competitive level insures both equality and diversity, at least from a farming perspective. But the same principle applies to any policy put on a community, to make something truly socially sustainable policy makers and solutions would have to fully consider what the community knows about a solution and how it would