What is sustainability?
"Green is the new black" - this trend is quite fitting for the 21st century, as sustainability has come to the forefront in politics and government, on college campuses, and in everyday life. The need to "be green" and to be sustainable brings you to question: What exactly is sustainability?
According to the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, sustainability is "
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Sustainability is responding to the demands of our current generation while conserving resources so that future generations too will have enough resources to respond to their demands. It is a "green movement to preserve resources as much as possible and to be environmentally friendly" [Sustainable Dictionary].
Identifying the problem
However, it is very difficult to be sustainable because our society is grounded in a "
take-make-waste system" [Doppelt]. We use resources, including minerals, metals, fish, wood, coal and other fossil fuels. We convert these raw materials into goods and services that power our economy. When we use these fossil fuels to create products, large amounts of toxic by-products are released into the environment, which is where we get the resources to create goods and services. We take from the environment, make products, and in the process we create waste: greenhouse gases and pollution.
Completely breaking free from this take-make-waste system will be very challenging. Mostafa Kamal Tolba, Chairman of the Commission on Sustainable Development, emphasizes the difficulty of achieving sustainable development: "It [achieving sustainable development] requires on the part of all of us commitment, action, partnerships and, sometimes, sacrifices of our traditional life patterns and personal interests." This website will introduce you to some of the first steps you can take to make an impact. To truly be sustainable, you have to defy this take-make-waste system to which we are all so accustomed. You have to look at the world from a different perspective.
Back to TopThe following are some major ideas regarding sustainability that will help you to think green.
- More is not better
People have a tendency to want a lot of
everything. For example, when you go to a fast food restaurant, you probably grab a pile of napkins even though you do not need that many. We have a natural instinct to maximize our possessions, but this hurts the environment and creates waste. - Less bad is not good enough
Just because we are minimizing negative environmental impacts does not mean that our
society is environmentally friendly. For example, just because we recycle does not mean that we have achieved sustainability. Although recycling is a big improvement, there are still other ways to be even more sustainable.
- Cheaper is not cheaper
We live in a capitalist society and almost naturally calculate everything by price. When you see a lower price, you automatically categorize it as the cheaper product. However, we forget to include external costs in the total price of a product. For example, although corporations manufacture goods from cheap places, the
environment of those locations pays a cost. - Away does not mean gone
Just because you cannot see something does
not mean that it is gone. The resources we consume create waste, and the waste we produce never disappears. On the other hand, the resources do deplete. Waste either is recycled or becomes pollution that
accumulates in the environment. Waste still exists in the earth, and there is a limit to how
much our planet can take. - All for one is none for all
When we only think about our individual needs, we sacrifice the broader interests of the community. It is easy to shrug off the responsibility of being sustainable and to tell yourself, "Oh, everyone else can be sustainable." But when you sink into this mindset, you become a free rider expecting everyone else to be sustainable to make up on your behalf. If we all have this mindset, it will be impossible to achieve sustainability. - Your actions do matter
You probably think that your small
daily actions are insignificant because you are one of millions of people. But just like your vote really does matter, when you change your mindset and change your actions, you will start to influence everyone around you. That number adds up, and you can truly make a difference.
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Sources used for the information presented on this page:
- Doppelt, Bob. The Power of Sustainable Thinking. London: Earthscan, 2008.
- Sustainable Dictionary. "Sustainability." The Dictionary of Sustainable Management. 29 May 2009 <http://www.sustainabilitydictionary.com/>.
Copyright 2009 by Susie Choi
