What is Sustainability?
By: Noah Freedman
- Everything we need to survive is dependent on the environment, and sustainability maintains the right conditions under which humans can thrive and exist in productive harmony. It is important in making sure we have the resources to continue our way of life as we know it today.
Energy/Climate Change
- Humans have made a significant impact on the earths climate over the past few centuries. With the rapid increase of carbon dioxide emitting machines and factories, the surface temperature has risen 2 degrees F in the past hundred years.
- In order to maintain our current water supplies and agricultural practices we must take steps to prevent further climate changes. By doing things as simple as walking or biking to school, and turning off the lights when you're not in the room, we can preserve this environment for generations to come.
Waste and Recycling
- With our constant and rapid population increase, waste has become an ever-growing concern. It is filling up our lands, waterways, and starting to affect the air we breathe.
- By implementing ideas such as 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' we can begin to decrease our output of waste and begin creating new ways to turn old and used products into new clean energy and more.
Pollution
- Industrialization is one of the atmospheres major enemies. In the past 150 years, such related activities have pumped enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to raise its levels higher than they have been for hundreds of thousands of years.
- Not only are we pollution our air, but our water systems, our land, and the noise and light we emit also pollute our surroundings.
- Once again we learn that we must try to reduce our carbon footprint in order to maintain a sustainable environment
Biodiversity
- Biodiversity if the diversity of life on our planet. If we have high biodiversity then we are able to live happy healthy lives, but our current actions such as cutting down forests and dumping into our rivers and oceans only decreases our earths biodiversity which will not help us when the climate starts changing.
- You can do small things to help maintain biodiversity such as setting up bird houses in your back yard, or donate to a foundation that provides food and shelter to endangered species.
Resource Usage
- Once again our population size poses a major problem when our demand for natural resources starts to outweigh the supply.
- In order to try and make our stockpile last we must find new economic opportunities that promote a healthier environment as well as human wellbeing.
Works Cited
- "Air Pollution Facts, Air Pollution Effects, Air Pollution Solutions, Air Pollution Causes - National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.
- Bradford, Alina. "Pollution Facts & Types of Pollution." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 10 Mar. 2015. Web. 04 June 2015.
- "Natural Resource Use." – Wildlife Conservation Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.
- "Sustainability." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.
- "Waste Management." Sustainability: Think Green Every Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.
- "What Is Biodiversity? - National Wildlife Federation." What Is Biodiversity? - National Wildlife Federation. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.
- World of Biology. McGrath, Kimberley A., ed. The Gale Group, Farmington Hills, MI: 1999.