Sustainability Assignment- Sarah Bass

Living in the Environment states that sustainability is the ability of earth's various natural systems and human cultural systems and economies to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely. One of the most popular definitions of sustainability can be traced to a 1987 UN conference . It defined sustainable developments as those that "meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." http://www.arch.wsu.edu/09%20publications/sustain/defnsust.htm

This is a universal concept that we have been encouraging for many years. Today, however, we face many environmental issues despite the efforts of many trying to make the world we live in a better place. Some of the many issues include, pollution, over use of natural resources, and poverty.

Pollution is probably the most familiar environmental issue. However, it is still a major problem our world faces. Pollution ranges from water to air pollution. Each year in our country alone, factories release over 3 million tons of toxic chemicals into the water, land, and air. Land pollution is pollution of the Earth's natural land surface by industrial, commercial, domestic and agricultural activities. One major action we can take to prevent land pollution is to recycle. Over 80% of items in landfills can be recycled, but they are not. It takes an action as simple as recycling or reusing to help save and sustain life on earth. Air pollution is another form of pollution and its sources include: nuclear weapons, aerosol sprays, power plants, combustion of coal, and acid rain. The emissions from U.S. vehicles alone contribute to 45% to global warming. Actions that are being taken advantage of are carpooling, not using aerosol sprays, and avoiding smoking. Every little contribution and effort helps. Finally, water pollution is also a form of pollution and is caused by mining, pesticides, and oil spills. Although the majority of the population considers oil to be a major source of money for our counrty. We are also using up a very important "non-renewable resource" and risking disasters from drilling, such as the one in the Gulf of Mexico. Non-renewable resources exist in a fixed quantity, or stock, in the earth's crust.Ways to preserve non-renewable resources is to reuse and recycle. http://www.greenstudentu.com/encyclopedia/pollution

Organizations and groups across the world are working hard to help save the earth from pollution and harmful damage we cause to it. An organization called Eco Friends is working in Kanpur, India to clean up the river Ganga. A group called HIkers for Clean Air provides news and resources to promote public awareness and support in the nation's hiking community for legislation and regulatory initiatives to significantly reduce air pollutants. http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Environment/Pollution/Organizations

Sustainable development includes addressing issues such as poverty, inequality, hunger, and environmental degradation. The causes of poverty and environmental degradation are inter-related. http://www.globalissues.org/367/sustainable-development Approximately 1 billion people suffer from hunger and some 2 to 3.5 billion people have a deficiency of vitamins and minerals. The UNited Nations 1998 Human Development report revealed that, "Globally the 20% of the world's people in the highest income countries account for 86% of total private consumption expenditures- the porrest 20% only 1.3%. All of these issues are inter-related. Poverty and third-world debt have been shown to result in resource stripping to just survive or pay off debts. Civil society Organizations, Private Voluntary Organizations, and charity are all non-governmental organizations working towards developmentissues that link to environmental issues.

I think that steps toward a better tomorrow include small steps that will make our lives greener. Simple steps such as just recycling can drastically help. However, it takes everyone to solve the problem, because one person helps but if the world joined hands and fights this issue together we can accomplish great things.

Sarah Basss