Sustainability

Sustainability is everything we need for our well-being and survival. It also “creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations” (What is sustainability? 1). Sustainability makes sure that we have materials, resources, and the water to protect our environment and human health. Sustainability gives us the ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.
In my opinion, a major issue with our environment is overpopulation. Sometime during 2011, the population is expected to reach seven billion. The rapid increase is is overwhelming the planet’s finite resources. Biodiversity is also being effected because of the growing human numbers. As the population multiplies, the demand for water, land, trees, and fossil fuels multiplies as well. Because of overpopulation, pollution has become a major problem. People drive more cars, throw away more trash, use more electricity, and cut down more trees, which causes pollution to increase.
We can reduce our population to a sustainable level by educating all people, a societal commitment to ensuring that all species are given a chance to live and thrive, and universal access to birth control. Also, “the mission of the Center for Biological Diversity is to stop the planetary extinction crisis wiping out rare plants and animals around the world” (Overpopulation: A Key Factor In Species Extinction 1). Family planning is also another way to prevent population from growing. Lastly, we need to educate the human population about the seriousness of overpopulation. Everyone knows how to help the environment, how to avoid AIDS, and that smoking is bad, but they do not know about the severity of overpopulation.
-Brooke S.