Sustainability-Final Project

When I was assigned the initial blog post in the summer about sustainability, I had difficulty writing it. I thought that the only thing inhibiting us from sustainability was inefficient resource news. I now know that this is completely inaccurate, and that sustainability involves many different components. To me, sustainability refers to our ability to live on the earth while utilizing its resources in such a manner that they are able to supply our needs, without being wasteful or destructive while doing so. Essentially, the definition has not been altered drastically; I have just now attached different connotations associated with it. We, as the human race, do not live sustainably. In many countries such as the United States and China, nonrenewable resources are being used at alarming rates.In other more poverty stricken countries, it is necessary for them to use fires to obtain their energy, which can lead to indoor air pollution and more disease, or the emission of harmful by-products into the air, helping to accelerate global warming. Thus, our lack of sustainability can be witnessed coming from all of the different ends of the world. It is necessary that we do not simply ignore what is happening around us, but learn to live in harmony with the environment. None of us are knowledgeable of exactly how long we can deplete the resources of the earth before we are forced to look for an alternative means, and by then, it could potentially be too late. To me, I believe that there are many roots to the problem that need to be explored thoroughly, and I believe that people around the world need to be educated about our current environmental problems in order to make a change around us.

http://ivarfjeld.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/rising-food-costs-millions-face-poverty/ 

This picture may have affected me the most throughout learning about environmental science this year. It is a sign of extreme poverty. These children are starving. While this picture may be hard to bear, it only represents a few children out of the billions are over the world struggle for food on a daily basis. From an environmental stand point, and as mentioned earlier, poverty is not good for the environment. When people are constantly living in poverty, they struggle just to find enough food to sustain their bodies on a daily basis. This being established, they do not care if they are degrading the environment by building a fire for warmth or depleting crop grounds without letting the nutrients be restored. This, however, should not only be looked at by an environmental standpoint, but simply by a humanitarian standpoint as well. We should help others around the world be partitioning our resources equally, instead of living lavishly and in excess. It is not necessary that we have a TV in every room and go out to eat every weekend, when that money can be more properly spent elsewhere. 

http://www.policynetwork.net/blogs/article/monbiot-odds-un-deforestation 

This above image depicts deforestation. Before taking this class, I knew deforestation was a problem, but I had always associated the problem more with the deforestation of tropical rain forests. While tropical rain forests may be extremely important ecosystems as they are, deforestation occurs all over the world. Billions and billions of trees are cut down each year. Cutting down all of these trees does a number of things. It takes away the natural habitats from animals. Many animals center their homes in trees, and taking them away could possibly lead to endangering that species. Additionally, cutting down trees reduces the amount of oxygen readily available in the environment for us, and drastically reduces the amount of CO2 that they absorb. Another problem associated with trees is erosion. Erosion can lead to sediment runoff and therefore pollute our waterways. It can also deplete that land and lead to desertification. 

http://inhabitat.com/africas-biggest-windfarm-debuts-in-morocco/ 

This last image depicts something positive for me. A source of renewable energy. I believe that people should implement these wind turbines in addition to other renewable energy sources. While wind is not always available the entire time, it is an efficient resource. We should not rely on coal and oil because we do not know when those supplies can end. Wind is a resource that is completely free and efficient during times. Renewable resources are also used more often than people may expect. While the other two pictures depict important environmental problems, this picture helps to show that we are able to progress; we have done it in the past and developed new technologies for the environment, and hopefully we will do it in the future in order to take a step towards sustainability.