Enter Sustainability

She reviews the history of environmental progress. In the 1980s there was political movements and changes in environmental activism. However, with the emergence of neoliberal capitalism, there has been an escalation in environmental destruction (increase in greenhouse gas emissions). The first part of the book, she critiques free market fundamentalism, conservative politics and climate change denial, corporate opposition to regulation, the conflict between international trade agreements and renewable energy, the global outsourcing

Environmental change is a logical certainty, and progressively a lived human concern. However, it is not yet what everybody should call social-global problem in one voice. It's not an essential almost we shape our social practices, nor a sufficiently huge social standard to go about as an imperative on our conduct. Around the planet there is developing energy to characterize environmental change as a security issue and thus as a motivation topping issue that merits noteworthy consideration and assets. Calls for movement are developing - yet at the same time outlined activities to address the issue has a cost or weight that will hamper business and go about as a drag on the economy.

However, I now know a vital key in fighting for sustainability lies within changing government laws that allow corporations to profit and waste the earths limited natural resources. These unsustainable practices include the use of lake and river water for hydraulic fracturing, and corporate control of water supplies for profit. With an ecologically aware mindset and the inclusion of regulatory laws, unsustainable practices such as hydraulic fracturing and corporate exploitation can be better addressed and outlawed.

“Water has always been man’s most indispensable natural resource” (Solomon 3). Despite its substantial nature, water has frequently been misallocated, mismanaged, misused and undervalued by a great number of societies in the civilized world. In accordance with Solomon, the civilization has reached a global crisis point in terms of both quality of water and its quantity. Both in water-poor and water-rich communities, people are now directly positioned in water scarcity age. Although, the book “Water: the Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power and Civilization” ensures a timely warning for modern societies that all would receive benefit from a less careless water treatment, but the author argues that “while the risk of water war in this most thirsty and politically combustible of regions is high, it is not inevitable. The existential threat posed by water scarcity is so palpable that it generates opposing cooperative instincts for mutual survival as well” (Solomon 412), but it is hard to agree with the position of the author on this question, as it is well-known fact that the Middle East area is an extremely conflict war zone, where water may become one of the apples of discord and initiate a new war.

If sustainability is looked up in a dictionary there are multiple definitions of this word. It is hard to interpret what exactly a person means when they use the word “sustainability.” Being sustained has different variations of meaning. Someone who is below the poverty line might think that having one meal a day is substantial but someone above middle class could view being substantial as having a minimum of three meals a day with plenty of leftovers. The proliferation of the term “sustainability” is not good. Sustainability is a subjective word. People with different opinions interpret sustainability differently. In the article “Sustainability has gone wild and righteous” George Will explains that fundamentalism is similar to sustainability.

Environmental issues can be difficult to resolve. With many different sources and countless resulting effects, it can be a challenge to pinpoint the best solution to fix the issue. Once it has been brought to the attention of decision makers, one must choose a perspective from which they will analyze the problem. Will they look at it from an anthropocentric point of view, in which first & foremost, people’s interests are taken into account? Or will they analyze it from an ecocentric perspective in which the current state and developing future of the environment is the first priority? Once this has been decided, they must then choose who will manage the process of resolving the issue. This leads to my topic for this paper which will be discussed

The earth is sick. Its seven billion inhabitants must nurture it with water, rest, cool air so the fever will lower…the usual. Instead of this, the people living on the earth are over using its resources gradually destroying it, rather than helping out with the small flu which started the whole problem. On average humans in the United States use 4.1 earths worth of materials producing roughly 4.4 pounds of waste each day individually. Throughout history, researchers have found the beginnings of mass consumption and overuse of water specifically documented within the time periods of the Anasazi, Angkor Wat, and the Industrial Revolution leading up to today’s crisis.

When thinking about sociological issues taking place in our society today, issues concerning our environment commonly are not ones we put on the top of the list, however they should be. It is not that any of the other social issues do not matter, but without a world to live on, or an environment to live off of those other issues would not even be taking place. Our environment has been something that we neglect and carelessly use for our own personal economic growth because it is what has been done for many years. We are destroying our world’s land and using up its natural resources and are even wasting them without concern about what consequences are resulting from doing so. There are ways that we could fix and eliminate problems that we have caused to our environment, but in order to do so we will have come together and put in the effort to make the change and become more environmentally conscious in the aspects of our everyday lifestyles.

Magdoff and Foster’s book ‘What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism’ aims to motivate people to start critically thinking of solutions outside of capitalism by means of exploring the role of the capitalist system in causing mass environmental degradation as planetary boundaries are pushed. They seek to explain how another social, economic, and political system is essential for solving the current ecological (and economic crises). The capitalist system is driven by profit and expansion, so no matter how ‘green’ the system can try to become, the environment will not survive its constant exploitation. New technologies and zero-growth economies are not the answer to the environmental destruction, but maybe an

Post-secondary and graduate educations are attainable goals with selected people experiencing the barrier of affordability. Certain individuals come from affluent families and money is not an obstacle to higher education. Others have opportunities to secure funds due to athletic or academic excellence with grants and scholarships. For those who don’t fit in those two categories, they still have the opportunity to go to college with the help of financial aid. If the desire is present, the effort is easy.

Since people are not able to come to terms with the fact that resources are running out, they are hindering people from expanding and looking towards new and sustainable types of resources. These new resources can help change lives, and to help with the environmental damage that the human race has already caused. With this in mind, we have to look towards the future of humanity as a whole, and since people are not embracing these new and improved ideas for sustained living, they are ultimately causing the fall of human society, since soon, we will be running out of these resources. Resources today are still being fought over, and that will only escalate over time unless we strive to a better lifestyle, and people who are not coming to terms with the idea of sustainability, will only cause more outbreaks of war and infighting over resources. These resources are already sparse enough, there is no reason to continue using them, or even speeding up the process in which these resources are being used up. The idea of sustained living is slowed by people who are unable to embrace this idea because they hinder the advancements

In order to make changes that encourage living sustainably, one does not have to excess wealth. Rather than buying whatever that 's desired, it should be made a goal to rethink every purchase and make sure there wasn’t a more sustainable way to get what was wanted.

Even though there has been increased activism and awareness of environmental issues, the environment is simultaneously depleting at a more rapid rate. Although addressing individual environmental perception and organizational flaws could create visible change, the most significant solution to environmental issues is found at the level of reforming practices at the macro-level, since the relationship between the government and capitalism perpetuates the largest-scale environmental harm.

Economic development is one perspective which plays a huge role in sustainability and the environment we live in. Unfortunately, many people do not reap the benefits of a prosperous economy, and in fact, the relationship between economy and the environment play a pivotal influence regarding ineffective sustainability currently throughout the world. Michael Carley and Phillipe Spapens write in their book ‘Sharing

As we were learning about the three sectors of sustainability in the beginning of the semester, I realized how broad sustainability is. I began considering and reaching out to experience the different aspects of each sector, and quickly discovered how passionate I am about the service sector. I’ve always enjoyed and understood the importance of volunteer work in bettering myself and the community. In turn, for my service learning event, I choose a serving and clean up shift at the community dinner. I got there a bit early and was able to assist the cooking shift before me. I had no idea how much I would enjoy it. Meeting the volunteers and student leaders was a great way to conversate with others about aspects and initiatives on campus relating to sustainability. It was engaging to be around individuals that shared a common passion. When all the food was finished, we brought it upstairs and got ready to serve. People began coming up for helpings and it shocked me how much food we served. Everyone was very grateful, and although I only had a small part in the food preparation, I had such a strong feeling of contentment and happiness knowing so many people enjoyed their meal that was destined to be thrown away. When they announced that all the food had been reclaimed and we were feeding over 100 people, I was flabbergasted. Being aware of how much food was going to be wasted was an eye-opening moment for me. It lit a fire under me and make me want to be a bigger part of