Informative Speech : The Importance Of Sustainability In Affluence

“Sustainability is a matter of long term development” (Fowler, J., Sept.24th), this is the simplest statement describes the word “sustainability” till the end of the third week lecture. After two weeks’ lecture classes and ESS lecture classes, the concept that “sustainability is not a certain technology or policy” (Introduction to Environment, Sustainability and Society, slide79) is founded in my mind. Mind Shift organization and professor Matthew Schnurr’s research taught me more specifically that sustainability is not only about the environment.

Women taking out micro-loans can have a positive effect on them and their business. Many loans women take out are for tiny incorporations being made in their country. They take out loans to start small businesses and make more money, it helps them give their daughters a possible future for education, and can affect the future of the economy as more of these loans are being made.

One of the most vigorously debated topics is the issue of sustainability. These include climate change, overpopulation, pollution, and ignorance to the damage being done to the environment. The climate that all living things have come to rely upon is changing because of global warming. Today, sustainability has become a focal point and a significant part of life. Sustainability is defined as the ability to meet current environmental, ecological, economics, social and cultural needs without risking the ability of future generations to meet those same needs. What does the Best American Science Wtg. 2014 teach us about sustainability, and what makes the paradigm shift to a sustainable planet? These different authors explain with example how sustainability can be achieved and also the different points of views that exist. “TV as birth control,” by Fred Pearce, “Why the brain prefers paper,” by Ferris Jabrs, “Bringing them back to life,” by Carl Zimmer and “A race to save the orange by altering its DNA”, by Amy Harmon’s – reveals that cultural sustainability involves efforts to preserve the actual and evasive cultural elements of sociality such as heritage, educational opportunities and public policies, in way that promote environmental, economic and social sustainability.

The environment is important to protect considering that people live and breathe in the atmosphere it provides. Investing time in activities that protect the environment hasn’t always been a priority, but as greenhouse gas emissions, the use of energy, and other harmful impacts on the environment increased, individuals began to speak up on what should be done. As the world’s population continues to grow exponentially, the impacts society produces will in turn continue to increase unless something is done about it. Although the idea of an environmentally sustainable community has remained on the minds of the concerned public throughout the past decade, as companies and universities became more invested in the idea, new ways of taking action and implementing policies were developed and pursued.

Another major characteristic of microfinance is that they have numerous loans to informally-organised businesses which are often in small amounts over a short-term period with turnover of the aggregate loan portfolio maturing several times during the year. These are unsecure loans with simple repayment structure and documentation, but interest rates are generally higher than those in the formal sector (Anderson, 2002).

People need to understand that the environment is everybody’s responsibility. We need to take accountability for providing a green future for future generations. We must act before its too late. We must sacrifice, compromise, and be willing to

Coming into this class I believed sustainability needed to be taught as a mandatory way of life, relying on personal change in order to lessen our environmental footprint. Although my knowledge of sustainability has grown, this new information has only reaffirmed my initial beliefs of what sustainability is. Sustainability is a necessary practice that will only become more important as the population rises. With an increasing population, we face a growing strain on our natural resources. The major point that has changed since my first position paper, was my exclusion of the government and corporate role in the struggle for sustainability and global equality. Immoral corporate control of natural resources, such as water, is a vital factor

Poverty has stricken many developing nations. However, there are many ways to limit things like this from occurring, micro-loans being one of those things. It is apparent that women in developing countries are empowered by micro-loans. Micro-loans are a small amount of money given to small businesses. Micro-loans help make women more independent and help them not rely on their husbands for money. It helps these women in poverty get their kids and themselves an education with the money they receive. Additionally, micro-loans make it possible for women starting a business, in order to make more money. There are many benefits for women receiving micro-loans.

The term sustainability is one that been conceptualized since the early civilizations of humans inhabited the earth. During those primative times, everything that allowed civilizations to thrive came from the earth. Humans during those times were more more in touch with their reliance on the environment. In today's society, the reliance on our natural environment seems much further away due to our insulation from modern conveniences. Nevertheless, this conception could not be further from the truth; we are more reliant now on the world's renewable resources than ever before.

We should promote the conservation of our ecologies by reducing the amount of waste that goes directly into the environment and promoting green thinking and living all across the world. For instance, we could protect our environment by reducing the amount of cattle that feed in a certain area and by prohibiting the introduction of alien-invasive species as they deplete minerals and food in the soil for other plants to consume.

At the foundation of every issue in the broad scope of sustainability is a fundamental lack of proper environmental education as an individual, which ultimately permeates into all of society. The education referred to here is not simply the standardized tests, memorizing and essays of the modern day classroom but the education, which takes place at home. As children, there is a universal myth that has been passed down since the golden age of the industrial revolution. This idea of the American dream informs virtually every decision Americans make and how society is structured. Simply put: “Get an education, get a Job, have children, acquire wealth, capital and leave a legacy before you die.” The fundamental problem with this is that there is no mention of our most basic responsibility, as environmental stewards. In short this anthropocentric paradigm acts a rearguard for sustainable development and begins as early as the conception of language in a child’s life.

Sustainability implies that the organization is managing in economic, ecological and socially competent ways. All organizations range on a continuum of their sustainability level with some being more sustainable than others. Generally, as Dunphy, Griffiths and Benn (Module One, Topic 1.5) point out, the more sustainable an organization is, the more they help the surrounding environment, be this local (the particular country) or macro (the world itself). The environment also reflects the sustainability ethos and situation of the organization itself.

Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)

What is microlending? In simplest terms microlending is the lending of very small amounts of money at low interest, to low income people in urban and rural areas. It started forty years ago, when a person named Muhammad Yunus was visiting his family and his country Bangladesh which had recently become an independent country. Muhammad Yunus had left his home country then –East Bengal- when he was a child with his parents in search of a better future. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, with a PhD in economics. Muhammad Yunus is the founder of Grameen Bank, the first non-profit organization to offer microfinance services in Bangladesh and in the world (New York Times). This bank showed the world on how little

The actual definition of sustainable development may not be accepted by everyone but what is important is the recognition that sustainable development is about the balance of the connected Es, Economy, Environment, and Equity.