Is Sustainability A Natural Resource?

Sustainability has become a relevant word in the vocabulary of many organizations, governments and individuals. More than just a word, sustainability relates to the ability of institutions to continue executing their functions without forgetting the effects on the environment and taking into consideration the fair treatment of their employees and the human rights of society. Although sustainability is a widely used term by many individuals, the understanding of this term is not as clear as its popularity. When discussing the ideas of sustainability, most people automatically associate the term with the human impact on the environment. Others relate sustainability to the ability to cut costs and inefficiencies within the organization. A few individuals believe that sustainability is a matter of human rights. So what exactly is sustainability?

Ecosystems can be restored by retaining and restoring the ecological sustainability of watersheds, forests, and rangelands for present and future generations.

They observed the clarity of the water, dissolved oxygen, pH, run, pool, riffle, odor, depth, and substrate. The clarity of the water was 71cm which means the clarity of the water is fine because 71cm is in the middle of the turbidity tube. The amount dissolved oxygen is 12 which is the best amount of D.O. The pH was 8 which means the water quality is good. The odor was musky. The depth of the run was 22cm. The substrate was rocky which is good because the rocks filter the water. All of this data leads you to the conclusion that the Portage River has excellent water quality.

Toxins in the water contribute to problems of the river because of the many times back in the day when businesses dumped their waste into the river and till today isn’t not yet cleared. Another problem of the Chicago River is that the public has to interest and don’t take any access towards the river because the river is fenced and some people still remember the awful stinky smell and the black color. The purpose of this field trip was to go test the different chemicals that are in the water and the health of it and see what can be found in it. The field trip lets people know what kind of biodiversity is around the river or in the river to see and determine the health of the river to see what contributes to what the state the river is in

There is an extreme amount of pollution in the Missouri River. Lots of rivers are being polluted, but one of the worst is the Missouri River. For example “According to the EPA, in 2007 the amount of pollution dumped into the Missouri River within the boundaries of our state totaled pounds.” (Top Ten Frightening Facts About The Missouri River, 1). The amount of pollution that has been deposited into the river is terrifying. Even companies that we trust and are a part of our everyday life like Tyson fresh meat which is the world's leading beef and pork supplier have been found polluting and were fined one million dollars. Companies have even been found dumped cancer causing chemicals into the river, “In 2009, Bayer CropScience released 342 pounds of cancer-causing chemicals into the Missouri River.” (Top Ten Frightening Fact About The Missouri River, 2).

While Lake Erie is largely considered an environmental success story, continued planning for the lake’s health is clearly necessary. Additionally, even though the Great Lakes are a significant source of freshwater, less than 1% of that water is naturally renewed each year by rain, snow, or groundwater (Annin, 2009). The issues of sustainability that face Lake Erie are ones that face the Great Lakes as a whole, and are frequently addressed through highly intergovernmental planning.

So what is sustainability? It is the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.

Upon the signing of the Clean Water Act of 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson said, “The banks of a river may belong to one man or one industry or one state, but the waters which flow between the banks should belong to all the people.” This statement is profound because it emphasizes the need of water is universal and should be accessible by everyone. But in order to preserve water organizations must be put in place that protect the water and make it accessible. In order to establish a global change in water sustainability, it is essential preservation efforts start on the local scale. The front runner in the local efforts to achieve sustainability is the protection of watersheds. The DuPage County has six primary watershed planning areas:

When I was five years old I began school. In Kindergarden we learned basic things like letters, numbers, and how not to be fully engulfed in flames. For some reason, 2004 was the height of anti-fire education in Missouri and before I knew how to tie my shoes I knew that if I ever was ablaze, to cover my face, fall to my knees, and roll back and fourth. This is what my institution placed serious value upon and because I was a student of that institution I also placed serious value upon it. The same idea must be applied to a university's teaching of environmental sustainability. This is discussed in David Orr's "What is Education For?" Through choosing a curriculum a university chooses what it places value onto, by making the environment a priority it showcases to the future generations that environmental wellness is an important responsibility for them to take ownership.

The United Nations is an international organization, which was founded in 1945 after the Second World War, committed to providing the means to help resolve international conflicts and formulate policies on matters affecting human beings all over the world (Wikipedia). The organization is committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights (Wikipedia). ‘Ensuring environmental sustainability’, climate change being one of the major factors, is one of the millennium development goals of the UN. The United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, along with many organizations/agencies under the UN, collaboratively work towards achieving this goal.

Ecosystem Services are the essential services and benefits the natural world provides the human race for 'free ' that would otherwise be extremely costly, and in some cases near impossible to recreate. They contribute not only to our species continued survival by providing such resources such as food, water, timber but also quality of life buy providing cultural services such as areas that can be used for recreation.

In today’s global economy sustainability is very important; from the biological aspect to the industries they all play a role on the marine environment. As world population increases the demand of fish rises causing overfishing. Certain laws have been placed to limit the amount of wild fishing to reduce the risk of endangerment. To meet the demand of the population, fish farms are introduced. Pollution and health related issues are part of the challenges of fish farming. Sustainability also affects social areas such as beaches.

Every living being are directly or indirectly depend on natural environment. Sustainability helps to balance financial, social, and environmental factors to facilitate responsible business decision making over the immediate and long term. . Sustainability refers to meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Oxford University press 1987, p.43). Sustainability is also being protective and aware of use of natural resources and development that meets the need of present and everything that is need for our survival and well being depends, directly or indirectly on our natural environment. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Sustainability is

People become selfish by doing whatever they want. Many human only care for themselves, and do not care about other thing such as nature and natural resource. Human history shows that we waste many natural resources and have polluted many resources such as air and water. Some people don’t recycle stuff that can be reused such as paper. To make paper, we cut down lots of tree and forest which is a natural resources. Natural resources should be protected by all humanity. There is lot of reason why every human should protect natural resources. We use natural resources every day to survive. Natural resources don’t pollute and waste the environment like human do. Once natural resources are gone we can’t use them again.

In such apprehensive condition, our firm is experiencing a serious issue being an environmental group is emphasizing non biodegradable materials of SafePack. There is an increased emphasis on sustainability of environment. The sustainability of environmental is completely associated with making better decision and performing corrective actions that are favorable in sustaining the nature of world, with particular emphasis on preserving the environment’s capability for the life of humans. Presently, it’s a significant topic, as it’s comprehended by businesses and individuals and has inclusive impact on the environment. The sustainability of environment is intimately associated with effective decision making with major objective