How individuals make a difference!

Defining sustainability

“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

This definition was created in 1987 at the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission). It is enshrined in the Swiss federal constitution. It is similar to the "seventh generation" philosophy of the Native American Iroquois Confederacy, mandating that chiefs always consider the effects of their actions on their descendants seven generations in the future.

There are many ways to measure or define sustainability. As described in the book Natural Capitalism, in business, these should include the sustainable development and use of, at least, the following four types of capital:

• Financial Capital
• Manufacturing Capital
• Natural Capital
• Human Capital

About sustainability

The World is changing. This is through human development and human success over the last few centuries illustrating progression and evolution. Thanks to the Industrial Revolution there has been much change with the development of electricity, medicines, technology and so on. This has been mainly due to better understanding of the World though education and exploration, and plain and simply just because we as the human race must know everything about everything. We seek the answers to our existence in the world and exploration of the universe as well quoted by a character in Indiana Jones “what we do not know, we find out.”

In today’s society the ways in which people can make a difference is to firstly achieve something for themselves as an individual, secondly to do something towards others and thirdly to be prepared to accomplish something for their country. Nowadays we face a number of challenges that make it difficult for us to meet our targets and to achieve success, but if we have the will power to succeed then it is our duty to ensure we fully utilise the task at hand that is requested of us.

Only we as “the public” can make a massive difference as an individual we are unable to do this alone but as a group/population or a nation we can achieve this if we all change our styles of living. Some individuals can have a bigger influence and say then others. For example scientists and the government have a much larger say than the public as they are higher on the chain of command and have better awareness and knowledge of the problems they need to address. However as voters we as the public can influence governments. This can be done by voting for the political parties that want to pass more environmental laws and tightening the laws on the economy and society to ensure a better ecosystem for all.

People need to have will power to make this change and to change the lives of them and others. If everyone in the world put their minds to making this change even the smallest change can result in a big difference and have a significant effect to a better quality environment. As it is not just the world of today we are fighting to save but the World for future generations.

The ways in which we live our lives is an important part of how we can make a difference in this world. For example “Climate Change” is a big issue that faces the world today. Through overuse of our natural resources we are damaging our environment and ecosystems and the lives of other species and habitats. We are all responsible to ensure that we correct the wrong we had caused to this world. To do this we can consider alternative sources; cut down on the energy consumption and the use of electricity. To accomplish this we need to think about how we can make our home more energy efficient, e.g. conservatories to store warmth, dual flush toilets, double or even triple glazed windows, insulation, energy saving light bulbs, turning electronic goods off standby, turning off the taps for water when it is not being used, alternative fuelled cars and more. Also we could consider using the three R’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, as well as using alternatives to coal and gas for resources and use wind turbines on wind farms, water mills, hydro-electricity, solar cells and panels, and maybe nuclear if it can be made much, much safer.

Other problems related to sustainability might be the issue of food consumption in that we are either over eating or eating the wrong food, instead of eating healthy home made food with ingredients such as vegetables. Processed food supplemented with high levels of saturated fat and salt particularly those in fast food outlets result in people becoming overweight. Coupled with this issue is the problem of activity such as a lack of fitness and outdoor pursuits leading to an obese society. Ways in which we have tackled this problem has been by printing healthy tab labels on food packaging to allow the customers to see what are put into the food, as well as all the ingredients and the GDA guidance. Perhaps we should also use similar systems on products that we buy to tell us how recyclable the product/packaging is which would give us as consumers the choice of buying “greener”.

Also packaging that we currently use for food to indicate fair trade should be expanded and perhaps used on other items to ensure that sustainability and good relation for all products across the international boarders.

There have been changes to the methods in the way in which we live. Some schemes and actions may have gone more unnoticed then others. For example effects seen on the news to reduce carbon emissions such as the news reports of reducing air travel by enforcing carbon tax on flights. Whereas the more unnoticed methods to reduce emissions may have been through government advertisements on the TV to reduce your carbon footprint.

Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6311603.stm)