The Future, My Future

The future; pretty picture or scary thought? What does the future of humanity look like? What does my future look like? I feel the best way to convey my idea of what the future looks like it to describe a bit about what I picture my future to look like.

The year is 2032. I can hear the crow of the rooster in the coup in my backyard. I rise, stretch, and roll over. The sun is not quite up yet but I can hear my 13 year old stir muffled by the sound of the PV panels on my roof redirecting to catch those first morning rays from the east. I roll over and wake my husband; it’s time to start the day. I get up and throw on a Canadian made sweatshirt and rubber boots. It has become increasingly important to buy Canadian or better yet locally produced goods. Since the price of oil has risen over 200 hundred dollars a barrel the import and export of goods has become increasingly expensive, giving boom to local production operations.

hoflandtech.com

Once my son brushes his teeth we both head out to the back garden and chicken coup. My son picks a cup full of raspberries for his oatmeal, tomatoes, a pepper and a cucumber, while I collect the beautiful presents left by my eight hens. I quickly give the gardens a spray of water from one of our rain collection barrels around the house. The cost of water provided by the city has increased significantly since we started selling large quantities of water to our counter parts experiencing severe drought due to climate change in southern west coast, this has led to increased concern over water usage and lawn watering has been banned in our neighbourhood.  I can feel the rising sun on my neck and sweat begins to run down my back. It’s only early May but climate change has increased the annual average temperature by 3°C and the seasons have begun to change drastically.

asimovrants.blogspot.com

As I follow my son back into the house I note that my husband is finished his shower. I instruct him to use the harvested veggies to make our lunches and I take my turn. As is step under the low flow head I remember back to the weekend 10 years ago we installed our new solar thermal hot water system. It cost us $3200 to install and to date we have saved over $6342 dollars; not only have we covered the cost of the system but we have begun to benefit financially.

I jump out quickly, as to use as little water as possible and quickly turn on my blow drying. Since the sun is up it should be running solely off PV power and not using the excess energy we have stored in batteries attached to the PV system. We installed the 20 PV panels when we first bought this house, 15 years ago now, and since we have added 15 more. We have been off the grid now for 8 years, and occasionally generate enough to even feed back into the grid. I can’t remember the last energy bill I received.

cmhc-schl.gc.ca

 I hurry downstairs to cook my eggs. I can see my husband out by the garage unplugging our car, and I urge our son to dress accordingly and hurry out to the car. We bought our first electric car over 11 years ago now. It was around that time that barrels of oil reached $150 a barrel and the city pushed or the implementation of several electric charging stations. After installing the last 5 PV panels on the roof we are also able to charge our car at home fully by energy from the sun. We only own one car today; we sold our second 13 years ago and have never looked back. It was hard to adjust at first but I have become very efficient in my everyday life by using a bicycle and transit.

cmhc-schl.gc.ca

As my son and husband begin their day I hope on my bicycle and begin my journey. I only ride approximately 2 km, as I live outside the city, to the closest neighbourhood; a Wind Walk community. This community has an excellent transportation system within but I load my bike onto the bus headed downtown. There are lots of the examples of “new urbanization” that have popped up in the last 10 years. Not only have they begun construction on the outskirts of the city to deal with the quick population increases but they have also utilized old wasted space within the city. Transportation efficiency within the city has improved tremendously in the last 10 years. Not only has the city begun to structure differently, increasing density and decreasing land use, but transportation within has improved sufficiently within. People are now able to live closer to where they work and travel there more efficiently.

As I sit on the bus I have the day ahead to think about. I am contemplating what to grab at the market for dinner on my way home. We attempt to eat a diet of food grown or produced within a 100km of our home. We are able to almost fully follow this guideline as we produce most of our own fruits and vegetables, eggs and chicken. As I said before import and export costs have increased making it only really economically to buy local these days. I also begin thinking about our yearly camping trip. We forfeited our annual trip to Mexico 5 years ago. Plane flight costs have increase so rapidly due to the price of oil that vacation is a thing of the past. Perhaps one day we will save up enough to travel again.

koreamusicwave.blogspot.com

Although it appears that we will have less tangible items or extravagances we enjoy today in the future, I anticipate being closer to my family and community. I can’t make choices for others surrounding me, but I can shape my life to influence the future of the world I wish to see. I have to be the change I want to see.

Sustainable Development in Practice

Sustainable development is currently in practice throughout the world in a number of companies, cities and countries. Not only is the need for sustainability for the preservation of our environment recognized, but the potential economic gain associated with sustainable practice is a driving force. To better illustrate sustainability in practice I will characterize examples for each of the scales of size.

Companies and joint organization representing companies such as the British Beer & Pub Association http://www.beerandpub.com/ (representing UK breweries) are realizing the potential economic gain associated with sustainable practice. The association has focused on analyzing current energy consumption, packaging practices, and waste produced through production at participating breweries. By analyzing these factors the organization is attempting to create a need for new technologies or practices that could provide increased sustainability and cost reduction. Using the example of waste; by quantifying and characterizing waste leaving a brewing facility the organization has been able to divert approximately 97% from waste stream to be utilized in current processes to organic fertilizers from organic waste products. Not only does the decrease in waste keep our landfills clean, but utilizing waste in production reduces cost which subsequently increases brewery revenue.

http://www.beerandpub.com/

A great personal example of sustainable development on a city scale is the T’Sou-ke First Nations in Sooke, British Columbia http://www.tsoukenation.com/. This community is achieving sustainability through the utilization of a renewable energy source by implementation of PV and solar thermal panels. By becoming lessening the dependency of grid provided energy, the community is thus becoming dependant on itself or becoming self sustainable. The community estimates that they have saved approximately 30% of energy from solar thermal heating systems, and two community buildings are powered solely from the sun and off the grid.  Additionally the implementation of this technology has had an impact on the social aspect of sustainability within the community. Programs such as the implementation of energy saving kits, including items such as low flow shower heads, and a children’s energy saving “goal” tree has created an additional 30% reduction in energy usage. In total over the last year between technology and social change the T’Sou-ke community has generated approximately 60% in energy savings. This is only the beginning components of an entirely sustainable community, with future focus being on food supply, and waste water recovery.

ainc-inac.gc.ca

An example of a large scale sustainable development is currently in place on the island of Samso, Denmark. The geographical location and terrain of Denmark and the island of Samso allows for great capacity for wind generation. As such the technology has been steadily utilized, and Denmark is the leader in wind power generation as well as production of wind turbine units. Denmark’s energy consumption is subsidized 18.9% by energy generated through wind power. Denmark’s next step is to focus on the introduction and citizen utilization of electric powered cars, powered of course by energy generated by wind.

smartplanet.com

These examples are just the beginning of sustainability in practice that is beginning to appear throughout the world. Whether it be “new urbanization” construction, or better inter city transportation; all companies, cities and countries are now being introduced to this idea of sustainability. Although these are all individual aspects of sustainable practice there are few examples of absolute sustainability in respect to addressing all social, economic and environmental aspects. However what we see right now is a step in the right direction. Every person influenced is another thinker, another contributor to society. The more exposed we are to these new ideas, the more connections can be made, and the more changes we will see in the world in the future.

hempethics.weebly.com

(Over) Consumption

I think one of the biggest factors in the degradation of our natural resources and our environment is over consumption. Additionally, I think over consumption is one of the biggest factors in the degradation of our culture. Let’s face it, if we all took an inventory of our rooms, our houses, or our work spaces; what would we find? Stuff, stuff, and more stuff. Where did all this stuff come from? Why did we buy it? Do we even need it? The answer is no. Culture today defines success as the accumulation of this “stuff”. “Stuff” is a reflection of our monetary worth; the more money we have, the more stuff we can accumulate. And not only is it the accumulation of stuff that represents our success, but the accumulation of expensive stuff is even more lucrative. It means we are even more successful people. When did this happen? The answer is the birth of advertising and marketing. Billions of dollars in America are spent worldwide trying to convince us that we need stuff. We need cars, but not just four wheels and an engine but leather interior with a surround sound entertainment system. We also need a cell phone, a lap top, a ipod touch, an ipad all to stay connected. I think you get the point, we accumulate all this stuff to make other people think we’re successful, which in turn; makes us feel better. But do we really feel better?

futurismic.com

The problem of our cultural need for consumption is relatively irreversible. The elimination of the multibillion dollar business of marketing will never be met by campaigns explaining why you don’t need this “stuff”. Once someone owns a cell phone or an ipod, it would be extremely difficult to reverse that psychological need. The only way we can attack this problem is the source. The companies that produce this “stuff” themselves. Companies are currently in the business of what is described as planned obsolescence; meaning a product is designed for the dump. Companies realize that the key to economical success is the constant consumption of products. Additionally, marketing creates a smoke screen for the short life span of a product with perceived obsolescence; companies make us think our stuff is obsolete, even before its durability fails.



ha-ka.dk



How can we combat this overconsumption of useless “stuff”? We have a variety of options. First, sometimes consumers forget the fact that companies produce what we want. If we ask nothing of our products, companies are more than willing to take the short cut. But what if we start asking more of our companies? What if we make our point by cutting back on our consumption until they start producing better “stuff”. Products that are made using ethical practice and renewable resources, products that have a long life span, products with less packaging and biodegradable components. Companies can begin utilizing the concepts outlined in the theory of biomimicry; based on the theory that evolved solutions require low energy input, no waste, no toxicity, and more sustainable that traditional solutions.

geordiemilne.com

Although I believe our society would benefit with a healthy future by companies changing their traditional practices to those outlined in the theory of biomimicry, I feel that addressing overconsumption is an even better idea. I am avid subscriber to the magazine Adbusters. Although the magazine represents some ideas that are a far reach from attainable, one of their main concepts is that of the evil of marketing and overconsumption. One of their strong campaigns is the “buy nothing Christmas”. It makes individuals begin reconnecting with family as opposed to material things. For more information on the “buy nothing Christmas” and other theories on the evil of marketing check-out the magazine, it’s always an interesting read.

www.adbusters.org

robertlpeters.com

The Sustainable City

What a sustainable city looks like is a hard concept to wrap ones’ mind around. What infrastructure components would need to be addressed and redesigned to be defined sustainable. We first must revisit our definition of sustainable development; social, economic and environmental factors would need to be incorporated.

After Dr. Ling’s lecture on sustainable land use, in which he described concepts of “new urbanism”, I believe the physical design of a city; nurture the success of the three components of sustainable development or cities. How does the physical design successfully optimize or promote these components?

First to define “new urbanism”; includes structuring more dense cities, creating multiple level multiple functional buildings which increase density and decrease land (km²) necessary, efficient public transportation options connecting city, as well as walk-able resources, efficient waste removal and treatment systems, and addition of green spaces. These components of “new urbanism” encourage success of sustainable development.

savannahred.blogspot.com

Social Sustainability

By bringing people closer to each other through housing, services and park space; the idea of community experiences rebirth. It is shown that urban sprawl creates isolation and the dissolution of community. Effects of this can be increased depression and mental health issues within North America. By bringing people closer together; through housing, transportation and work, the idea of community can be re-established and human connections can be made.

Economic Sustainability

By creating, building, and manning a “new urbanization” city,; economic growth within a city can still be maintained. Additionally, by increasing density and decreasing land, economically efficient waste removal and other public services can be achieved. New jobs can additionally be created surrounding new technology in regards to power generation from wastes, and other sustainable energy generation practices.

Environmental Sustainability

The nature environment would benefit in many ways from “new urbanism”. By concentrating the density of the population by utilizing a smaller portion of land, the area of natural, untouched environment increases. Habitat and biodiversity, one of our biggest environmental losses, can thrive once again. Additionally by increasing density; transportation would decrease significantly decreasing our carbon footprint and dependence on natural resources. The good that “new urbanism” could do for our environment is un-measurable to say the least.

The key to a sustainable city is merely bringing people closer together. It’s getting back to community; knowing the people that surround your life. The more you care about the others around you and the surrounding environment it seems; the healthier life is.

Powering a sustainable society- I will be the change needed

One main point Dr. Ling drives home in our Sustainability Lecture series is the fact that the most successful attempts at sustainability are on the community scale. I think this is an excellent point. Success comes when you are working in a small connected group, much like that of a community. Results can actually been seen, felt, measured and shared with those around you. With this in mind I feel that powering a sustainable society starts at home; it starts with my home. In addition to information I have a acquired in our Sustainability lectures I am also part of a major project group working with the Solar Colwood project in Colwood, BC. Both of these environments have helped fostered a once large, but now attainable goal for myself and my future home.

netoworkworld.com

The Solar Colwood project is working closely with the T’Sou-ke first nations who have recently embarked on a large but prosperous solar project. Of particular interest to me are the large displays of PV photovoltaic solar panels lining two of their major buildings, as well as panels lining the adjacent lake. Approximately 30 solar panels are able to power one approximately 1,500 square foot building. During the summer additional energy produced is fed back into the “grid” system. During the winter while less energy is produced it is sometimes essentially to require energy from the “grid” however, over the duration of the four seasons; net energy required is zero. In addition back-up batteries store energy that could provide the building up to approximately three days if no sun was present at all. The entire system consists of 30 PV panels which are required to face east at a 45 degree angle, one unit which turns the energy generated from the sun into usable energy for the building, one unit which feeds additional power back into the grid system, and a number of back-up batteries. The entire system costs approximately $50,000 with each solar panel costing approximately $1,000 a piece.

solarnavigator.net

As a prospective homebuyer, I am excited to utilize this new technology. I have also considered a shallow geothermal unit, cost approximately $20,000, but have decided PV is a better investment for me. It also makes sense to attempt to build this large cost into a mortgage as opposed to attempting to save.  As $50,000 is a large cost, I have decided that purchasing the required system components and approximately 10 PV panels to begin with is an excellent idea. As years pass additional panels can be purchased to add to the system.

As a new homebuyer I feel this will also benefit the future community I choose to be a part of. Let’s face it, new neighbours are nosey. I think they will be especially nosey when they see the installation of all these PV panels on my roof. But perhaps I change their thoughts. Perhaps I will inspire others to do the same. I will be able to share my story, and my savings with others. Since the price of oil is never going to decrease, only increase, I want to be ahead of the game. I feel that I have all of this new knowledge of technology it would be a waste not to utilize it.

In closing, I will be the start of powering a sustainable society. I will be the change I want to see in the world, and will hopefully influence others to do the same. It all comes back to community.

Sustainable Community

This past week I had the pleasure of touring one of, if not the, most sustainable community currently functioning in North America. The T’sou-ke First Nations community is a leader in sustainability, gaining the ability to jump off the grid by powering their community solely by PV, solar thermal panels, and social action. My tour was conducted by Andrew Moore, lead engineer responsible for the organization and implementation of this multi organization project conducted over the last two years. When asked how the T’sou-ke community first became interested in becoming solely responsible for their own power generation, Moore explained “First Nations have always relied on the power of nature for energy. The highest importance has always been placed on the power of the sun, the water, and the wind”. He couldn’t have explained it more perfectly, we should all take a chapter out of their book. On a positive note the community has inspired change in the nearby community of Colwood. The Colwood community is currently embarking on a Solar Colwood project, with inspiration and assistance from the T’sou-ke community. The T’sou-ke community couldn’t be happier, one of the goals of their project was to inspire others. They’ve done a good job.

Success of the T’sou-ke solar community incorporates the three components necessary for success of sustainable development; social, environmental, and economic. With focus placed on the economic success of the community, due to its historic dependence on expensive electricity and diesel power, the community decided to honour the environment and improve their social connectivity.

The first step of this project was the install PV solar panels, as well thermal solar panels. The community consists of 84 households; 34 of which received thermal solar panels. Thermal solar panels consist of a cluster of three panels which heat city fed water before entering a households’ hot water tank, reducing the energy required to raise the temperature of the tank. PV solar panels we installed on two buildings, as well as a large unit located on the water front over a canoe shed. Both the main office and community center are solely powered by approximately 36 solar panels located on the roofs of these buildings. Any additional power generated is either stored in batteries for future use, or fed back into the grid.

In addition to these installations the community wanted to unite the community further. A variety of social oriented energy reduction programs were offered to households not receiving installations. Programs included energy saving kits including energy reducing light bulbs, low flow shower heads, and a variety of other power saving technologies.

I think the most inspiring piece of the community was a paper tree tacked to the wall in the community center. The community recognizes that one of the most important aspects of this project were to transfer this knowledge and this motivation to the young members of the community. After, they are the future of the community. Attached to the tree are a variety of paper leaves, on which children of the T’sou-ke community have posted their commitment to reducing their energy consumption. One child wrote “I will shut off the tap when I brush my teeth”. There it is folks. If there was any way to measure success in this community, that was it.

I am very grateful to have visited the T’sou-ke community. I have never personally seen such a community join together, with such a vision in my mind. They are an inspiration to us all, and I will personally keep this community in mind when I too join a community of my own.

Visit the T'sou-ke community website to learn more about this amazing project, it truly is inspiring.

http://www.tsoukenation.com/2009/12/tsou-ke-solar-community-video/

The world is growing; what will we do?

Which is the greater problem; population growth or consumption? I believe the more realistic question is which can problem can be addressed. According to index mundi (http://www.indexmundi.com/world/population_growth_rate.html) our population is growing at a rate as of 2009 is approximately 1.133% and other resources indicate it is reaching 2.0% percent in 2011. All Business (http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-louisiana/1140892-1.html) indicates that the US is growing at a rate of approximately 1.8% while countries such as China are growing at a rate of almost 8%. According to Sustainability lectures provided by Dr. Ling it is estimated that the world population by 2100 will reach 14 billion. That doesn’t sound probable; “something’s gotta give” if you ask me. Population growth directly reflects current population size, education, and cultural within a country. This is evident with individual country growth statistics. Cultural norm within the US and North America shows the standard family model; two parents with two children. With educational opportunities, and increasing prices, families are most comfortable supporting this size. Education in the form of contraception also plays a large role in population growth. Under developing countries growing at high rates are usually less educated on contraception, and/or religious views inhibit the use.  We can all agree that the world cannot sustain 14 billion people, also keep in mind those populations that will be displaced in coming years due to climate change. But how can we limit the population? How can we address over population in all developing countries? We cannot. Who is responsible for limiting the number of children per family, and who is responsible for reinforcing it. So what can we do?

filipspagnoli.wordpress.com

What we can do is focus on preserving resources, and reducing consumption. We can kill two birds with one stone by addressing over consumption. Over consumption is beginning to be addressed through acts of sustainable development. Slowly, North American individuals and companies are turning their focus from over production and consumption, to reductions and sustainable actions. Not only will a focus on reducing consumption through sustainable development create a greater culture within North America, but it will address the issues of population growth. By reducing our consumption we can focus on conserving resources that this growing population will need to survive.



rpi.edu



We can all agree that the world we live in today will be much different than the world we will see in 50 years. It is actually scary to think about having children, what world will they be presented with? All we can do is our individual part. We can change our everyday actions to mimic the future we wish to see, a future we will be comfortable growing a family in. This starts with sustainable conscience, and conducting ourselves in an environmentally conscious way.

Sustainability at Royal Roads University (RRU)

I’ve heard a number of lectures this past week pertaining to components of sustainability at the Royal Roads University (RRU) campus Colwood, BC where which I am currently a full time student. I have to say I am very impressed at the drive both teaching and janitorial staff exhibit to consistently improve sustainability at RRU. I am coming from a college located in southern Ontario, just to give you some background information on my history in attempting to achieve sustainability measures. This background information will be helpful in explaining why I think RRU is doing an excellent job. At my home college, constant attempts, by only students, were made to improve the sustainability of the school, to no avail however. I began as a very active enthusiast in a college environmental club where we started our new school year jaded by the hopes of making actual change. We brainstormed ideas such as implementing composting stations, integrating biodegradable service wear in the cafeteria, and building green roofs to cover the roof space of our campus. But compost was too expensive, and the cafeteria already had a contract with a food service company that was not willing to make the sacrifice of increased expenses, and who was going to pay for this green roof? We were shot down, left and right. When I left Ontario I had a very defeatist attitude, if no one was willing to spend the money, how were things ever going to change (niagaracollege.ca)?

http://www.snapstcatharines.ca/

Then I arrived at RRU. Every light switch has a sticker kindly reminding us to turn off the lights. The cafeteria is stocked full of biodegradable service wear, as if any other kind exists? As well an entire department devoted to sustainability? Unheard of. Recently, I was even asked my opinion on sustainability at RRU, and where I felt we could improve. Me? You want my opinion? Amazing. This is what sustainability hope looks like. This is what a union of innovative ideas between staff and students looks like. I feel like I have entered into the future, and it feels good. Although RRU hasn’t reached complete sustainability yet, I feel like they are setting a great foundation, and have an excellent game plan. Initiates such as a reduction in GHG’s by 2020, and great attempts to be “off the grid” by 2018. RRU also recognizes that sustainability involves community, and has developed a real and beneficial relationship with the surrounding town of Colwood. Serious initiatives, such as Solar Colwood are in full force to create symbiotic relationships with energy generation. I was especially impressed by the desire of the janitorial staff to join in this sustainability revolution. They have completely eliminated chemical components in their cleaning processes, not only improving our health but the surrounding environment as well. They are also dedicated to zero waste, offering a great recycling and composting program to divert as much for the land fill as possible (www.sustainability.royalroads.ca).

bicycle-district-spoke-card.gif

The only area I feel RRU is lacking is transportation, which is currently representing almost 50% of their greenhouse gas emissions. RRU charges an unbelievably low fee for an annual parking pass, offering little incentive for staff and students to look elsewhere for transportation options. Adding to this problem is the unreasonable charge for a monthly bus fee approximately $70, which almost made me choke on my gum. Other educational institutions include an annual bus pass, what was this all about? I feel this will be the next great change at RRU however. A brainstorming session was held to address this issue, and great ideas were presented such as increasing parking rates, subsidies for those that carpool, and incentives for bike riders, as a large population of our class does our part by cycling to school.

Again I must say how impressed I am. Coming from a school were sustainability was too much work and too expensive, it is refreshing to be told that work and money aside, sustainability is the goal. My kudos go out to RRU, I am proud to be a current student at such a fine educational institute that holds our future and the environment in the highest regards.

What does inaction on Climate Change look like?

schmidtwriting.com

Costs of inaction towards climate change are large, unpredictable, and will be inevitably catastrophic. Last week my focused was on sustainable development; a discussion on what I thought sustainable development really meant. Essentially I concluded that sustainable development was development with environmental conscience. Producing a product, large or small scale, that had the positive intention of reducing its footprint on the environment through creation. The creation of a product of this sort would be considered to be negative feedback loop. Now, don’t get too caught on the word negative. In this case, negative is a good thing. A negative positive feedback loop mimics systems in our natural world. Change in one part of the system effects change in another, however creating a cyclical effect. Energy is recycled within the system. An example of this is the predatory food chain, all energy is recycled through the food chain, with no energy being lost or gained, just cycled around again. The reciprocal of this is the system of a positive feedback loop. A positive feedback loop mimics much of the systems in our industrial world.  The industrial world creates products we can’t buy fast enough. My favourite example of this is computers, and cell phones. These are products the population can’t get enough of, and companies capitalize on this by offering new models on a bi yearly basis. The consumer has barely taken the plastic off their new computer before they are out buying the latest model. As consumer we don’t buy things to last anymore, companies realize this and, in return, don’t produce things that last. What would be the point? The point is computer parts don’t biodegrade. We can’t ship them off to a landfill and wait for five years for them to turn into nutritious top soil. What do we do? We ship them off t a far way land where we don’t ever have to look at them again. But at what cost is this? Who deals with our computer carcasses? China.

This is the price China has to pay for our positive feedback loops. This is Guiya, China. North America exports its e-waste (term coined for technological waste), sometimes illegally, to China as an easy, cost effect method of disposing of its own dirty habit. Although China is capitalizing on the import of e-waste by paying workers a low income to pick through the waste for high priced components, it is a serious issue for individuals living here. It is estimated that 72% of e-waste ends up here. That’s approximately 5 billion metric tons of metal and plastic waste. (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSPEK14823020070611?pageNumber=1). Although thousands of native individuals are employed by e-waste recovering companies, individuals receive no rights and a small wage. Their health, which is in jeopardy due to the mixture of toxic chemicals present, is of no concern to their employer. This is not a sustainable business for China, nor is it sustainable practice for North America. This is a positive feedback loop, and this is just the beginning of what inaction on climate change through sustainable development looks like.

However this is just a small piece of the puzzle. This example of inaction is only a small contributing factor to the much larger picture. What does inaction on the part of climate change look like? In the long run, in my mind, it looks something much like a scene from the movie “The Book of Eli”. It looks much like a drought stricken deserted shell of what civilization once looked like.

scifiscoop.com

You could argue that is image is pushing it a bit far? You could also argue that it is not. Inaction of climate change will slowly start to creep up on us. This scene doesn’t represent what will happen in the next 20 or even 50 years, but, if we do absolutely nothing, I feel, this is what our world will end up. Inaction will begin slowly, and increasingly escalate if we don’t fight back.

Let’s jump back, far behind this scene of this desolate world. What does inaction on climate change look like tomorrow? It looks like a large scale storm that blows the roof off of our shed. It looks like 20 cm of snow in Victoria. It looks like islands in far away countries that we’ve never heard of, or will ever visit, slowly slip beneath the rising sea. It looks like severe drought in Europe on the front page our daily newspaper. It looks like flooding in northern Australia. Inaction on climate change looks like today, tomorrow, and next week if we don’t start fighting back.

What is "sustainable development"?

With environmentalism on the tip of the public’s tongue today companies are beginning to recognize the need and appeal environmental products have created. Companies have begun capitalizing on this niche market, and have begun tagging their products with terms the public acknowledges to be environmentally friendly. But do we actually know what these terms mean? Biodegradable, green, ethical, sustainable? The truth is we don’t. We buy these products because it makes us feel better about ourselves. We feel we are being environmentally friendly, we feel we are now doing our part and environmentalism is something we can cross off our weekend “to-do” list. We seem to have this unearned faith in companies and the organizations that “certify” these claims to be true.  We believe that what we read must be true. And maybe it’s not even that companies are trying to fool us into thinking the processes they use to support these environmental claims. Perhaps companies truly do believe these processes are friendly to the environment. Some of these terms make sense. Biodegradable means that the product readily breaks down in the natural environment without contamination of unnatural chemicals. Ethical production is related more to the ethical treatment of individuals producing these products overseas but can also encompass ethical practice such as the use of natural pesticides and chemicals. One of the most commonly coined terms in development of products on a small scale such as lip gloss, and on a larger scale including communities and even entire cities is sustainability. So what is sustainability or sustainable development? Does it even exist?

In the last week I have been bombarded with over thirteen different individuals and organizations take or explanation of what sustainable development is. Before delving too deep into the more common explanations and to which ideas I agree with and disagree with, I must first state this: there is no such thing as sustainable development, or more so, absolute sustainable development. To have an absolutely sustainable planet we would need to completely revert to the stone age or living off the land like the early indigenous peoples. Even so, taking one thing, a single flower from a plant, changes the face of the earth, something no restoration can even completely replace. Since this type of sustainability is absolutely impossible to attain I will focus on sustainable development in the twenty first century. Most explanations of sustainability focus on the equal balance between economics, social morality and the environment. However, I feel the balance should be not so equal. I believe the majority of weight should be placed on the environment, and the others will follow. By focusing on the environment economic gain will follow. According to Vault ®career intelligence, “the environment sector is, by all indicators, a strong field that will provide innumerable opportunities to job seekers well into the future.” To date they estimate that approximately two to five million people are currently employed by the environmental sector, and more to follow.  Focusing on the environment may end economic activities in some field but is sure to stimulate the economy with a shift of focus. As far as social morality, how can focusing on the environment be anything but moral? How can a shift from unsustainable growth and ignorance of our natural systems being replaced by a society focusing on becoming more in tune with nature not correlate with societal morals. I personally think a focus on the environment can strength our morals, bring us back to earth, and unite families and friends.

I suppose I still haven’t quite defined what sustainable development is to me. Sustainable development is a focus on the environment. It is creating a product, any product, by means that impact the environment at the smallest cost possible. Everything else will fall into place. There can be no bad consequence for investing in and preserving our environment.  Sustainability, to me, is environmental conscience.