Sustainable development is the practice of incorporating the basic needs of human existence both economically and societal without overwhelming the carrying capacity of the Earth’s natural ecosystems. For roughly the past century, mankind has without inhibition raped and pillaged the natural resources of this planet that we call home. From the roaring 1920’s to the swinging 1960’s and now a full decade into the new millennium, the human race has taken advantage of the Earth’s natural resources without fully understanding the consequences of doing so. If we continue to foolishly build giant Walmart parking lots on top of wetlands, live in oversize homes that waste energy faster than it can be produced, live farther and farther away from work making long distance commuting a lifestyle and deplete all of the Earth’s natural resources:
1) The economy will eventually collapse. (No more trees to harvest.)
2) Society will become hostile. (Fighting over water and desirable land.)
3) The environment will spiral out of control and change forever.
Sustainable development is a representation of three crucial capitols: the economy, society and the environment (Dr. Ling RRU 2011). For sustainable development to exist, the needs of all three capitols must be achieved. The economy must continue to flourish, jobs must exist and public trading must carry on. Citizens require a minimum societal operating level to meet their needs and carryout their day to day lives. Therefore, our governments must continue to provide adequate services and leadership to make that possible. Finally, the environment must be treated with the utmost respect. Anything taken from the Earth must be done so in a way where the environment can replenish itself. Anything emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere must be controlled and more importantly limited. Failure of such practices will not only eradicate our precious environment but both the societal and economic capitols that rely on the environment as well.
In order to achieve sustainable development governments and municipalities must begin developing society using ecosystems as a guideline. For example, cutting down hectors of forest to build homes and create agricultural space diminishes the environmental component of sustainable development. Less trees = less CO2 being converting into oxygen, a reduction of biodiversity and an impact on the species that inhabited those forests. Yet, this kind of practice happens every single day across the globe. Governments need to start investing in projects like urban gardens where communities grow the vegetables they need to sustain. Actions such as these are true examples of sustainable development because they support all three sectors. Seeds for the crops have to be purchased which puts money into the economy. The community will then have food to put on their tables each night which is a positive for society. Finally, local gardens promote biodiversity by removing monoculture practices and the overuse of pesticides. They also remove the transportation costs and negative environmental effects associated which shipping produce to the supermarket. A plan such as an urban garden is easily implemented and would benefit the economy, society and the environment. So why is it that they are so few and far in between?
Sustainable development programs do exist both in Canada like the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan in Ontario (Ministry of the Environment) and internationally such as the efforts currently underway in Haiti. The Haitian nation is currently rebuilding its entire infrastructure from the bottom up as the result of the massive earth quake that divested the small Caribbean country just over a year ago. The island is in the process of rezoning the land with an emphasis on sustainable development. For example, soil is being testing in an effort to locate the most suitable agricultural land that will have optimal soil conditions as well as access to water, roads and ports to transport harvests locally and internationally. Advancements in technology will allow banana plantations on the island to grow bananas that are designed to thrive in the particular soil conditions that the island has to offer. In addition, technologies to provide energy for use in rural neighbourhoods are simultaneously being implemented as well. The focus on rural areas of Haiti is important in order to prevent the entire nation from migrating to the capital city which could potentially result in societal chaos because of crime rate increases, congestion and a lack of jobs to support the economy. The Haitian government along with the help of foreign aid is taking strives to ensure the development of Haiti is done so in a sustainable practice and is one to take notice of. The government is trying to find a positive from such a sad situation and in my opinion they are on the right track
(Caribbean Disapora Connect).
On a closing note, sustainable development is a courageous idea in theory and crucial if we are to provide future generations with a world similar to the one we live in. But as our global populations continue to grow exponentially and our desire for creature comforts maintains, sustainable development becomes harder and harder to effectively achieve. Globally we are approaching the carrying capacity of the planet. With more mouths to feed, the need for agricultural space increases. If the environment changes for the worse with increases in flooding and drought, it will become harder to feed the nearly 7 billion hungry mouths on Earth each day. If people are starving, the moral of society will begin to deteriorate. If people are hungry and distressed they cannot work. If people cannot work, the economy will come to a halt. If these capitals become non existent, so too will humanities time on Earth.
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/water/lakesimcoe/index.php
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