The Cost of Inaction...

As humanity continues to expand and consume at an alarming rate, the consequences of these actions are beginning to have a negative effect of this planet we call home. It’s come to my attention that nearly every time I turn on the tube to watch the news, the airwaves are cluttered with floods, heavy rains, tornados and other severe weather patterns from around the world. It is becoming clear that as we continue to do nothing (or at least not enough) in regards to preventing global warming or living sustainably, severe weather situations are becoming more frequent, costly and deadly. Link

Choosing to do nothing is not something that can continue to be a viable option if we are going to provide a world similar to ours for future generations. Choosing to live amongst our neighbourhoods and society as if our unsustainable actions can continue to go on unaccounted for is not only ignorant, irresponsible or destructive but distressing to think that people don’t care or more importantly that our governments are choosing to do nothing to stop this vicious cycle.

Here is a link to Al Gore’s blog, he posts almost daily and his favourite topic is always the costs of our inactions. Link

As Westerners we are so spoiled and completely unaware of the costs associated with entering a grocery store and expecting to find a variety of produce from around the world. No one really understands the costs associated with the mango they are purchasing and how it traveled thousands of kilometers by boat, rail and trucks for us to pay just 99 cents a piece. What about all the pesticides that were applied to that crop and how they will inhabit the soil for over a decades worth of growing seasons. What about the amount of CO₂ that was released into the atmosphere during the growing, shipping and distribution processes for you to enjoy your beautifully ripe mango. Not to mention the fact that you were too lazy to walk to the grocery store and opted to take your massive SUV to purchase that same mango. The money spent on growing, harvesting, shipping and purchasing that one fruit could have provided an entire village with clean drinking water in less fortunate countries. I’m not sure what’s worse, democratically choosing to do nothing to modify our ways or how relentlessly we spend our money on such luxuries as a mango, in January, in Canada, when that same dollar could have given dozens of people clean water access in Africa.

It’s more than just the ignorance of our exotic produce purchases that is unsustainable. The produce that we do grow here in Canada or which we purchase abroad is commonly grown using monoculture practices. This method of farming has become necessary to feed all the hungry mouths across our nation but at what cost? These practices lead to our dependence on pesticides to create successful yields. These practices have caused the massive losses in biodiversity around the globe. These practices are slowly poisoning us yet we choose to do nothing to stop this.

Below is a video which briefly explains the great potato famine that struck Ireland. This famine was the result of monoculture potato farming practices and was responsible for the death of over 1,000,000 people. The video is part two of a three part series and goes on to explain the dangers of our obsession with McDonalds fries and how the mass production of Russet potatoes has destroyed potato biodiversity. Its pretty interesting and will definitely make you feel guilty the next time you say yes to “would you like fries with that!”

The ultimate cost of inaction will be the loss of our planet. Everything we love about Earth will change and the loss of species as well as life will be cataclysmic. If we don’t start planning our societies to function in a more sustainable manner and begin to make positive sustainable choices in how we buy, live and eat we are doing nothing more than digging our own grave. As a society, we are too dependant on so much and have control of so little. This deeply concerns me and I want change now but I am only one man and we are only one environmental student body. I can’t help but sometimes feel as if the world has no hope and that its impending destruction becomes more evident with the passing of each fiscal year…

What is Sustainable Development?

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://caribbeandiasporaconnect.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=81&view=article&Itemid=60

http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/water/lakesimcoe/index.php