Sustainability in Easy Terms

How do you define sustainability? There will be a wide array of answers if you ask that question to a few different people. Many people will define it as not messing up the planet for future generations. Sustainability has as much to do with making good lifestyle choices, supporting your local village or community and enhancing long term economic strength as it has to do with being environmentally conscious and aware. ‘Sustainable’, as opposed to the term ‘Green’ promotes a much wider ranging set of values and objectives than purely environmental protection.

If you take a look on Google, you’ll find many definitions around the term. These include:

To keep in existence, to nourish and maintain. To prolong.

A state or a process that can be maintained indefinitely.

To be able to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

This really shows us that, as with all things, if you fail to take care of something it becomes unreliable and eventually prone to failure. Humans have certainly not looked after the planet that well, but a question that we are all asking is, ‘Can the damage be reversed?’

Global warming is one of the big questions and debates at the moment. The cynics deny that it is related to human activity, stating that it is just a cyclical event, many of which have occurred over the course of the planets history. The proponents of the ‘global warming’ hypothesis state that is is humans that are responsible, emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary ‘ greenhouse gas’ have created a gas layer that reduces the ability of the planet to breath and release heat.

Whichever is correct, and it’s certainly likely that both are to some extent, I feel that advocating the ‘precautionary principle’ is surely the best way to deal with the problem. The ‘precautionary principle’ involves taking action anyway because we are unsure if our activities have caused the problem. It’s a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach. Reducing greenhouse emissions is going to do the planet good, so lets play it safe and take some action.

We are unlikely to know in our lifetimes whether taking this action will avert environmental disaster, but I know that on a personal level, I’d feel better to know that we made some attempt, rather than just discarding the idea completely.

Steve has been writing articles for nearly 3 years. Explore his latest website over at www.cheapvegasvacationsonline.com which helps people find the best Cheap Vegas Vacations and information they are looking for when planning a holiday or business trip.

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