Sustainability

Sustainability is a difficult word to define, but it is often best described by the three pillars principle, which incorporates the need to balance the economy, environment and society in all decisions which involve the health of our planet. The three pillars concept is based on the idea that no one pillar is more important than another and thus, in order to successfully protect our planet in the long-term, all three pillars need to be considered equally. Subsequently, another definition for sustainability is the famous 1987 definition which was coined by the Brundtland Report, also known as Our Common Future: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs¹”.

The difficulty with defining the word sustainability is that in modern society, the term sustainability feels too much like a buzzword. It seems that everything today is made to be sustainable, such as light bulbs and cleaning products, or all activities and services are conducted matching sustainable practices. This casual use of the term sustainability reduces the validity of the term, making it feel too simplistic and analogous to a suggestion, rather than a fundamental principle.

As mentioned earlier, sustainability is often associated with the three pillars concept: environmental sustainability, economical sustainability and social sustainability. This tripod can be visualized as follows:

Reference:This image displays the three main spheres which comprise sustainability².

As can be inferred by the illustration above, all factors which are considerations for overall sustainability overlap which each other and thus, sustainability needs to weigh each factor in concert.

In essence, the term sustainability heavily relates to the reality that humans have always had a large impact on this planet and unfortunately, now in the twenty-first century we are realizing the negative consequences associated with these actions. Although we cannot reverse the past practices of civilization, we can continue on into the future following this framework surrounding the concept of sustainable development, both in an anthropocentric (human-oriented) and ecocentric (ecologically oriented) sense.

References:

1. United Nations. (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. Retrieved from http://conspect.nl/pdf/Our_Common_Future-Brundtland_Report_1987.pdf

2. WordPress.com. (2014). AxXiom for Liberty. Retrieved from http://axiomamuse.wordpress.com/2010/12/30/edmond-info-for-citizens-planning-to-survive-sustainability/

Title Image Credit:University of Exeter / Flickr.com

BrainMass Solutions Available for Instant Download

Wind Turbine: Annual Cost

For me to better understand the capital and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs involved in installing 2 possible wind farms and the operating lifetimes, please provide the following information; A) Calculate the predicted annual output, in MWh per year, for each site A & B shown in table 1(Attached); B) In both cases,

Environmental Policy Program Effectiveness

Imagine that you are the "sustainability guru" for the world. Identify the three most important features of your policies for using and managing a. Forests b. Grasslands c. Nature reserves, parks and wildlife refuges d. Biological hotspots e. Areas with deteriorating ecosystems

Human Development and the Sustainability of Groundwater

Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that is needed for survival and well-being depends either directly or indirectly on the natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, while also helping to fulfill the social and eco

Stewardship and sustainability in managing natural resources

Part 1 How can human societies use the concepts of stewardship and sustainability to manage natural resources? Give 2 examples. Explain how this might be done. Part 2 Read the article in the Web Resources by Rhett Butler, Deforestation in the Amazon. Do you feel that good stewardship and sustainable use of resources

Earth's Carrying Capacity

The human population recently reached 7 billion people. The carrying capacity or K is dependent on the environment, and the abundance of available limiting resources. Since we have the capability to increase the Earth's natural resources, we are not reaching the K capacity. We have improved our agriculture and industrial technol

overpopulation of species due to human involvement

Briefly describe the issue of Overpopulation and provide an example.

Stewardship and sustainability resources in the Amazon Rainforest

Discuss stewardship and sustainable resource use, as well as the issues or potential problems. What are the environmental implications of deforestation in the Amazon? Define stewardship and define sustainability. Can any part of the forest be conserved through wise use or should segments be preserved without any use?

Population Growth Around the World

Find examples of countries for each population growth model (rapid, slow, zero). What evidence can you find to support your choices? What problems/challenges/opportunities does each of these countries face in the next 10-20 years as a result of their particular class of growth?

What is Sustainability?

Choose the single best Answer (a, b, c, or d) and explain/justify with a sentence or two. 1. Sustainability is best defined as Answer:____________________________________________________________ a. Creating a world with resources that can be maintained in equilibrium for our children and grandchildren. b. Developing a wo

Pollution Prevention: Recycle vs. Reuse

Contrast the basic principles of recycling vs. reusing. Apply these principles to an example of the operations for a small municipal city Public Works department for a community of 12 - 14,000 citizens. What types of materials, wastes, and programs might be involved in your example?

Bio-Science - ecological foot print

1. What are the 3 everyday products and practices that contribute most to your environmental footprint? 2. What impacts might result if everyone in the world enjoyed the same lifestyle? For example, what might the impacts be on: a. Earthââ?¬â?¢s climate? b. The health of ecosystems and biodiversity? c. Humanityââ?¬

Sustainability, Cycling and Stewardship

You have been asked to prepare a presentation for the annual convention of Citizens for a Greener Planet, a national environmental group, on the idea of sustainable development. Explain the following: 1. Define sustainability. 2. Describe the cycling and recycling of carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen through both the livin

Sustainabilty

Please provide your opinion and why for the following: Environmental Sustainability in the United States is ___________________. It is ( or is not ) necessary because_______________________________. It can be (or can not ) be accomplished because_____________________.

Sustainable Development Benefits for the Future

Some people think that sustainable development is not a useful concept, because it may be impossible to implement or even to define in the case of nonrenewable resources. Others think that it is an extremely important concept, if only because it makes us think about the needs of future generations in planning resource management

Citizens for a Greener Planet - Ecosystems and How They Work (Unit 1)

I have been asked to prepare a presentation for the annual convention of Citizens for a Greener Planet, a national environmental group, on the idea of sustainable development. Include the following: 1. Define sustainability. Give an example. 2. In your own words, describe the cycling and recycling of carbon, phosphoru

In what ways has learning about the environment changed the way you feel about living more sustainably? What information in this class had the greatest impact on the way you think about the environment? How will you apply this new knowledge in the future?

In what ways has learning about the environment changed the way you feel about living more sustainably? What information in this class had the greatest impact on the way you think about the environment? How will you apply this new knowledge in the future?

Sustainable Development speech

You have been asked to prepare a speech for the annual convention of Citizens for a Greener Planet, a national environmental group, on the idea of sustainable development. Since many of your listeners are not scientists, you want to use examples that lay people can understand. You have decided to illustrate the concept by discus

Sustainable Development

Details: You have been asked to prepare a speech for the annual convention of Citizens for a Greener Planet, a national environmental group, on the idea of sustainable development. Since many of your listeners are not scientists, you want to use examples that lay people can understand. You have decided to illustrate the concept

Educate the public about the consequences of over-population

Sustainability

Some Scientists argue that achieving the goal of sustainability involves controlling the size of the world's population. Others believe the consumer - oriented lifestyle common to the developed nations is the larger problem . Yet a third group believes that our inattention to stew

People, science and the environment

Explain the different reasons why people in highly developed countries and developing countries are not living sustainable and discuss how the natural environment is linked to sustainable development.

The Collapse of the Easter Island Civilization

Discuss the idea of sustainable development by discussing the social factors that brought about the collapse of the Easter Island Civilization. You are to compare these events to the on-going deforestation of the Amazon rain forest. Conclude your research by explaining what should be done to

Environmental Science

A local reporter has called you for help with an article on population growth in developing countries. He begins the article with the fact that over a billion people in developing nations live in households that have too little land to meet even their own needs for food and fuel. He wants you to help him understand the options t

Impact of environment on business

- What is meant by the concept of "Green"? Is the definition of green a function of countries/culture? Is the definition of green a function of laws / legal requirements? - Can additional revenues/benefits/profits be generated by the fact that a company is classified as being "green" company? Have green companies a better

Sustainable resource and enviro management

I have a broad question, I am trying to catch my instructors attention- thinking outside the box. I live in Alberta Canada (High in oil and natural resources- economically booming). I am to discuss the importance of the achieving sustainable resources and environmental management- covering areas such as water, waste, climate c