What is sustainable development?

I believe that sustainable development is the capability for all human beings to meet their needs through economic stability and social equity without depleting the natural resources of the earth for future generations to meet their needs. The environment plays a large role in sustainable development. We have to take care of our environment and maintain its integrity now and always.

Today there are many definitions of sustainability and it is used in many different areas to demonstrate a company’s ability to maintain a balance in their production. I think that this can confuse people as to what being sustainable truly is. Since meeting personal needs and values differ among mankind, it can have many different meanings. Environment Canada defines Sustainability as a “process of developing land, cities, businesses and communities so that our current needs are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=354F26A4-1).

Sustainable development incorporates three main areas: economic, social and environmental. Each area must be in a balance, with neither being depleted for the sake of the other. The environmental aspect of sustainable development is, in my opinion, the most important factor. The economic status depends greatly on the environmental condition. Depletion of our resources and natural environment will cost more to recover if we don’t put new practices in place. There are many ways to promote sustainable development. You can begin by following the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.  It may seems like a no-brainer, however, as Canadians, we are the world’s leader in water consumption. There are other ways to adopt a more sustainable way of living, such as taking public transit, buying local goods, reducing our consumption of water and energy and reducing waste.

It is important for us all to reduce our consumption and take care of our planet. We need to conserve our environment, as is it home to wildlife that depends on the maintenance of its integrity. If we continue to overuse and abuse the earth we will use up all of our resources faster than they can be recovered. We need to educate those that do not understand the importance of sustainable development so that our natural environment is not lost. Previous generations have not taken the issue of sustainability with much importance. It’s up to us to encourage our peers, the public, and the government that sustainable development is not a loose term, and it most certainly needs to be addressed today. We cannot waste any more time with unsustainable practices as we are already compromising the opportunity for future generations to meet their needs.

It may not seem like much, but in our household we have a recycling system where anything and everything that can be recycled, is recycled. We also participate in a composting program, reFUSE- Residential Resource Recovery. It costs about $15 a month, but it greatly decreases the amount of garbage we have. This program provides our household with two bins; one small container that is kept inside the house, and another larger container outside our home that we empty the smaller bin into. When they come to collect the larger bin, they give us a bag of soil. We can discard all our scraps from meat and bones to paper food packaging and paper cups and plates (http://www.refuse.ca/). This is just a small way our household is contributing to sustainable living.