Katherine Elliot

Professor Stephens
Environmental Ethics and Policy
2 February 2018
The Urgency of Sustainability

In 2017, the word sustainability has become more pertinent than ever. Despite all of our

best advances with technology, we are unequivocally dependent on the environment. Our rate of

consumption is too high to sustain for much longer, and with that, it is more important than ever

to understand and implement the principles of sustainability. In order to fully understand

sustainability, nature serves as a great mentor as it has certain systems in place that help deal

with significant changes to conditions. Sustainability also focuses on the importance of natural

capital, the natural resources and natural services that keep us and other forms of life alive and

support our human economies.1 Further, sustainability not only focuses on the importance of

natural capital, but understanding how humanity continually degrades available natural capital,

and focuses on finding solutions to solve the unsustainable use of resources. These solutions

involve maintaining a sustainable yield of resources, the highest rate at which we can use a

renewable resource indefinitely without reducing its available supply, using nonrenewable

resources sparingly, and reusing certain resources to extend their supplies. Especially in more

developed countries where consumption is at an all-time high, understanding these concepts is

vital.

Although affluence can lead to more concern about environmental quality, consumerism

is so ingrained in society it is a difficult ritual to correct. On the other side of the spectrum, when

people are unable to support their basic needs, they are not willing to worry about environmental

concerns. Further, pollution and resource degradation increase the poverty and endanger the

1
Ibid,.9.
health of many people.2 Lastly, the price of natural resources does not take into account for

environmental impacts. In other words, when using a resource, one does not need to pay for

environmental impacts. In order to live more sustainably, the prices of harmful environmental

costs of goods and services should have influence in the price of the resource. With the

identification of these problems, different people have different views on the appropriate way to

handle them and how serious the issues are. This can cause problems when attempting to arrive

at solutions however, as different perspective have varying opinions on how to deal with

problems.

According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a 4-year study by 1,360 experts,

humans have degraded about 60% of earth’s natural services.3 The study occurred between 2001

and 2005 to establish a scientific basis for conservation and sustainability. Although scientists

completed much of the assessment, the MA also brought in practitioners, local communities and

indigenous people.4 This allowed the MA to take on an interesting and versatile perspective.

Outlined in the MA is all of the different ways areas of the environment are under critical stress;

covered is everything from the atmosphere to all of the living species on earth. Following is an

intense warning stating, “A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is

required, if vast human misery is be avoided…”5 A call to action to developed nations follows

this harrowing message. However, despite their best efforts, little has helped to correct the errors

in our ways. There has not been any successful global effort to begin to change the status quo,

and focus more on the impact our actions are having on our planet. The critical stress our planet

2
Ibid., 22.
3
Ibid., 13.
4
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board, "Preface," in Ecosystems and Human Well-Being (Washington, DC:
Island Press, 2005), x.
5
"World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice," World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second
Notice, 2017, , accessed August 29, 2017.
is under requires immediate and major action, leadership and solutions, which no country or

organization has been successful at providing.

One of the first steps is education, of course. By educating the masses and getting them to

understand the impact that even one person’s choices have on the world around them is vital.

However, we cannot just simply wait for the gradual effect education has. We don’t have years

and years to wait. Actions need to happen now. Policy makers and influencers need to allow the

world to see how urgent environmental issues are. In today’s political environment, there have

been vast nationalistic movements that are encouraging the sole consideration of self-interest.

People are becoming less and less willing to adjust their ways of living for the greater

good of humanity. This trend is dangerous and, unless stopped urgently, will have a deadly

impact on the fate of the environment. It is of the utmost importance that people begin adjusting

their ways of living, even if it means giving up certain luxuries, in order to conserve the

resources that we have left. The anti-consumerism movement is actually one that has attracted a

substantial following over the years. Anti-consumerism is the opposition to continually buying

and consuming material possessions.6 Members shop less, make efforts to repurpose different

materials, and aim to live with minimal environmental impact. While movements like these are

an extreme, they are making a large difference in the way people approach and address

environmental issues. Additionally, it is the job of those passionate about improving the

conditions of the environment to continually push the importance of issues. Radical action needs

to happen. We did not answer the call of the experts involved in the MA in the early 2000s, but it

is time to answer them immediately.

Word Count: 853

6
"Postconsumers." Postconsumers. Accessed March 08, 2018. https://www.postconsumers.com/.
Question: Since sustainability is a relatively new concept, better understood among younger

generations, to what extent are older generations responsible for understanding and adopting

sustainable practices? Or should the younger generation solely accept the responsibility to make

sustainability the norm?

Works Cited

"Footprint Calculator." Global Footprint Network. Accessed August 29, 2017.

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/footprint-calculator/.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board . "Preface." In Ecosystems and Human Well-

Being , X-Iv. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2005.

Miller, G., and Scott Spoolman. "Environmental Problems, Their Causes and

Sustainability." In Living in the Environment, 5-30. 17th ed. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole,

2012.

"Postconsumers." Postconsumers. Accessed March 08, 2018.

https://www.postconsumers.com/.

"World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice." World Scientists' Warning

to Humanity: A Second Notice. 2017. Accessed August 29, 2017.