reflective journal sustainability
“Sustainability” is definitely not a new term or a new concept to me but it is only related to urban development in Hong Kong. After starting this course, I discovered that my horizon needed to be boarded to global level. I can see that sustainability can be related to many things, not only urban development but also business and our life style, how we live can seriously impact how long the planet can last for, and even would affect our descendants’ life.
I was impressed by the video “the story of stuff”, (creative commons, 2013) Annie Leonard pointed out that people today are living under many different kinds of propaganda, and encouraged to buy many things no matter that stuff is needed or not. Therefore, consumerism was formed. Actually, people in Hong Kong also have the same phenomenon especially for online shopping. In recent 3-5 years, TaoBao (Taobao.com, 2015) which is a new and popular online shopping platform among Hong Kong people, the items shown on the web are with a very attractive price, some clothes can be bought by just 10 to 15 Renminbi (RMB), even add on the procurement cost is only cost about 20 Hong Kong Dollar (HKD). Honestly, I am also one of the frequent shoppers. Nevertheless, after watching this video, I would think clearly before I make up a decision to buy new clothes or accessories ever after since I do not want to burden our lovely and only planet so seriously anymore.
Another data that surprised me is my ecological footprint (EPA Victoria (2012), if people live like me, 3.1 planets are needed. However, we just have one. In my opinion, I understand that maybe I eat too much meat such as beef, pork and chicken but if I want to eat such meat, it is unavoidable to transport from mainland to Hong Kong even including vegetables. One of the element counts our footprint is where our food grown and it implied if the food is not locally grown or produced, transportation is a must. It is unfair to Hong Kong as it is not a self-sufficient city
I was impressed by the video “the story of stuff”, (creative commons, 2013) Annie Leonard pointed out that people today are living under many different kinds of propaganda, and encouraged to buy many things no matter that stuff is needed or not. Therefore, consumerism was formed. Actually, people in Hong Kong also have the same phenomenon especially for online shopping. In recent 3-5 years, TaoBao (Taobao.com, 2015) which is a new and popular online shopping platform among Hong Kong people, the items shown on the web are with a very attractive price, some clothes can be bought by just 10 to 15 Renminbi (RMB), even add on the procurement cost is only cost about 20 Hong Kong Dollar (HKD). Honestly, I am also one of the frequent shoppers. Nevertheless, after watching this video, I would think clearly before I make up a decision to buy new clothes or accessories ever after since I do not want to burden our lovely and only planet so seriously anymore.
Another data that surprised me is my ecological footprint (EPA Victoria (2012), if people live like me, 3.1 planets are needed. However, we just have one. In my opinion, I understand that maybe I eat too much meat such as beef, pork and chicken but if I want to eat such meat, it is unavoidable to transport from mainland to Hong Kong even including vegetables. One of the element counts our footprint is where our food grown and it implied if the food is not locally grown or produced, transportation is a must. It is unfair to Hong Kong as it is not a self-sufficient city