Sustainable Development
Sustainable what?
Sustainable development can be defined in many ways; the one that I prefer to use is that of the Brundtland Commission: "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."(1) Along those lines, many Governments around the world strive to minimize the pollution impact over our most valuable resource, the Earth. Additionally, lobbyists have spent thousands of hours encouraging legislators to enact laws to protect the environment, and so far we have gotten some results. But I think we can do even more; the next question: What? And the answer is very simple: changing the culture.
From the Capitol Hill
I have read in many newspapers how congresspersons discuss whether or not to ban a new bill that would substantially improve the energy consumption, or to incentive Scientifics to develop alternative energetic resources. It is not on my best interest to say that it has been useless all the effort, not only because it is unfair, but also because some of those efforts have shown positive results. Many chemical plants started to treat their wastes, and many Scientifics have developed systems that allow high reductions for many pollutants, improving the life of many rivers, lakes, and the air.
But is it enough? I'm afraid the answer is no, we are still overusing many resources, and even though we are polluting less, the degradation of the raw resources is becoming more evident. The excessive use of fertilizers, the massive construction business, the uncontrolled tourism exploitation, and several others make little all the improvements we have reached so far. Our generations, specially those of the future, are facing a huge challenge to solve or at least to smooth the impact of all these factors, making the sustainable development concept more a reality than a mere dream of idealist people.
From inside
Are we doomed to live in a society that has no interest on what will happen
Sustainable development can be defined in many ways; the one that I prefer to use is that of the Brundtland Commission: "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."(1) Along those lines, many Governments around the world strive to minimize the pollution impact over our most valuable resource, the Earth. Additionally, lobbyists have spent thousands of hours encouraging legislators to enact laws to protect the environment, and so far we have gotten some results. But I think we can do even more; the next question: What? And the answer is very simple: changing the culture.
From the Capitol Hill
I have read in many newspapers how congresspersons discuss whether or not to ban a new bill that would substantially improve the energy consumption, or to incentive Scientifics to develop alternative energetic resources. It is not on my best interest to say that it has been useless all the effort, not only because it is unfair, but also because some of those efforts have shown positive results. Many chemical plants started to treat their wastes, and many Scientifics have developed systems that allow high reductions for many pollutants, improving the life of many rivers, lakes, and the air.
But is it enough? I'm afraid the answer is no, we are still overusing many resources, and even though we are polluting less, the degradation of the raw resources is becoming more evident. The excessive use of fertilizers, the massive construction business, the uncontrolled tourism exploitation, and several others make little all the improvements we have reached so far. Our generations, specially those of the future, are facing a huge challenge to solve or at least to smooth the impact of all these factors, making the sustainable development concept more a reality than a mere dream of idealist people.
From inside
Are we doomed to live in a society that has no interest on what will happen
Bibliography: (1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development