" Barriers to sustainability

 

Barriers to sustainability include the following:

• continued population growth

   

• increasingly efficient and resource-hungry technology (extracting, processing, and distributing more in less time)

   

• a social, political, and corporate culture that focuses on the short term

   

• change is only seen through the eyes of an election cycle or a human lifetime

   

• acceptance of our inherited circumstances

   

• pervasive advertising and marketing efforts aimed at increasing consumption

   

• a distancing from the environmental consequences of our actions (e.g. our waste does not pile up in the back yard)

   

• the complexity of ecosystems making it difficult for scientists to give clear and unequivocal advice to political decision-makers, hence the recommendation to adopt the Precautionary Principle (in difficult cases take the cautious approach)

   

• we do not (as yet) pay for nature as we would for other goods and services and are therefore inclined to assume it has little value

   

• we are not prepared to change our behaviour if it takes us out of our comfort zone (even in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence)

   

• we feel that our own individual action is insignificant and unimportant."  

   

     I chose this section of the wikipedia site to talk about because I always seem to think in a negative way. Negativity stands out to me. The whole site is about sustainability; what it means, how it works, the benefits, the three pillars, ect. Barriers to sustainability stood out to me because it shows what is happening in our environment that is hindering our chance at this sustainability concept.

     The two major points that stood out to me most was that change is sometimes viewed through "human" eyes. Meaning we only care about or think about what will happen to our environment while we are alive instead of long term thinking. It is very true, I myself have said that before, "eh, it doesnt really matter because we wont be alive by then." I know that it seems harsh, but I am being honest. Peace is important, but I usually only refer to peace in the war sense, not so much the environment.

     The second point I came across was the advertisers make people want to consume more, which is the opposite of what "needs" to be happening. The reason I liked this point is because I am in school for advertising. I love the way you can promote something so well that the whole world (give or take) will know about it. Whether its a car or food or whatever it is I love the idea of getting something out there. I guess i'm not the best person to promote sustainability since I am one of the barriers. I guess you could say I have a cold heart, but I dont try to have one. Advertising is my future and I am proud and happy to promote consumption.

     All of the points made in wikipedia seemed to be right on target. If you are any normal human being, we tend to be a bit lazy, not care as much about our "home" as we should, just flat out selfish. Not that we try to be, but its human nature. All of the barriers most people would say yes, this is true and yes, alot of this could change but most likely it wont. See what I mean? I'm a bit negative.

Good paper.  A few ideas I have are maybe move the intro before the barriers to sustainability so the reader has an idea on what your paper is going to about. 

Is the term “green” being over advertised and exposed to take advantage of consumers that think they are buying an environmental friendly product? 

To make your paper longer you could write a paragraph on each bullet about barriers to sustainability. 

Add to your conclusion, summarize your paper.   

Edited by Scott