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Introduction to Sustainability - Coggle Diagram
Introduction to Sustainability
Defining Sustainability
What is Sustainability?
Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainability is about systems thinking and understand that when you buy something, it has also impacted other people lives to extract or get that resource to make the product such as a cellphone that used mining.
Understanding the connections of the three E's and keeping a balance of all them
Our planet has many resources that we depend on for food and many of these resources can replenish.
What is Replacement Rate?
It is a maintained rate (not using excess amount) that allows systems to replenish such as chopping trees then giving time for it to grow again or catching fish and giving time for fish to reproduce again. If we do this, there is equilibrium, an equal amount for consumption and the amount left for it to grow or be there.
But we are consuming resources much faster than the replacement rate. Excessive consumption leads to climate change, air pollution, plastic pollution, decline of ecosystem health such as fisheries and forests disappearing.
The three E's - environment, economy & equity
These 3 things are all connected to sustainability. You cannot only do 1 of it and disregard the other 2. that doesn't drive to sustainability.
If we only look at short-term profits for the economy, then there won't be a thriving economy in the long term.
If we only look at the environment, then economy and equity and people's livelihood in general hasn't been thought about resulting in a not-thriving economy.
If you only look at equity, then there are only few people who get most resources and others who aren't living a good life without the resources.
The Linear & Circular Economy
In the living world, there are no lanfills instead materials flow.
One species waste is another's food, energy is provided by the sun, species grow, die and decay returning the nutrients to the soil. It works as a circular economy.
Yet, humans have taken a linear approach- we take (resource extraction), make (production, distribution, consumption) and waste (disposal). Advancing things and disposing old. But each time we do this, we are getting to a finite supply of resources and this produces toxic waste as well. It CANNOT work long-term!
How can we operate as a circular economy just as the living world does?
Our waste can build capital rather than reduce it by redesigning the products and components and the packaging they come in, into safe and compostable materials that help grow more things.
We know fridges, washing machines, cellphones, etc. don't biodegrade. But we are thinking in a way that cycles valuable metals so they maintain their quality and continue being useful beyond.
The circular economy is about retuning and renewing products where they are disassembled and regenerated (grow again).
The circular economy is also about all the interconnecting (connecting/relating) companies that form our infrastructure and energy coming together. It's about energy and rethinking the operating system.
We can license our technologies from manufacturers instead of buying them.
We can design products to return to their makers but how? The product can be separated into its technical materials that can be reused and biological parts that can increase agricultural value. Furthermore, these materials are made and transported using renewable energy.
This builds prosperity (succes in material terms or flourishing financially) long term
The linear economy
focuses on profitability, disregarding of the product life cycle, whereas
the circular economy
focuses on sustainability.
Example of Linear Economy: Placstic
Plastic ends up in giant trash piles in the ocean, straw in a turtle, plastic in a fish that we have digested, the main one is plastic ending up in the environment.
Plastic has a whole life cycle:
extraction, transport, refining production, distribution, consumption and disposal
Extraction, Transport, Refining
Plastic is made from fossil fuels (oil or fracked natural gas) that is extracted and turned into plastic, creating LOTS of pollution that is injurious to health (especially communities nearby these factories). Luckily, we've gotten better in using fewer fossil fuels but...
Production
The fossil fuel industry found a lifeline in plastics! Making oil and gas companies doubling down on plastic production with plans to expand the usage of plastics. But there is already too mcuh plastic so where do they go?
Distribution
it flows into new markets to other countries because plastic is driven by the supply of it.
Consumption, Disposal
Some countries aren't prepared for plastic, consume it and then create piles of plastic waste while other countries just ship their plastic to these countries. Leading so much into the environment.
Where plastic ends up from biggest to smallest
Plastic ends up mostly thrown on the environment, secondly landfills, thirdly incinerated. Incineration produces toxic smoke and ash, these expensive facilities depend on plastic to burn everything else so they want more plastic.
Recycling on the other hand, isn't the best solution. Very less plastic gets effectively recycled meaning it becomes something useful as before. But the others gets downcycled meaning it gets created into something worse that can only be recycled once and then goes to landfills, environment, etc.
So what can we do?
We can shut down plastic machines! Passing policies that make systemic change, phasing out plastics, ending payments given to plastic companies and holding plastic companies accountable for the plastic waste they create. THIS IS A ZERO-WASTE FUTURE
With a zero-waste future, where all products and packaging can be used, repaired, effectively recycled or composted that ultimately creates a circular economy.
Zero Waste Philosophy
Story is linked
Is Zero waste effective?
Zero waste is an individual, consumer-side solution that seeks to minimize trash but we cannot truly bring the waste to zero.
The majority of their impact gets shipped onto the manufacturing side of the product. These items still require packaging, fuel emissions and waste to do so. For example, to keep pears fresh, they are invidually wrapped and stored in crates and any plastic used theough this process gets thrown in the trash. The idea behind zero-waste is then to eliminate the visible waste.
Going zero-waste can be incredibly hard to start. To achieve a zero-waste goal, you must have money, time and effort. But they are still doing good work.
Zero waste is so hard because we have produced so much waste already. Some people are discouraged from attempting zero-waste because majority of the world is wrapped in some kind of package.
Zero waste should be more about bringing people in and developing better relationships with waste than seeking for zero waste.
Those that can reduce waste is achieving their goal but those who can't, can't afford reusable materials to replace plastic or they need single use plastic for hygienic and medical reasons.
Are there viable alternatives to zero waste?
Go to the source of where trash is generated. Connect with stores or companies to minimize teir use of unessecary packaging then you could make it easier for others to reduce their waste.
While zero waste does reduce our impact, you could create greater environmental change by addressing structural isssues like petitioning for a composting service in ypur area.
For those that are able to, zero waste can be an important way to change their relationship with trash.
A more successful way is to not only emcompass just an indivisual approach but rather attempt structural solutions like reimaging with waste streams and working with companies to eliminate unessecary packaging. This makes it easy to ethically co-exist with the environment.
To redesign our relationship with waste, we not only need to think sociologically (the scientific study of the nature and development of society and social behaviour), but mathematically.
CAN'T BE AN INDIVIDUAL SOLUTION, THE PROBLEM IS STRUCTURAL (LINEAR ECONOMY) AND SO THE SOLUTION NEEDS TO BE STRUCTURAL CHANGE AS WELL
Responding to Eco-Anxiety
Eco-Anxiety is a feeling of worry about threats to the environment such as pollution and climate change.
People feel powerless in the face of climate crisis. The problem is the people in power are not feeling eco-anxious.
We can channel eco-anxiety by finding impact through focus rather than trying to fix all the problems. What is that one problem I can do something abput?
If we take on one part to contribute, then we can trust someone else to hopefully take on the other part.
How can we channel difficult emotions into taking action?
We will only be successful if the people who have been excluded from those conversations take part and critically, also the people who have the solutions are able to share them with the rest of the world.