Why Is Sustainability Important?

The term sustainability can be in reference to economic sustainability, social stability, or the most common use today, environmental stability. If the environment in a certain area, or even as a whole, is sustainable, it must be able to thrive.

Environmental sustainability takes into account the people living within an environment and their capacity to survive as a species within that environment. In 1987, sustainability was defined at a conference of the United Nations as development which meets the needs of people living on the earth currently without compromising the ability of people in the future to provide for themselves. Sustainability, in this particular context, is defined in terms of the needs of human beings present and future. As the population across the world increases, natural resources are rapidly being consumed.

On the other hand, the world has seen a decrease in these resources that support human life. Water is an essential ingredient for life to thrive, but water resources are quickly being depleted. Trees are necessary to recycle oxygen, but trees are being cut down at an alarming rate.

It is clear that as the consumption and population of the world increases, the rapid decrease of the materials being consumed becomes a bigger issue. Awareness of sustainability allows us to maintain a level of consumption that allows for natural resources to last for future generations.

Importance of Sustainability

The human population is currently growing at a rate that makes sustaining our resouces impossible. The world simply cannot continue consuming at a rising rate while resources begin to fall, because at some point, there will be no resources left to consume. If that were to happen, the human race would be in a huge amount of trouble. Left without resources, such as food, water, shelter, and oxygen, the human race would die out. Our existence on earth cannot have a continued negative impact on the environment, which we depend on for food and resources. Sustainability seeks to use less resources or restore those that we have used.

Goals of Sustainability

The ultimate goal of sustainability is to achieve harmony with the environment, so that fewer resources are consumed than are being created. Sustainability helps the economy and the social sphere, since people are spending more and more money on resources that are not renewable. It allows people to recycle and reuse that which would automatically be thrown out. Moreover, it allows for innovation and creativity, from the smallest business to the biggest corporation, by prompting all people to move toward greater efficiency and lower costs.