Lauren Baker

Mr. Gross
English 12 B (3)
9 May 2014
Development for the Future
Sustainable development is Development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Shah) Sustainable
development aims to provide a higher quality of life for Earths inhabitants without increasing
consumption of resources to the extent that they cannot be replenished. It is not a prevalent issue
in mainstream global news today but is an important issue nonetheless. Sustainable development
practices must be improved on all levels. This topic cannot be pinpointed to one specific cause,
but rather it is an interconnected web of problems. Sustainability impacts society on all levels
including regional, state, national, and global. Poor sustainability practices cause a major loss in
biodiversity, an exponential rise in poverty, and encourage over consumption.
Poor sustainability practices majorly threaten Earths biodiversity. Biodiversity is defined
as the full range of variety and variability within and among living organisms and the ecological
complexes in which they occur (Jensen, Torn and Harte). Poor sustainability practices threaten
biodiversity when organisms are consumed at a faster rate than they are replenished. Habitat loss
and fragmentation is one of the biggest causes of a loss in biodiversity. For example,
deforestation in tropical rainforests not only decreases the biodiversity of plants and trees but
also the organisms that inhabit these rainforests. Because of over consumption in many
countries, forests are being cleared out for farm land or commercial use, which in turns causes a
decrease in biodiversity.
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As a result of a decrease in biodiversity there is also an enormous rise in poverty. Poor
countries heavily rely on their natural resources in order to continue to survive and support
themselves. If these countries do not practice sustainable development they do not have money
to support themselves once all the countrys resources have been depleted. According to the
World Bank, ninety-five percent of the population in developing countries lived on less than $10
a day in 2008. In addition, impoverished countries often overuse their resources in order to try to
provide financial stability. Because of this, it is often difficult to strictly enforce sustainable
practices in these countries. In order to combat this, creative measures must be used. One
example is determining other causes of resource degradation besides overuse by the
impoverished peoples. Resources can also be allocated so the maximum number of people
benefit from the least amount of resources (Heady 3).
Over consumption is common in many countries if not the majority, and when there are
not proper sustainable development practices this trend is heightens. Through over consumption,
societies begin to believe certain products that were once considered luxuries are now
necessities. This causes an exponential rise in the cycle of consumerism. People continually feel
the need to have more and more things because that is what cultures are now accustomed to.
Over consumption leads to the degradation of resources and is certainly not sustainable. It
requires four to six hectares of land to maintain the consumption level of the average person
from a high-consumption country. The problem is that in 1990, worldwide there were only 1.7
hectares of ecologically productive land for each person (Robins 209-210). Obviously this trend
will continue and lead to a profound increase in poverty. Wealthy countries are more likely to
consume a lot more than poor countries, which leads to poor countries giving up their share of
resources and exporting them to high-consumption countries. Although this brings in wealth for
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these countries, it is more times than not the businesses and corporations who benefit from these
exports, not the people who need it most.
One of the biggest obstacles to overcoming the issues with sustainability is the immense
and immovable will of political interests. Some believe it is not even worth trying to solve the
issues with sustainable development because of this, but that is absolutely the wrong approach.
Not to say there are not political interest groups in support of sustainable development, but there
is just as much support on the opposite end of the spectrum. Because of these equal and opposite
forces, development of sustainability practices is at a stalemate. The groups who are against
sustainable development are not even necessarily against sustainability, but they see a different
side of the issue. On one hand there are groups that want to preserve plants, animals, and the
environment; and on the other hand special interest groups look more towards the economic
issues and understand that strictly enforcing these practices will hurt the economy, and business.
If one engages their critical thinking, it is clear that both views are correct. In order to make any
change in sustainable development practices individuals, interest groups, and governments must
sacrifice some part of the equation.
Some also believe that improvements in sustainable development do not promote
industrial innovation. It is a common misconception that businesses are against sustainable
development practices. Many people believe that businesses think these practices will limit their
production or hurt their business. On the contrary, businesses completely support improving
sustainable development practices. Companies such as Mitsubishi devote considerable time to
both the continual reuse of plastics and the industrial transformation of garbage so that they may
be reintroduced into ecosystems in a way that will make ecosystems thrive (Cairns). This proves
that businesses do not oppose sustainable development and they understand that maintaining the
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environment and resources is a key factor to maintaining business.
Opposition also says that sustainable development puts natural systems ahead of humans.
They believe the human species dominate Earth and society should not be as worried about
preserving resources unless they directly aid the human species. This belief is wrong because
humans could not sustain themselves if it were not for the abundant variety of plants and animals
on Earth. Improving sustainable development practices by preserving resources does not mean
natural systems are put ahead of humans. Today there appears to be plenty of resources for
everyone, but if sustainability practices are not improved these resources will quickly be
depleted. By preserving Earths natural systems, humans are preserving their future.
Although sustainable development may be a challenge because of politics and other
various obstacles, it is possible. The first Rio Earth Summit in 1992 attempted to bring more
attention to issues relating to sustainable development and suggested all countries develop
sustainable development strategies. No definite solution exists to the sustainable development
problem but steps can be taken to improve sustainability practices. One easy step is creating
products designed to be recycled. This immensely decreases the consumption of Earths natural
resources. Another way to make society aware of the cost of poor sustainable development
practices is to literally put a price on these practices. This includes integrating the cost of safely
disposing products and also the cost of environmental impacts into the cost of production. It is
debatable if this practice would actually be effective, but it gets the point across that poor
sustainable development practices are costly whether it be to the environment or to the
producers wallet.
A great way to create sustainable development practices is to begin using renewable
resources and energy. Some examples of these are solar, water, and wind energy. By using these
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resources there is less of a reliance on natural gas and coal as sources for energy. This allows the
supply of non-renewable resources to last longer and it is also immensely healthier for the
environment. By using renewable energy there is less pollution put into the air by factories that
burn coal. Recycling also makes a huge dent in the startling rate at which we consume our
resources. Many types of plastics use petroleum oil, and by recycling these plastics there is no
need to use petroleum to make new plastics. Recycled plastics are used for numerous things even
including fleece products. Companies are completely on board with using recycled materials, but
they are actually making more products than people recycle.
Governments at all levels should implement policies to take steps toward sustainable
development in order to avoid adverse consequences such as biodiversity loss and a rise in
poverty. Earths resources are extremely important to society and should be treated like it; not
wasted. It is now understood that the issue of sustainable development goes beyond just making
a change in how resources are used. Each perspective within the issue must weighed before any
real progress can be made. The point is society needs to be aware of how their actions today
affect generations to come. [Sustainable development] helps us understand ourselves and our
world. The problems we face are complex and seriousand we can't address them in the same
way we created them. But we can address them. (IISD).






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Works Cited
Cairns, John, Jr. "What Sustainability Is Not." Minnesotans For Sustainability. MFS,
2002. Web. 14 May 2014.
Jensen, Deborah B., Margaret S. Torn, and John Harte. In Our Own Hands a Strategy for
Conserving California's Biological Diversity. Berkeley: University of California,
1993. Print.
Ravallion, Martin, Shaohua Chen, and Prem Sangraula. "Dollar a Day Revisited." The
World Bank. World Bank, 2 Sept. 2008. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.
Robbins, Richard. Global Problem and the Culture of Capitalism. N.p.: Allyn and Bacon,
1999. 209-10. Print.
"Scientific Definitions of Biodiversity." California Biodiversity Council. State of
California, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.
Shah, Anup. "Sustainable Development." Global Issues. N.p., 8 Apr. 2012. Web. 14 May
2014.
"Threats To Global Biodiversity." University of Michigan, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.
"What Is Sustainable Development?" International Institute for Sustainable
Development. IISD, 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.