This is a word I’ve been hearing a lot lately. But what does it mean? According to World Commission on Environment and Development, sustainable development is defined as “the ability of humanity to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
What are some things we do today that will negatively affect the kids of tomorrow? Polluting the air with greenhouse gases, polluting the soil and water with landfill, polluting oceans by dumping garbage, threatening sea life by overfishing, threatening water supplies by spilling harmful chemicals, wasting natural resources, relying on energy sources that damage our environment, and the list goes on.
Ancient tribes of people, like the Native Americans here in this country, lived in a way that was sustainable. For example, Native American tribes would use every part of an animal after they killed it so that no part was wasted. These people believed that humans must live together peacefully with nature instead of dominating it—or worse yet, destroying it.
Here are some basic rules for how to live sustainably, provided by environmentalist Paul Hawken:
· Leave the world better than you found it.
· Don’t take more than you need.
· Try not to harm life or the environment, make amends if you do.
Right now, there are many things we are used to doing and buying that are unsustainable. The older we get, the more we will see sustainable products and sustainable ways of life becoming available. But how can we make sustainability popular? Isn’t it easier to keep things the way they are? Will you be a kid who looks for these new advances? Are you able to recognize things you do every day that may be unsustainable?
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