Jimmy Wen

IST 6250

Sustainability has different forms. Nowadays, people are focusing on environmental

sustainability, which will very likely impact us and the next generation. Natural resources are

still extracted from the earth with enormous amounts every day and converting them to energy

can cause huge environmental problems. Global warming is the most obvious damage for our

planet, and if we cannot slow it down it may have disastrous consequences. The United Nations

defines sustainability simply as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Patterson, 2022). Therefore, sustainability

needs to be carefully considered and put into effect by our generation.

In sustainable development, we have to take “influence on environment” into the greatest

consideration. Such development should make a balance between natural resources and

ecosystem services. The development of the economy will not be at the cost of damaging the

environment and depleting the natural resource on a rapid path. A great example can be the

economy development of China back from 1990 to 2015 (MacroTrends, 2021). During this

period, Chinese government focused too much on GDP growth when they just built any kinds of

factories and plants everywhere, and they just wanted to develop heavy industries like

ironmaking. The authorities cared too much about how to boost production but ignored how

much pollution has been created, and how long this fast-growing GDP can maintain. This is

typically an unsustainable development. The immediate effect for this type of development was

that major cities in China suffered from serious haze weather ever since, and other started to

emerge as well.
 The concept of sustainability came from people’s experience and lessons when they were

making economic growth. Lynton K. Caldwell, who is a political scientist analyzing different

models of economic growth without environmental considerations. The recurring theme of these

failed development projects was a tendency to prioritize short-term gains over serious

considerations of ecological impacts, either to biodiversity or ecosystem services (Woodhouse,

1972). After many different studies and many lessons have been taught, people realized

economic growth has to be fit into a non-worsening environment condition. The economic sector

has to meet “essential human needs”, participation, environmental considerations, and the

unifying principle of “self-reliance” (Glaeser, 1984). The term “eco-development” has been

introduced, which means the environmental management and economic growth will meet a new

balance.

The concept of sustainability is setting a certain goal of keeping every circle of human

activities sustainable. It can also be interpreted that the level of sustainability is measured by how

thoroughly an economic cycle can operate in a sustainable way. For example, an electric-

powered car owner wants to charge his car. And he finds a charge station and gets charged.

However, the electricity is generated by traditional thermal power in this area and the fuel it is

using is not a clean one which may cause bigger environmental problems. Therefore, even the

car owner has the thought of using clean energy, but this energy comes from a procedure which

is not so environmental-friendly. In this case, it is still not a green economy because not every

part in this electric circle is green (Tabuchi, 2021). Sustainability means that we must take care

of the very specific and detailed procedure in our economic circle.

Regarding sustainability and its importance, I can link it with my experience in the

District Energy on this island this summer. I had a field study in the company Enwave, which is
operating District Energy on Riverside Rd. I talked to the general manager David Godkin a lot

about the green and clean energy. He showed me all the machines and equipment on the site, and

I was fascinated by the mode of District Energy. It is definitely a creative idea to burn the waste

to generate heat and electricity on this small island. The incineration chambers have a capacity of

burning thousands of tons of flammable waste every year and drive the turbine to produce

enormous amounts of power and heat. It saves acres of land used for storing trash. However,

there is still a barrier of collecting some flue gases like carbon dioxide which can trigger global

warming. Therefore, this economic cycle has a limited level of sustainable development.

Meanwhile, when the garbage trucks start to collect more domestic wastes used for fuel,

more staff will be needed, and more money will be spent on that. The energy spent on collecting

extra amounts of waste may not cover the energy those extra waste produces. So, this is also

regarding the detail of each economic circle. When people are dealing with an entire sustainable

development mode, the associated areas should also be considered.

The articles A perfect Storm of Crises and Planet’s Health for Human Progress are very

representative. The first one talked about the ongoing war and its impact on sustainable

development goals. The author raised concerns about the potential escalation of Russia-Ukraine

War which may shifts all attention from green development goals (Nagarajan, 2022). The war

rages on and both sides are reluctant to cease fire at this moment. The superpowers are focusing

on helping Ukraine win the war and rising military expense. Less countries are tracking where

they are towards the goals in sustainable development. And the author also concerns that if there

this war can become a world war and finally destroy the current human beings’ achievement.

In the article Planet’s Health for Human Progress, the author thinks that it will not be the

last pandemic if we do not seek a greener development method. If the globe is still getting
warmer and warmer, the disorder in climate can cause all creatures’ behavior to become more

abnormal, including the mutation of the viruses. It will be easier for a new deadly virus to form

and pass on among animals and people (Nagarajan, 2020). The two criteria are linked, and when

one is off balanced it will surely affect the other. Just like one hypothesis on the extinction of

dinosaurs that the fast change of climate triggered a new virus to emerge, then finally infect

dinosaurs which have no immunity to this type of virus, and finally wipe out this creature. If

climate change can slow down, it will decrease the chance of a new pandemic.

After reading the articles from the class and elsewhere, I think time has come for the

world to work together to have a sustainable development now. The international organization is

a wonderful place to coordinate the goals set for green development between countries. The law

system may be amended towards green development. However, it is not wise to get too fast. For

example, it may cause chaos to ban fossil-fuel vehicles entirely in just one decade, but it is more

appropriate to get this done in half a century. It is very wise to make both short and long term

plans at the same time.

In conclusion, we must pursue the goal of sustainability. It is important for every part of

the world to develop a greener economic plan. It is not just the encouragement of renewable

energy; it will be the close economic cycle with green development. We have to become more

considerate and integrated. Every place may choose the optimal ways to combine traditional

energy with green energy based on their population and geography situations.
 Reference

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Glaeser, B. (1984). Ecodevelopment in Tanzania. [Link]

Nagarajan, P. (2022, May 4). Commentary: The world heading toward a systemic global war.

SaltWire. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from

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Nagarajan, P. (2020, Dec 18). Climate: Planet’s health for human progress. Retrieved

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Patterson, N. (2022, April 22). What is environmental sustainability? goals with examples.

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Tabuchi, H., & Plumer, B. (2021, March 2). How green are electric vehicles? The New York

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Woodhouse, E. J. (1972). Re-visioning the future of the third world: An ecological perspective

on development. World Politics, 25(1), 1–33. [Link]