Our Responsibilities to Future Generations
I believe that we have several responsibilities towards future generations, including sustainable energy sources, managed resources, conservation, and to impart knowledge of environmental sustainability in a widespread way. I believe that must fulfill these obligations for the continuation of the human species survival in the future.
Thinking of future generations is a relatively new concept - even past philosophers did not concern themselves with the concept of the future until fairly recently. History has shown a long background of being disinterested in future generations, and to rectify this I believe that firstly we have to address the issue of the idea of ‘future generations’ as a whole.
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Resources is the obvious answer, but what resources exactly? The future is likely to have several technological breakthroughs that may change what resources are needed. If people from 2000 years ago had tried to leave resources for us, they likely would have left very different materials than what we actually use and have a need for today. This problem also means that if we were to constrict uses of materials, we could potentially be robbing them of the materials needed for a technological breakthrough that could make said limited materials obsolete. If someone had restricted resources during the industrial revolution then we possibly could of had a very different set of technology today. Something to also consider is what kind of lives our future generations will be living- we do not know what kind of conditions they will be living in, and even scientific guesses can only go so far (and many predictions about the future have been wrong before). Simply put, we have no way of knowing what kind of environment our future generations will be living in, so we need to consider a wide range of possibilities. It is also of the utmost importance that our future generations have lives that are at a decent living standard, because as Pauli Becchi writes- “The perpetuation of human life on the planet would be pointless if it came at the price …show more content…
Conservation is defined as the saving of resources. The term ‘resources’ can mean several things, but for this particular essay I will be using it to mean the same thing as Diane Hunt talks about in her work, energy and materials- with energy referring to oil, coal, electricity and natural gas - and materials being biological things such as ‘wood, soils and food sources’. It is of the utmost importance that we realise the value and importance of conservation, because if we don’t then our resources can quickly disappear. Hunt raises the point that conservation is often seen directly in contrast with ‘development’, and whilst this is a valid point, it is not particularly true- both are actually resource management concept, with the only difference being the rate at which materials and resources are being used. Development generally conjures images of rapid resource use, but as long as the resources used are being carefully monitored and replenished when applicable there is no reason for development to be opposed by conservationists. It is a fact that we need development as a species to continue thriving and to continue growing. It is also important that we conserve our resources so that we can continue developing, and so that our future generations have the ability to continue developing. By conservation we offer our future generations the same opportunities that we have, and offer
The competition in today’s job market makes it seemingly impossible to be considered a competitive candidate without having some sort of college degree. This very fact has pushed researchers to analyze and report on the performance of students with various educational backgrounds along with the factors that affect their ability to obtain a college degree. One particular subset of students who show interesting graduation patterns are first generation students, whose parents have do not have a college degree. First generation students frequently encounter difficulty in school and must jump over many hurdles in order to graduate and receive a college degree. These hurdles include language barriers, intergenerational gaps and social class achievement
One pivotal point regarding the debate on environmental ethics and the course humans should take is regarding future generations. How do the actions we take today impact those who inherit this planet after us? Some people argue that we do not inherit this world from our parents, but rather borrow it from our future children. Regarding the text Sustainability and Responsibility to the Future, several different viewpoints are offered regarding both sides of the ethics of environmentalism.
It is a very daunting question that looms over many Americans. “What does our future hold?” is the frequently asked question. When people are faced with this question, there is a lot of uncertainty. Many people do not know how to answer. Despite what many might think, America 's future is well known across hundreds of nations all over the world. America 's future has actually been a question people have asked since the beginning of this great nation and has a very important meaning in the lives of many. There are many factors that will affect the United States future. These factors include culture and education, economy, resource management, politics, and protection of freedoms. In this paper, I will give each factor a grade in terms on future
Members of the Y Generation include those born between the years 1982 and 1994. A generation is known as a group of people born in a particular period who would have experienced similar events or experiences while growing up. There are often negative connotations made against members of the Y Generation, as they are known for being spoilt, overly confident and too dependent on social media and technology. They are the first generation to have grown up with high-definition television, mobile phones, internet and social media. Generation Y are possibly more interested in the environment, caring and community orientated than previous generations. The majority of this generation is now in young adulthood and starting their careers. They make up most of the young singles and couples market and are a very critical group of consumers. Many of the claims made about Generation Y are based on little evidence and contradictory, this report seeks to examine these claims.
ADDRESSING is an acronym for the different factors that characterize one’s life. It stands for Age and generation, Developmental Disabilities and other disabilities, Religion and spiritual orientation, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous heritage, National origin, and Gender. These factors influence bias that one may face in life, opportunities available, and biases that one may feel towards others.
The generation that I was born into can sometimes be easily misunderstood by those in earlier generations. The individuals in my generation get thrown many different labels such as those that Rosie Evans (n.d.) listed in her article, “Millennials, Generation Y, the Lost Generation, boomerang kids, the Peter Pan generation…” and more. This can impact us as a whole because some will begin to live by the labels, in some cases that can be negative but in others it may be beneficial. Many people in this generation believe that they can’t reach their full potential due to labels and prejudgment, while there are others believe nothing can hold them back. When we get labeled all together that is also what may drive some to try to stand out from the
Generation Z is determined to change the future and is at an advantage over all previous generations to do so. This group is those born between the years 1995 and 2012, whom are currently ages 4 to 21. Statistics show Gen Z is extremely mature for their age with the lowest levels of drug use, alcohol consumption, smoking, and teenage pregnancy in decades, as stated by JWTIntelligence. This demonstrates that they are future orientated. Generation Z is unified, diverse, realistic, and technologically advanced, making them the generation with the power to impact the world.
The Millennials generation is widely known to be “entitled, narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy” as Simon Sinek (2016) said in his interview on Inside Quest about the Millennial generation. Essentially, he is saying that Millennials have issues that will cause them problems for developing in the real world. I agree that Millennials are not prepared for the real world and they do have issues. Sinek (2016) starts off by asserting the Millennial generation is unprepared for the world because of by four categories parenting, technology, impatience, and environment.
My ideal future would be being able to travel to places where I’ve been as well as to places where I haven’t been. I’d imagine myself being happy because I’d have everything I’ve ever wanted. Getting married, buying a house- even if it were a small house with only a few bedrooms in a quiet neighbourhood. After buying a house(,) I’d have a child so that I could spoil them the way my parents spoiled me. In my ideal future(,) I would work at home so that I could be able to spend time with my family I would be my own boss. On my spare time that I would have I would start a an animal shelter one in a foreign country I would help stray animals have a home, people who can not afford to have pets could come play with dogs and cats as well as adopt them. I’d also keep myself entertained by being activite and having my own gymnastics gym.
My stance is that we must include all possible solutions in controlling population such as family planning and governmental involvement. In addition, discover solutions to use renewable resources and impede on exhausting nonrenewable resources, as well as ways to tackle overconsumption to support our corrupting environment.
Now that we have explored my past, present, and future experiences with diversity, it is time to see how they are present within and effect each other. Firstly, let’s look into how my future is present in my past. The most obvious portion of my future that is in my past is my willingness and efforts to love and include everyone and to spread this world view. It took a fellow classmate of mine to demonstrate to my third grade self that we are all human beings and we all deserve to be treated as such. In my future, I aspire to demonstrate this world view to my students and inspire them to treat each other accordingly. This aspiration directly reflects my world view struggles I went through in third grade, for I want to help my students come to
Everyone says this generation is the future, the people and the citizens of tomorrow’s society. Except if this generation is not educated to grow and progress with the planet and learn how to help it, there will be no “next generation”; the earth simply will not be able to sustain our life forms. This is why science education is important to the future of our lives and our planet. Where if not for the innovation of science and its cures, we would still be living in the Dark Ages where the simple flu would have killed a family, and smallpox and other diseases caused epidemics and panics. Every day science classes are educating kids on the basics and the higher levels of science. Out of all these kids a few are bound to become doctors and research biologist that will help cure cancer, the planet of harmful pollutions, and more. One might say that science was the one that started the pollution in the first place, but as you can see, it has started to help fix the damage it has caused. Also, science education (although thought impractical by some) surrounds our everyday life and is need to understand some of nature’s simplest things. This is why science education is so important in the 21st century.
By showing the world the severity of our need for conservation, we will be able to save the earth and get the most out of our resources. We need to fix this problem before it becomes uncontrollable to the point of having no resources to supply our needs. By reducing our consumption of resources, we will be able to become closer to fixing the problem of global warming, high gasoline prices and pesticide filled meats. The outcome of respecting our world and “going green” will better how we live our lives, our communities and the environment. The concept of “going green” is a necessity for the future because “our children deserve cities as beautiful as they are.
On the whole, I think that it is our moral obligation to protect the environment and its inhabitants. We must all contribute in protecting the nature. No matter how small or insignificant our actions may seem, they matter. It only takes 1 person to start a movement that could possibly lead to a major environmental breakthrough. Are you going to be that person?
Many people assume that the environment is not in danger. They believe that as technology advances, we do not need to worry about renewing natural resources, recycling, and finding new ways to produce energy. They state that one person in the world does not make a large difference. In reality, each individual's contribution greatly affects our environment. Our natural resources are slowly disappearing, and we must work together to save them and the Earth from ruin.