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Importance of sustainability in community development
Importance of sustainability in community development
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“When faced with a radical crisis, when the old way of being in the world, of interacting with each other and with the realm of nature doesn’t work anymore, when survival is threatened by seemingly insurmountable problems, an individual life-form—or a species—will either die or become extinct or rise above the limitations of its condition through an evolutionary leap.” ~ Eckhart Tolle How can we, as individual citizens, create real change in our town toward living in a Low Carbon Society? I get so frustrated when people say that it’s difficult to effect change on a large scale. That’s when I say, “Have you heard of Transition Town?” I first heard of the Transition Town movement while trekking across England—250 miles on foot. I had stopped in a book store in Hay-On-Wye, a spectacular village on the Welsh Borders—no …show more content…
10. Honor the elders. “For those of us born in the 1960s when the cheap oil party was in full swing, it is very hard to picture a life with less oil. Every year of our lives since WWII (apart from the oil crises of the 70s) has been underpinned by more energy than the previous years. While you clearly want to avoid any sense that what you are advocating is ‘going back’ or ‘returning’ to some dim distant past, there is much to be learned from how things were done, what the invisible connections between the different elements of society were and how daily life was supported. And to reassure those who might be concerned that Transition is trying to recreate those times—that’s simply not going to happen. Human society is a complex system and complex systems never return to a prior state. If we take the best of what’s gone before, mix it up with the best of what we have now and in the future, we’ll have the best chance of ending up with a future that will work for all of us.” ~ From my article on The Transition Town in Natural Life
The global climate changes have brought devastating geographical changes over the last century. With unfunded solutions and internal political conflicts driven by pure ignorance, our species has begun digging its own grave. Roy Scranton, author of “Learning how to Die in the Anthropocene”, has already begun contemplating the inevitable. By incaptivating his readers with his detailed description of his military past; he draws a parallel to the future he describes as inescapable. Using descriptive logic and overwhelming emotion, Scranton successfully convinces that in order to live in the new age us humans have forged, we must learn how to die.
All the drastic changes that the world has been through, and Carr and Kefalas show that in their writing. These changes at some time made the current town, were they live, a thriving and prosperous place. People would move from their towns to these prospering communities to seek out the benefits that were offered. Many of those small towns are slowly fading into the background because of the modern world changes that big and upcoming cities that offering. These changes are creating new jobs and environments for the youth that are looking for change in the small towns that once were big and thriving, are now filled with the older generation that don’t want to make the change. They are looking to keep things consistent with the life they have been living; some changes in their eyes are not good, they are just creating problems. In Carr and Kefalas’s article they write about living in a small town called Ellis in Iowa. Carr and Kefalas talked to an employee working at a new factory in Ellis, “A machine operator living in Ellis complains about the strugglers facing old-fashion workers who find themselves trapped in a newfangled economy” (33). People living in small towns are unlikely to adapt to new changes, but are having to because of companies starting new factories in their community. This new technology is bound to change the life of older generation parents, whether they choose to stay in their small town lifestyle or move to
Have you ever gone to sleep and woke up, wanting to make a change? It might not be a big change, but it can be something that is beneficial to you and other people. Sometimes you might not know where to start, and it can be tough. We as human beings all have this mindset where we are scared of change. We are already comfortable and used to what’s there and changing it can be risky because we don’t know the outcome.
In conclusion, it is the innate nature of mankind to choose survival above all needs which brings out the hidden savage in all of us kept only in check by the artificial restraints placed upon mankind by society. The descent into savagery, man's inherent desire to survive over anything else and the need for civilization and order shows how society unnaturally holds everyone together. The aspiration to endure is an intrinsic response that may lay dormant until the chains of society and civilization are removed; when that day arrives, their dormant instincts will arise and bring about a regression back to that of a savage.
Like most authors that want to inform their audience about a specific topic, Kunstler educates us about the background story, within the first couple chapters, of how oil and fossil fuels became to be in the Industrial Age. He states that our society have basically reached a global peak, meaning that “we have extracted half of all the oil that has ever existed in the world – the half that was the easiest to get, the half that was most economically obtained, the half that was the highest quality and cheapest to refine” (p.24). The other half of the oil that has not been extracted lies under the most impossible places, such as the Arctic or deep under the ocean.
... If people are secure and happy with their lives it is harder to precipitate change than if they are afflicted.
...on and eventually things like jobs and voting, that would ultimately lead to the entirely different American society we know today. The development of colleges and universities can even be attributed to these changing times.
As cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” In an excerpt from an essay published in the New York Times Magazine, American public intellectual Michael Pollan reveals his goal to convince the ordinary of citizens America that they are capable of saving the world from climate change and to answer the unappeasable question of “Why bother?”. This inquiry stems from the belief that one person is not capable of making a difference in relation to the larger spectrum of Americans who continue to emit a large amount of C02, increasing the effects of climate change, and destroying the environment. Through the exploration of behavior change, and other personal alternatives aimed to reduce America 's carbon footprint, Pollan aspires to have
Introduction The past is another country, where it is only possible to go as a tourist, and which we will never fully understand. We can describe what we see, but it is far more difficult to know why people acted in the way they did, or what they believed, and why they believed it.
" Oil is the life blood of our modern industrial society. It fuels the machines and lubricates the wheels of the world’s production. But when that vital resource is out of control, it can destroy marine life and devastate the environment and economy of an entire region…. The plain facts are that the technology of oil-- its extraction, its transport, its refinery and use-- has outpaced laws to control that technology and prevent oil from polluting the environment…" (Max, 1969). Oil in its many forms has become one of the necessities of modern industrial life. Under control, and serving its intended purpose, oil is efficient, versatile, and productive. On the other hand, when oil becomes out of control, it can be one of the most devastating substances in the environment. When spilled in water, it spreads for miles around leaving a black memory behind (Stanley, 1969).
There are many things we need to change in society to become sustainable for future generations. One thing is for certain, we all need to do our part to contribute to this effort, and there is no time like the present to change our ways.
Significance: The United States must face the fact that the world is running out of oil and with today’s rising oil prices, economic and political instability in regions where the United States gets the majority of its oil, this country must begin looking into alternative means of energy to replace oil and end our dependence on foreign powers.
...empts at doing our part. But what is really needed is change at national and global levels. Only by convincing leaders to create laws that improve our energy policy, and pushing companies to adopt sustainable business practices on a global level, can we see real change. (EDF - Environmental Defense Fund , 2015) We need laws, polices, and infringes…..etc. whatever it takes in order to get our CO2 emissions under control. There are plenty of ways to improve on the current state of global warming like limiting global warming pollution, utilizing renewable energy, drive smarter vehicles, or even drive less. However small the action any change in our normal day to day can still help tremendously especially when done by a large number of people. We have to remember that this is the only planet we have and global warming is a global issue that needs to be taken seriously.
Though the past may bring "a revival and restoration of the misery"(Limerick 473), I believe it is necessary to know and study our past. Through this essay I shall explain how knowledge of the past helps improve the quality of future output, satisfy our human thirst for knowledge, and understand certain polices and regulations.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin