Environmental Sustainability: Environmental Uninhabitability

Earth is the only known planet in our universe that is able to sustain life, yet we choose to carelessly mistreat the environment which supports us. Pollution and waste are quickly beginning to have lasting effects on our environment. Environmental sustainability is a topic most choose to ignore. This is because we indulge in short term comfort, and choose to ignore the long term consequences our selfish choices have on the environment. The poorest nations and societies of our world feel the biggest impact from these long term consequences. The environments they live in are continually becoming uninhabitable due to the lack of environmental justice that they receive. Environmental sustainability is also hindered by the pressures of political

Political and economic perspectives often conflict with one another when dealing with environmental sustainability. In, Laudato si’, Pope Francis I writes, “While some are concerned only with financial gain, and others with holding on to or increasing their power, what we are left with are conflicts or spurious agreements where the last thing either party is concerned about is caring for the environment and protecting those who are most vulnerable” (Pope Francis I, Laudato si’, Sec. 198). Conflicting perspectives between economics and politics may never be settled. The economic perspective is one of profit maximization, if companies can cut costs using non-environmental methods, then they most likely will use these methods. However, Pope Francis I believes we have a moral obligation to encourage new production practices that would sustain natural resources (Pope Francis I, Laudato si’, Sec. 191). In addition to this, a move towards a more sustainable operation would not spell trouble for businesses, since there is profit to be made within sustainable technologies. For example, the current auto industry is shifting its focus towards producing electric powered vehicles, because they foresee the global market for this technology becoming profitable in the near future. Since we are beginning to revamp the economy, to

We can find examples of respecting and worshiping the Earth in the religious writing, the Canticle of the Creatures, by St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis writes, “Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, Who is the day and through whom You give us light.” (St. Francis of Assisi). Pope Francis I is influenced by the works of St. Francis of Assisi, and we can see the effects of this influence when he discusses our moral obligation to take care of the Earth (Pope Francis I, Laudato si’, Sec. 10). When we talk about protecting the Earth, we include the preservation of the biosphere that consists of millions of different species of creatures. Pope Francis I writes in Laudato si’, “The loss of forests and woodlands entails the loss of species which may constitute extremely important resources in the future, not only for food but also for curing disease and other uses” (Pope Francis I, Laudato si’, Sec. 32). Instead of viewing forests and woodlands simply as a source of natural resources, we must view them as being a home for millions of different creatures. The human race has largely benefitted from the plants and animals on Earth. One example of this would be the role bees play in pollination. Bees are responsible for pollinating 70 different types of