LWU: Lesson - Introduction to Sustainability (Topic 5.12) 📖
⏳ Estimated Reading/Watching Time: 5 - 7 minutes
Explain the concept of sustainability.
Sustainability
Sustainability is the ability to maintain or support a process over time without depleting natural or physical resources. The Environmental Protection Agency defines “meeting today's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
Whew! Sustainability sounds like a tall order when considering all of the impacts that humans are currently having on the biosphere.
How exactly do we meet today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs?
We often break sustainability into three core concepts:
- Economic 💵
- Environmental 🌱
- Social 🏬
Environmental scientists take into account various factors, such as biological diversity, food production, average global surface temperatures and CO2 concentrations, human population, and resource depletion, when they think about sustainability. These factors show how humans can affect the environment in different ways and why it is important to develop a sustainable mindset. However, we cannot solve these problems alone. We need global cooperation to achieve the goal of sustainability.
Achieving Sustainability
Achieving sustainability on a global scale is possible, according to scientists, but it requires global cooperation and attention to factors related to sustainability, such as harvest limits, quotas, and maximum sustainable yield, all of which we will discuss in this module. We can also contribute to this effort individually by reducing our consumption, purchasing recycled products, recycling whenever possible, educating others about sustainability, and being mindful of the fact that Earth's resources are finite and can be depleted if we are not careful with our impacts. We hope that future generations will appreciate our efforts to preserve the planet while we inhabit it.
When making decisions that could affect the Earth's resources, a good rule of thumb is to remember the following quote:
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
- Unknown
Sustainability refers to humans living on Earth and their use of resources without depletion of the resources for future generations. Environmental indicators that can guide humans to sustainability include biological diversity, food production, average global surface temperatures and CO2 concentrations, human population, and resource depletion.
Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)
A lot of the discussion surrounding sustainability revolves around resource extraction and use. Garrett Hardin postulated in his essay The Tragedy of the Commons that humans will overuse resources for personal gain when given the chance, especially when there is a profit motive. We have seen this tragedy play out in many ways over the years. Extinction of species such as the dodo bird and passenger pigeon came about because of overharvesting.
Many extinctions could have been prevented if the harvesters of these species had understood the concept of sustainability. Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) refers to the highest amount of a resource that can be harvested without affecting its regeneration. MSY is sustainability in action. Every resource has a calculable MSY. By following careful planning, rules, and regulations, resources can be harvested sustainably without causing extinctions or depletions.
Historically, our approach to fish harvesting was to catch as much as possible without regard for the long-term consequences of overfishing. However, this caused the collapse of many fisheries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) conducts regular surveys and evaluations of the population levels of various fish species that are harvested for human consumption.
The data collected from these surveys is analyzed using quantitative methods and shared with the stakeholders involved in the fish harvesting industry. Based on the data, the NOAA provides recommendations for setting quotas, seasons, and methods of harvest that aim to ensure the sustainability of the fish stocks.
In the United States, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is tasked with managing National Forests to ensure that loggers do not overharvest the forests. USFS rangers work with logging companies to develop plans for both harvesting, then replanting, forests. The goal is to ensure that harvesting of timber is a sustainable activity so that future generations will have enough timber to satisfy their needs.
Another great example involving sustainability is the extraction of water from the Ogallala aquifer (also known as the High Plains aquifer). Farmers and ranchers in western Texas, western Oklahoma, western Kansas, eastern New Mexico, eastern Colorado, and much of Nebraska pump water from this underground water source to support their crops and livestock.
As farming and ranching activity increased in this area during the 1900s, the water level in the aquifer dropped and continues to drop today. Because of the declining water table, water wells have to be extended to deeper and deeper depths to access the water. Eventually, the well shaft is void of water. At that point, the well shaft must be extended lower into the aquifer in order to continue pumping water. This is an unsustainable situation.
Aquifer depletion continues to be a problem, especially for the Ogallala Aquifer.
Sustainable yield is the amount of a renewable resource that can be taken without reducing the available supply.
The AP exam will often ask you to consider economic, environmental, and/or social effects of human activities.
Sustainability is probably the most important word in environmental science. Your thoughts should always be focusing on sustainability while in this course.
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