Understanding Sustainable Development

Project Part 4 Week 11
Eliane Belshaw
ITT Tech Online
Class Number EG481: Environmental Issues
Instructor: William Stewart
May 31, 2015

Project Environmental Issues:Understanding Sustainable Development
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Understanding Sustainable Development
Why has sustainable development been seen as an issue, instead of a problem
solving solution in our modern society? The way that many environmental activists point
to sustainable development, they accuse this scientific tool as a villain that has been
used for a capital purpose only to explore and degrade our ecosystem. The goal of
scientific research is to improve sustainable development, and also to educate the
communities regarding the importance of their participation in the ecosystem
development process. The community engagement can be a complex process: the
influence of the media to lead ordinary people to misunderstand the concept of
sustainable development, the evolution of the sustainability concepts with technology
and the social organization, the example of an organization of a sustainable
development plan, and the suggestion to change the reputation of the sustainable
development. These ideas may change the future of our natural environment, the
development of our society, and the future of our planet.
Lately, the celebrities and the media seem very engaged in the environmental
cause. However, their actions are very paradoxical. I am not sure if they are conscious
of their ambiguous attitude. However, what is transparent to anyone that analyzes the
celebrities words and actions, is the disparity between what they are defending
regarding environmental matters, and how they choose to live their day to day. The
more famous a celebrity is, the more they are engaged in environmental activism. Daily
Mail Online recently published new trends of celebrities to save water, such as using the
same clothes for almost a week, skip showers and hair washing, avoid flushing the toilet

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if they use the bathroom for necessity number 1, and so on (Sheridon, 2015). However,
they still live in the same huge mansions, utilizing high amounts of energy, driving
powerful sports cars, one for each member of the family even if they are going to the
same place. Their spending lifestyle does not stop here, it is usual for a celebrity to
have a beauty treatment in spas at their house that depend on a high consumption of
electricity. These spas have hot tubs, sauna, and other beauty luxuries. The disparity
between these personalities rhetoric and their attitudes is, at best, almost unbelievable.
On the same path of analyzing how deep can be the celebrities environmental
activism engagement, David Frum, in his article to the National Post, "The Hypocrisy of
Celebrity Environmentalists", he mentioned Laurie David, ex-wife of comedian Larry
David. Laurie David made television campaigns against SUV and truck buyers, also
called the SUV's owners "terrorist enablers" (Frum, 2007). In her opinion, opting for cars
with higher gas consumption is consciously funding countries that are providing to
terrorism. Laurie David has huge twenty five thousand square foot mansion, one located
on the east coast, and another on the west coast. To travel between her two mansions,
Mrs. David uses Gulfstream private jets. This type of jet during one transcontinental trip
burns as much fuel as a big size SUV does in a whole year (Frum, 2007). The
celebrities defending the preservation flag, and state that the natural environment is a
sanctuary and humans do not have the right to touch these natural resources. They are
denying the possibilities and the benefits of sustainable development and the
techniques that come with this science. I believe that they completely forget if they go to
the award parties with their brand outfit, under security protection, eating and drinking
first class food and beverages, if they have work in the cinematographic industry, if they

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can go to their safe mansions, and so forth, it is due to the development. In fact, they
need sustainability much more than the average citizen of the world. However, there is
hope, the sustainability can be easier to understand, when people understand its main
idea.
The main idea of sustainable development is to be able to use the natural
resources and also to be able to conserve them as natural as possible. In this way,
these resources would still grow and proliferate to last longer for our generation and for
future generations. Back, in the beginning of the twentieth century, Pinchot saw needs
to introduce the techniques to explore the natural resources without exhausting them
(Lewis, 2009). It was the first ideas of preservation ethic. Pinchot had the objective to
use the natural resources wisely to serve his generation, and maintain the natural
resources as "healthy" as possible, to serve future generations. This definition of
sustainability has perpetrated throughout time, because it is naturally the main concept
of sustainability. What has been changed are the techniques and the social
organizations that have enormous influence over the sustainable development process
(Kates, Parris, Leiserowitz, 2008). In the article "What is Sustainable Development?
Goals, Indicators, Values, and Practice", Environment magazine, the authors use the
concepts of sustainable development from Brundtland Commission, "Our Common
Future" to illustrate their concept of sustainability. For Brundtland Commission,
sustainable development was naturally as "the ability to make development
sustainable...". (Kates, Parris, Leiserowitz, 2008). In addition, what may increase this
ability to improve the development and make it each time more sustainable is the
evolution of technology, the capacity of the social organization on managing the natural

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resources, and the ability of the ecosystem to absorb the artificial interference (Kates,
Parris, Leiserowitz, 2008). After analyzing the sustainable development concept, we can
understand the environment as a system and it will not work properly by isolation of any
other interdependent part.
As an ecosystem, we cannot separate any part of this system and expect that the
system to be continuous to function perfectly normal. I should not determine that the
human race cannot be part of the natural environment, or on the other hand allow the
humans destroy to all the water system and assume that the result will be a perfect
ecosystem. The species in the environment are not by themselves, they may learn how
to cohabitate. Even better, they may learn how to cohabitate in harmony. Aldo Leopold
(1887-1949), who was a wildlife manager and an environmental philosopher, wrote
(Withgott, Laposata, 2012, pp13):
"All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a
member of a community of interdependent parts..."
For their survival, the species must live in harmony. It is an interdependent process of
existence. The main idea of the planet is to be the home for the well-being of all
species. A species should not cease to exist in order for another to survive. On the
contrary, all the systems should work together in favor of every living being. In the book
Essential Environment, sustainability is a set of techniques that we have on our
disposition to:
"Maintaining fully functioning ecological systems, because we cannot sustain
human civilization without sustaining the natural systems that nourish it (Withgott,
Laposata, 2012, pp15)."

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Although sustainable development sounds like a difficult science, it can be as
easy as it is logical. Sustainable development is relatively new, however, it was
developed by environmental scientists with the support of several academic research
initiatives. This process is possible because the environment is a system, the system's
parts work integrated among themselves. Thinking the natural environment as a integral
system, and including all the parts, sustainable development science has the ability to
shape the triad of environmental, economic, and social goals to work simultaneously in
favor of society (Withgott, Laposata, 2012. pp 6). To state its theories, environmental
scientists rely on ethical commitments in order to achieve society's commitment with its
neighbors and future generations. In order to these generations to have a comfortable
future, it is necessary to implement a developed strategic plan, a guide on how to
overcome challenges faced when a society is implementing development at the same
time that it is committing to conserve its natural resources. It is what we also call
sustainability. To follow a development plan under the umbrella of sustainable
development, it is a great deal of experience to understand the goals of sustainability.
Many people do not understand the mechanics of a sustainable development
plan. Different Project Manager Professionals may conduct them in different ways,
however, the research, the focus on conservation, the use of the best technology
available, and the integration with the community are the focus of PMPs that observe
the sustainability regulations. One of the ways to have an organized development is to
plan for growth, and anticipate its needs and probable issues. When a team works on
the implementation of an industrial plant, everything is researched in advance. For
instance, factory localization is a crucial factor in the ecosystem. For this reason, the

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projects must follow an environmental plan in order to impact the environment as little
as possible. Using environmental research, it is possible to figure out where to install a
plant, where the environmental impact will be zero or insignificant, it is possible by
avoiding the river springs and areas where animals are endangered, and so forth.
Another point to be observed is if the factory production has easy flow. In other words, if
there are a variety of roads, railroads, airports, or harbors to transport the raw material
and goods. It is recommended to use infrastructure already built, than destroy more
natural environments in order to create logistical systems. In addition, it is important to
research prior to development to determine if the local workforce can provide the
company with the necessary labor and skill sets required for the company's operation. It
is necessary to avoid employment with a long commute because it also leads to high
traffic accident ratios, the urban area is more polluted, and life in the cities is more
stressful. All the previous research and accommodations help the environment and
development live in harmony together without being harmful to each other. After this
research and explanation, it is essential to organize a plan on how to educate the
population on sustainability matters.
It is fundamental that the community understands the concept and the need of
sustainable development for the sake of the community. For this reason, we developed
a strategy to approach the community and provide them with ideas and goals for
sustainability. The first action is to work with the local authorities to introduce
sustainable development education programs from the first grade to high school levels
of education. The children should understand their fundamental role in the
environmental system. Also, they will begin to educate their parents. In addition, they

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will work with the local authorities and business communities to create programs and
benefits to incentivize businesses to invest in sustainable development programs and
ecological activities involving the local community. The purpose of this program is to
provide incentive for the businesses and the community to work together in favor for the
mutual development, at the same time, that all eyes are watching the well being of the
environment and the common good. As an example of the celebrity environmental
campaigns, the environmental scientific world and associations interested in spreading
the truth about sustainability, should start marketing campaigns to help educate the
population. Showing the other face of the coin, giving the citizens enough material to
think about the need of development in their lives. The human beings depend on the
development to survive, so, it is better that the development is sustainable.
We cannot deny the development in our society, it is part of our day to day life. It
is in demand: transportation, health, education, shelter, and on . The human beings
needs depend on natural environment exploration, directly or indirectly. We cannot
avoid this fact. Some media, celebrities, and politicians with obscure reasons have
performed a disservice to the citizens regarding environmental education, also, the
understanding of the concept of sustainability, the idea of how to plan sustainable
development programs, and how to educate the community to understand and engage
environmental development in the community; all these concepts are part of a
movement to change the future of our natural environment by engaging our society
throughout the environmental education. The celebrities, many times, deny the human
beings needs and the importance of the science of sustainability. However, they never
give up their lifestyle and privileges; and people still buy their ideas. I hope it is due to a

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lack of better ideas or options on the market. Due to this fact, in my opinion, if we
educate people and teach them to think by themselves, to research and look for better
answers, they are going to learn about the reality of environmental science and
sustainability. These are the types of people that a developed society should be looking
for. Not people led by the interest of celebrities, media, or politicians. People should be
able to understand that working with sustainable development, we will have the vision of
the earth as the big picture, working as a system. The ecological system is called a
system because it works integrated as one. It is the vision of sustainable development,
to see nature including humanity as one. We cannot isolate the human from the
ecosystem in order to preserve it, because in the end, the system will not survive; the
system also needs the human being to survive in its life cycle.

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References
Frum, David. "The Hypocrisy of Celebrity Environmentalists." Canada.com/National
Post. August 4, 2007. Accessed May 28, 2015.
Kates, Robert W., Thomas M. Parris, and Anthony A. Leiserowitz. "What Is Sustainable
Development? Goals, Indicators, Values, and Practice." Environment Magazine.
September 1, 2008. Accessed May 28, 2015.
Lewis, Chris H. "The Struggle between Conservation and Preservation in the West."
University of Colorado at Boulder. April 8, 2009. Accessed May 28, 2015.
Sheridan, Peter. "What a Shower! Stars Do Their Bit for Drought-ravaged Hollywood...
by Replanting the Vineyards and Drinking Their Whisky Neat ." Daily Mail.com.
May 2, 2015. Accessed May 30, 2015.
Withgott, J., & Laposata, M. (2012). Essential Environment: The Science Behind the
Stories, 4th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://itt-
tech.vitalsource.com/books/9780321753199

Understanding Sustainable Development

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