Sacrifices for the sake of sustainability
The rate at which the eco system is fast disintegrating might create panic among the human race. The situation has warranted a serious approach to the issue in order to find a solution. Understanding the effects of a dilapidated eco system is vital to finding a solution. Sustainability of the environment is pivotal to paving a path towards a better future. Sustainability had a different meaning for each person. Majority agree that it has a lot to do with the environment and its protection. Others equate it to an easier way of life for the human race and the future generations. According to Vucetich and Nelson’s article titled, “Sustainability: Virtuous or Vulgar?”, sustainability has to do with achieving a better lifestyle for people while still maintaining the environment in which we live. The article goes a step further to include the fields of medicine and psychology as contributing to sustainability. Everything that makes for better living conditions can be termed as sustainable, so long as the ecosystem is at equilibrium. (Vucetich and Nelson 539)
The article questions the vulgarity or virtue of the concept of sustainability. The concept lies on a thin moral line definition wise. On one hand, sustainability can be assumed to be the process of achieving a better lifestyle while paying no attention to the environment. This aspect denotes that the human race should do everything that they can to live well regardless of whether the ecosystem suffers or not (Vucetich and Nelson 540). It is crucial to note that this kind of mentality is what got the world in its current situation. The world has reducing water levels and uneven weather patterns, creating a frenzy among scholars and environmentalists. Sustainability may be a virtue, where the human race sacrifices a lot for the sake of the environment. Sacrifices may come in areas where people give up technological comforts or production of certain products to keep the environment safe. This may prove hard for people to achieve. If the idea were to be implemented the future would be secure for everyone.
Based on virtue or vulgarity, the society can never truly agree on the appropriate definition of sustainability. As sated earlier, sustainability may mean different things to different people. A doctor’s definition of sustainability may not be the same as an environmental scientist (Vucetich and Nelson 541) .The definitions are constantly changing depending on the periods in which people live. One question arises; does a better lifestyle determine the nature of the eco system or does the ecosystem determine the type of lifestyle that people achieve? These issues may prove difficult for the journey toward sustainability. How will people come together to work toward something that they truly cannot understand? It is paramount that the human race establishes a working definition towards sustainability.
Initially, people generally agreed that sustainability had to do with maintaining the environment for the good of the financial system. This definition paved way to concepts of weak sustainability whereby better lifestyles were equal to better economies. Strong sustainability was commensurate to prolonged economic bliss and conservation of the environment. Concern over issues surrounding the society may also have contributed to the discrepancies of defining sustainability. Questions arose as to whether a sustainable future could be possible if high levels of poverty existed or if there was high levels of crime. There would be no point of working towards a sustainable future for a society where gangs and murderers ruled the day. An important step towards working for a sustainable future would be to maintain balance in all levels of society. (Vucetich and Nelson 542)
How people achieve sustainability is utterly dependent on the reasons as to why it should be achieved (Vucetich and Nelson 542). It is not an issue of the end justifying the means. In a way, all the steps taken towards achieving sustainability have to be clean, in a way that will not affect the eco system in the future. The reasons for working towards sustainability act as a great motivator. The reasons may vary, but people should always remain respectful of people’s motivation because the end goal at the end of the day remains the same.
According to the article, sustainability has also been associated with levels of good (Vucetich and Nelson 543). Most people that may be termed as being environmental friendly may be seen as good people or people of considerable virtue. In the past, some people referred to them as hippies and in the present, some term them as tree huggers. Most environmental enthusiasts do not appreciate these names. However, other people that are not as concerned for the environment as they are may view them as standing on a higher moral ground. There might not be any connection between virtue and sustainability, but the coincidences are not easy to ignore.
Instead of concentrating on what sustainability means to different people, the most crucial task would be to decide on the most appropriate path toward sustainability. The paths of virtue or vulgarity create a course for different journeys and experiences but ultimately the end goal would be to attain sustainability. It would be in the best interest of the future if people would find a means to combine the two concepts in a way that neither the environment nor human needs suffered. It is clear that sacrifices are necessary for either concept, so people need to come up with a measurement of when there have been too many sacrifices for the cause or when the sacrifices are not enough.
The article goes a long way to answer the questions that have afflicted people especially in the line towards finding a working definition towards sustainability. The definition is varying depending on the path that one individual chooses to follow. The society that one grew up in also contributes to the path people decide to take. Overall, it is excellent that the majority of the world population agree on the fact that sustainability is not an issue that can be avoided. Awareness has become increasingly widespread. There are topics in schools that touch on the issue and worldwide campaigns that encourage people, particularly the young to conserve the environment they live in. People may have to sacrifice certain technological advancements for the purpose of sustainability. This could spark an all-new debate on the issue of virtue. Would sustainability be easier by sacrificing technology or would technology aid sustainability? This would have to be a debate for another time.
Works Cited
Vucetich John A. and Nelson Michael P. , “Sustainability: Virtuous or Vulgar?”
BioScience; Vol. 60 Issue 7 Jul/Aug (2010): p539-54 print.
