My Recent Revelations on Sustainability

My initial thoughts regarding sustainability categorized it as being basic and ordinary. Reusable grocery bags, reusable bottles, unplugging unused devices, turning off lights, making sure faucets are shut, and, most recognizable to me, recycling were all things I initially thought of when thinking of sustainability. When introduced to the increased scope of sustainability provided in my environmental issues course, I came to the realization that even though these topics have significance and I understand the importance of them, there is a deeper level to understand.

 Progressing through the course materials and lectures, sustainability isn't something as simple as a change of habit, but in the grand scheme of things, analyzing how society as a whole consumes a significant amount of resources. I first realized this fact during an earlier lecture in my environmental issues course, where our resources were stated through a graph illustrating how 70% of our resources are used by only 13% of the population. After the lecture was over, I started to put into perspective the amount of pollution that I am experiencing being done and even myself doing the pollution.

I do try to follow what I believe sustainability is by upholding the previous list that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog but realize that even these actions have almost zero positives that I am bringing. For example, I can turn all the lights off in my house, yet I still drive my car for 40 minutes each trip just to go to school and work. Sustainability as a topic hasn't lost its original meaning for me, but has evolved into understanding that these habits aren't to be seen as "doing my part" and should be understood as a major issue that only awareness, policymaking, and caring more about our future on this planet and how to take care of it.