My thoughts and reflections Essay

SustainabilityI hadnt considered the inter-plays that exist between the loving, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability, I substantiate to the three pillars of sustainability (figure 1), that is distributively has an impact but they argon independent of each clean(prenominal). mannequin 1 Three pillars of sustainabilitySource W all toldis, A. M., Grayto a greater extent, M. L. M., & Richards, A. J. (2011) p.596.Class discussions and research enabled me to pay heed the interactions between these pillars and I started to contemplate sustainability more as an interactive do aligned with the three spheres of sustainability (figure 2) which I empathise as being of personify importance and that is you connect them all you entrust achieve sustainability.Figure 2 Three spheres of sustainabilitySource Wallis, A. M., Graymore, M. L. M., & Richards, A. J. (2011) p.596.My ecological footprint gave me personal insights into my impact on the environment. I reflected on what I could do to squeeze my footprint an all-electric ho physical exertion, pedigree with extensive car travel and I am a warmness eater. What future was I leaving my children and what could I tack? I could take down my consumption of red meat, saving a planet, however the economic and social impact on our farmers for me outweighs the impact on the planet after all that is their livelihood. I can reduce my energy usage by crook appliances off at home and work and I can use technology for meetings to reduce my travel imprint.I watched a number of documentaries on natural disasters and asked myself why we exact d nonpareil no social function to pr accompaniment these and what wee we learnt. I reflectedon the impact of the recent drought throughout Victoria. Ballarat near ran out of potable body of water, our lake ran dry and tourism was in decline. This environmental event was impacting on our economy and the social impact was and is still being tangle today. Human behavior ch anged, current water demand remains at levels of the 1930s therefore Ive concluded that humans need a crisis in order to change behaviour for the good of the environment. But earn we really learnt from this, the drought of the 1930s suggest not, evidence was there that we over used the land having a significant impact socially, economically and environmentally but tho natural disasters droughts still occur due to unequal to(predicate) consideration of all aspects of sustainability.World conceives and determineA light bulb flash I hadnt considered sustainability worldviews. Was I more inclined to lean towards the atomistic (individual-centred) view or the holistic (earth-centred) view? On reflection I think for me it is both, unless you hold strong beliefs one way or the other I believe we hover in between we all interpret data differently based on our starting assumptions and values and are less likely to change our worldview.In particular I reflected on Indigenous Australian s who hold to a traditional value, the land is sacred to them by holding this view they have a positive impact on the environment they only take what they need, they give back and believe in the spirit of the land. They didnt need politicians to develop policies and ordinance to make them reduce their carbon emissions or to look after the land. I am confront with the dilemma of how we as a nation can make a difference it appears that I have more questions than I have answers.Sustainability phases or so organisations are slow adapters to change and usually do so as a result of compliance activities being enforced upon them due to new or reformed legislation, a good example of this is OH&S legislation in Australia. Are we doing enough through education to ensure the undermentioned generation of leaders will consider sustainability more than a hum word? We have created a throwawaysociety, landfill is becoming scarce and yet our propensity to have the latest gadget is not decreasing, locally, nationally and internationally we need to look at ways in which we can reuse or reuse the materials on a large scale that has a positive impact on the planet.Another light bulb turn came when we researched companies that we believe are sustainable and consider what phase of sustainability they are in. We looked at Acciona Energy and concluded that they are in sustaining corporation phase as they are paving the way in sustainability. Not all would add up as there are bulk in Ballarat who are unconnected to wind farms and their worldviews are strong in the belief the turbines are more harmful to your health and nothing will persuade them otherwise. This re-emphasises that our assumptions and values in many ways holds much stronger than any evidence that may be presented to us that may refute our views.My journeyI have discussed and debated the values I hold and how by changing one small thing we can make a difference to our ecological footprint. If everyone made one smal l change in their lifestyle it may grow into something that will impact positively on the planet e.g. Earth hour which started as a national event and is now a global phenomenon. Ive planted a vegetable garden, my meat consumption has decreased and I actively shop for locally produced vegetables and fruit. I have moved my cerebration to that of the bullseye model (figure 3) which shows that the human system, which is broken up into social and economic systems, must(prenominal) stay within the capacity of the social system to be sustainable. (Wallis, A. M., Graymore, M. L. M., & Richards, A. J. 2011. p.597)Figure 3 Bullseye modelSource Wallis, A. M., Graymore, M. L. M., & Richards, A. J. (2011) p.598.I have contemplated how we move sustainability from a buzz word without introducing legislation which may not change peoples worldview. I work in the not-for-profit sector we are at the compliance phase of sustainability,we can move to the efficiency phase by building the capacity of o ur community leaders raising their awareness of sustainability, allowing them to cognize the impact of their decisions and making a change that positively impacts the environment. I have seen sustainable behavioural change occur such as water demand, if the reason for change is compelling but we have to recognise that change is a journey and for each of us we have to subscribe to the view that we want to change.BibliographyWallis, A. M., Graymore, M. L. M., & Richards, A. J. (2011) Significance of environment in the assessment of sustainable growth The case for south west victoria. Ecological Economics, 70(4), 595-605.