Sustainability

[svsanchezbutler]

What does sustainability mean to me? Sustainability in my own definition means that as a population we are able to preserve and protect a species enough so that the population can thrive. Thrive enough that future generations will be able to see that same species. When reading Solows paper there were a few things I agreed on and a few I didn’t. One of the things would be his example of aluminum, if we are able to provide a substitute then it’s okay for us to use all of it up. This doesn’t sit right with me, because what gives us the right? Yes, being able to genetically modify species is a great advantage we have created. But has it really benefited the wild populations? In most cases it has created indirect issues. Being able to just replace a species isn’t something we should take advantage of, as a consumer population we should be helping to preserve wild populations, because honestly, who cares if we can replace it? That species has a right to live and flourish and if it needs that extra help then we can help, but the option to completely destroy and replace shouldn’t be there.

[hcbass]

I agree that we have no right to use up one resource and then simply replace it with another. It is also hard to tell what other impacts there could be by completely using up one resource.

[hmhellen]

I agree that the concept of substitutes doesn’t seem quite right. Using up all of a particular resource seems wrong and wasteful. How can we limit our use of materials that are finite on earth?

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