Science & Outdoors
The Green Beat: What is Sustainability?
Science and Outdoors Reporter
As the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students we hear so much about being sustainable. But what is it? Why should we care? And what can we do to help?
According to the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, sustainable means “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.“
However, a definition can only give you so much. To fully understand sustainability it is important to know about just how depleted our resources are, how fast they are being consumed and what this means for our future. It is also important to understand language associated with sustainability such as biofuels, carbon footprints, composting and what it truly means to be organic. The only way to get the message across is to continuously discuss and learn about it.
According to www.nationalgeographic.com, in 2002, 65 percent of United States’ oil was used, and the world was at or past peak oil. Two-thirds of the world’s population has insufficient drinking water. It is projected that by the year 2048, 90 percent of the fisheries will be lost. These statistics are happening in our lifetime, and although we can never replace those resources, we can help to preserve them now.
The city of Stevens Point is a growing eco-municipality and Chancellor Bunnell has proposed a pledge for our campus to sign saying that we will change or upgrade our habits towards living more sustainably as well as work toward becoming a carbon-neutral campus.
We planted trees in second grade for a reason. It may not have been clear now, or yet, but hopefully it will be soon. Keep it clean, keep it green.
