Aaron Carter
ENG 151
Mudd
March 17, 2011


Sustainablili-me

Meaning. That’s what this is all about for me, the pursuit of a meaningful existence. I think it goes without saying that our generation has the ability to be the most influential generation yet. The existence of the future is really up to us more than it has been for any previous generations. That for me is the meaningful existence I believe I am a part of. This pursuit of future comfort isn’t specific to just the US but really to any major country (technology wise). With all of the current and sure to come innovations in technology our generation has much more ability to influence the future of our world than anyone before us. That’s where sustainability comes in to all of this. It is my belief that it is up to us to implement sustainable practices or leave our future to suffer the consequences.

Our generation is really the luckiest and most privileged generation yet. We’ve come up with the modern rise of technology which as I see it, is the both the problem and the solution. We now have the ability to end our own existence with weapons, communicate with anyone anywhere, travel with ease, consume with ease and pretty much do anything we need to with much less effort that ever before. This is what’s causing our demise. We have become lost in the WHAT we are doing because it’s so easy and we’ve forgotten WHY we are doing it. We have forgotten that we need to think about how it’s impacting both our current state and our future. We go to the supermarket and buy all of our groceries because it’s easy, we remember what we’re there to get but we don’t think about why we’re at that particular store. Are they promoting what you like? Such as healthy foods, good wages for workers, good use of the revenue they generate. We know WHAT we want from our jobs but do most of us think about “why” we are doing them? That’s how it is with almost everything now a days, there are too many “what” I want, what I need, what I can use, what I can do, what the TV. says but there is a seriously lack of why and if you replace a “what” with a “why” you get a whole different picture. Sustainability is about “why” for me, and that is starting to spread to others with sustainable movements. Recently a “go green” movement has come to light, and I believe it’s our generations call to action. That’s not to say that we all have to “go green” but it is to say that this is the “kicker” that needs to be and will hopefully be that opens our eyes to the fact that if we don’t start using what we have in a sustainable manner, than everything we have achieved will hold no meaning, it will cease to exist. That’s what it’s all about for me and that’s what it needs to be about for you, your family, your school, your country. Whoever you are. We need to stop pushing twice as hard because we have twice the muscle, and start thinking about why and where we are pushing and how much to push. It is my opinion that we need to learn “how hard to push” (how much to use) if we are really trying to make a future for ourselves and our children and their children etc. That’s what sustainability has become to me, learning how to use what you have. Not learning how to exploit what we have.

When I first came to this class my idea of sustainability was entirely different. I thought of it as a much simpler thing. Like turning the sink off when I brush my teeth, or driving a more fuel efficient car, or grabbing less food at the dining hall. It was all about ways to just “use less”. Now I have what I believe to be a better understanding of the issue of sustainability. Now I see sustainability as more than “using less”. Now I see it as a more complicated process, you don’t start with “use less” it starts with why am I using this? Do I need to? What else could I use? And so on. This class has brought me from awareness of the fact that we need to do this, to the state of feeling that I HAVE to do this.

Today in our culture sustainability must become a top priority so that our culture can continue to exist. Sustainability is a “why” issue not a “what” issue to me now. I knew what it was, but now I know why it is, and why it needs to be continuously built upon and implemented into our everyday living. I now feel that I should live sustainably not do sustainable things every once in a while, and that is where we all need to be. That is what this is all about to me now; it’s the “meaning” I talked about. To make everyone else know WHY sustain, not just WHAT sustaining means. I believe if we do this people won’t need to be forced or lobbied or convinced that they need to be more sustainable, they will want to do it on their own. Self-sustaining sustainability.