Hello, Chris here. Over the last few weeks, I have been doing some reading and I have learned quite a bit. Some of my reading is in search of how to make a transition to becoming more sustainable. Step-by–step guides are very handy in showing what to do to become more sustainable. The Natural Step (TNS), a non-profit organization, has some very thorough guides that can help people who are already seeking help to become more sustainable. What about the people who do not care about the ideas behind sustainability? What about people that do care about sustainability but simply do not know how to move forward?
There is a way to reach out to everyone. By making examples out of ourselves in our lifestyle, we can show others that being sustainable is practical for everyone. Another way that we can change our society is by voting for people who care about the well being of society and our planet. Some of my readings from TNS mention a term called the triple bottom line. In a sense, it is what ultimately matters. The triple bottom line refers to people, planet and profit. In order to a sustainable society, we have to have our needs met in all three categories.
In meeting the needs of people, we have to give everyone the opportunity to succeed in life. We can do this through offering education, food security and making an example of ourselves. We can protect our planet by being good stewards with what we already have. This plays in part with profit as well. We need to make choices that make sense economically because everyone has bills to pay. Some choices that we make can help the planet and our budget, like planning our driving route strategically to drive less miles or turning off our computer monitor, instead of letting it idle on sleep mode.
Click the image for a link to a list of some ways that we can save money and help conserve our planet by reducing our energy use
In addition to my readings about what sustainability is, I have learned a lot through my research in creating educational material for beginning crop growers. Sustainability teaches that we should not contribute pollutants into the environment because they persist and do harm to people as well as to the planet. Through my research I have found that much of our pollution in the water is due to conventional farming practices which often done incorrectly. The result is seen in contaminated air and water. The problem that I found is that conventional fertilizers like ammonium nitrate take time to change their composition into a form of nutrient that the plants need. During that time, some of the nitrates will evaporate into the air and make nitrous oxides. Most of the nitrates will leach into the ground water below and contaminate the ground. The nitrates that are not leached into the ground or made into nitrous oxides are often washed from the fields into irrigation ditches during heavy rain. These ditches then become nitrogen sinks that leach nitrogen contaminants into the water below them.
I hope to learn more about earth friendly fertilizers. I think there is a misguided perception of what plants need. My research has shown me that bacteria and fungus in the soil create the nutrients that the conventional farmers are trying to add to the fields. Maybe a better approach would be to build up the biological life in the soil and let them create nutrients for the plants. My next project is researching and creating an educational module that covers earth friendly fertilizers like compost teas.
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