One thing has become clear throughout our studies in this course, the status quo is not sustainable. If we as a global society continue on the path we are on, it will only lead to greater hardship in the future. Populations are rising and consumption is increasing throughout the world. At the same time necessary resources are being depleted and the climate is changing. This is not a formula for success. As we start to better understand the concepts of virtual water and virtual soil it becomes obvious that some drastic things need to change. This leaves us in a difficult situation though as the average citizen in a developed country is not willing to give up their comfortable lifestyle, and the average person in the underdeveloped and poor countries don’t have much to give up. We have no choice but to take a stronger leadership role in multiple areas. Whether that be in becoming less dependent on fossil fuels and investing more into renewable energy, or developing sustainable farming and meat production practices, we have to take the lead and set an example that the rest of the world can follow. We need to protect our freshwater reserves and set stronger regulations for the prospecting of fossil fuels and dumping of chemicals. We need to prevent big, entrenched, traditional energy companies from taking advantage of vulnerable countries throughout the world. We need to develop and put into practice safe and sustainable farming and meat production practices that can be scaled up and used in other parts of the world. Simply, we need to take this issue seriously and find a way to make it clear to those in power that this is a priority. Although this seems impossible when contemplating the current state of affairs, I hope out hope that we can find a way to make this a reality and save our planet for future generations.
image citation:
Associate Degree of Applied Engineering (Renewable Energy Technologies) | TAFE NSW. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tafensw.edu.au/courses/tafe-nsw-degrees/choose-a-degree/associate-degree-of-applied-engineering-renewable-energy-technologies