Sustainability

               In the first video, “Using Nature’s Genius in Architecture,” the speaker talks about various creatures that have interesting adaptions to cope with the environment in which they live. These creatures have managed to stick around for millions of years because of the fact that they have developed these adaptations, and if man were to study these creatures and model new inventions after them, it could greatly benefit mankind in the future. One such creature the speaker talked about was the Namibian fog basking beetle. This beetle lives in a very dry desert environment, and has developed a body that collects tiny bits of moisture and channels the moisture to the beetle’s mouth. If researchers were able to develop some kind of device or machine on a larger scale that can perform this same task, it would be possible to greatly improve conditions of places that have scarce sources of clean or usable water. This idea, among many others, is why bio-technology is very important in today’s society, as advances in this field could greatly impact the future sustainability of the planet.

               When it comes to the ideas of consumerism and sustainability, the two do not typically go hand and hand. Consumerism tends to detract from sustainability, as in today’s society many products are made with planned obsolescence, or the idea that the product is made to eventually fail, leading to a purchase of another product as a replacement. To keep up with the replacement of these products, the constant manufacturing of new products is required, using precious fossil fuels that are essential to the future of the planet unless the manufacturing of these products is decreased or new energy sources are developed. The problem is that neither of these ideas are a priority in a consumerist society, as most consumers today are more concerned with what they have and what they want, rather than the future of being able to sustain current lifestyles.

               There is a system of sustainability I have heard of that I thought was very interesting, called aquaponics. Aquaponics consists of a system of planters and a tank of edible fish. The idea is that the waste from the fish is pumped through the planters, fertilizing the plants and in turn, growing plants that feed the fish. As the plants grow and the fish breed, this system ideally creates a continuous cycle of a sustainable food source that can be used anywhere.