Guest lecturer reports - Essay Example

This is achieved through applying the imaginations on the knowledge available. Sustainable development (SD) is one which meets the prevailing needs of the society without compromising the ability of the future generations for the purposes of their sustainability. It can be conceptualized both as an objective and a process. As an objective it advocates for the maintenance of environmental integrity, ensuring social equity and aiming for economic efficiency. However, as a process it explains the integration of environment, society and economy in a model.

The environment provides material for the economy and also gives grounds for disposal. The raw materials are converted to goods and services to be consumed by the society, which takes back the wastes to the economy for recycling (Bogliotti, & Spangenberg, 2006). The society also gets free goods and services directly from environment. The environmental integrity is self reliable system that mainly evaluates that economy arose from the needs of the society to specialize in what it could produce.

At this time, the ecosystem service was sustainable to society mainly because the subjects were small in number. Economy grows rapidly and outdoes the ecosystem service such that almost all societal needs are sustained by the economy. For instance finite resources like oil are being exhausted and the renewable resources used up quickly more than they are replenished. Ensuring social equity entails fulfilling the needs of all men and women, development of communities and respect for diversity.

The invention of trade and later currency led to the economic explosion. Economic explosion is defined by accumulation of capital which funded major mega-projects. Thus a sustainable economy can be viewed as one which uses renewable resources as quickly as they are replenished, returns wastes to the environment at accepted limits, recycles finite resources and is resilient to changes within particular sectors. However, the environmentalists have different opinion from the political view whose concern is on the need for further economic growth to combat global poverty, environmental problems and climatic change (Ayong Le Kama, 2001).

See the diagram below; SD as a process may be analyzed in a model, as illustrated in the example of the UK SD strategy of 2009. It aimed at social progress, environmental protection, efficient use of natural resources and stable economic growth and employment. The four-legged table model explains how this quality of life was prioritized. First vision is creation oriented where a bare land resources is utilized by building structures. Decision making is the next aspect and is given a social approach.

This actor-approach advocates bringing possible ideas and fostering integration of ideas and mindsets. It is an important point noted and lesson learnt that the SD is to balance and amalgamate economics, social science and environmental science. Technical experts and stakeholders should ensure vision is sound and fair. Recognition of context e.g. from a worldly view to a specific locality is equally important as considering the world trends in relation to the state of the planet, technology, people’s values and behaviors and the new legislations and regulations.

When environmental problems such as global warming and climate change are considered, humans are found to cause this thus their behavior to be