Question 3: Me and un-sustainability.

Values of our culture include growth, wealth,

independence, achievement, speed, comfort, control, knowledge, and competition as
anchors of the un-sustainability. Do you agree or disagree? Justify your own position.
Cultural values are the major determinants of the belief system and the way a person
consumes the environmental resources. There is unabated destruction of environmental resources
due to the human greed of gaining significant economic benefits. One of the studies has reported
that humans generate approximately 3.5 million tonnes of waste every day and it cost around
$205 billion per year to dispose of that waste (Chekima, Chekima, Syed Khalid Wafa, Igau &
Sondoh, 2016). The majority of that waste is generated due to the overconsumption of natural
resources. I firmly believe that cultural values have a significant influence on the consumption of
natural resources. Moreover, the contemporary culture of consumerism has eliminated the factor
of sustainability and without the cultural recognition of environmental resources, sustainable
consumption intentions would remain a distant dream.
The approach of society towards natural resources reflects the cultural values and ethos.
In my opinion the contemporary western society appraises the quality of life depending on
materialism and it based on egoistic values. These cultural values compel the population to
demonstrate reckless behavior towards the consumption of natural resources. Resultantly, the
people of Western cultures end up exploiting the natural environment and ultimately damaging
the natural ecosystem. One of the studies has also reported that the materialist cultural values
lead to unsustainable consumption pattern that damages the environment and therefore a more
sustainable approach is needed to prevent irresponsible exploitation of natural resources
(Gratani, Sutton, Butler, Bohensky & Foale, 2016).
In Russia, I have seen that the modern generation is more influenced by Western values
and ethos. In this way, there is a sharp rise in the cultural value of materialism. Therefore, I can
say that the unsustainability of resource usage is on the rise. If the current wave of materialism is
not halted the results would be catastrophic for the sustainable future of the world.
I believe that cultural values has a substantial influence on the economic activities. In the
contemporary world, decisions are based on cost and benefit analysis. The economic
consideration is vital in making the final decision regarding resource consumption. I have
observed that the materialistic values promote the orientation of profit generation and therefore,
the ultimate objective of every individual is to exploit resources and earn a profit. These values
generate wealth, but at the cost of the environment. I have seen that unprecedented exploitation
of the environmental resources has a catastrophic impacts in the form of climate changes, global
warming, and rising sea levels. It is the moral obligation of businesses to ensure sustainability
and prevent the irresponsible exploitation of environmental resources. The economic values
should be based on the benefit for all the generations and promote sustainability in the economic
activities.
Culture has a significant impact on the social values of people. Generally, social values
are the well-being of individuals and focus on an altruistic lifestyle. Social values provide a
rationale to meet human needs and ensure the sanctity of human life. Thus, the values of
materialism are promoted to bring maximum benefit to human beings. However, these values
have underrated the importance of a sustainable environment and therefore it is imperative to
integrate sustainability factors in cultural values. In this way, cultural values will ensure
sustainable growth.
It can be concluded that cultural values have a significant impact on sustainability. The
contemporary values of materialism promote unsustainability. It encourages people to
irresponsibility exploit the natural environment to meet human needs. However, such practices
have endangered the future of planet earth. The rising issues of global warming, sea-level rise
and climate changes are warning signs of unsustainable consumption. Therefore, it is imperative
to promote cultural values of sustainability to protect natural ecosystems.

References
Chekima, B., Chekima, S., Syed Khalid Wafa, S. A. W., Igau, O. A., & Sondoh Jr, S. L. (2016).
Sustainable consumption: the effects of knowledge, cultural values, environmental
advertising, and demographics. International Journal of Sustainable Development &
World Ecology, 23(2), 210-220.
Gratani, M., Sutton, S. G., Butler, J. R., Bohensky, E. L., & Foale, S. (2016). Indigenous
environmental values as human values. Cogent Social Sciences, 2(1), 1185811.