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Olivia Hagan

Mr. N. Gwozdz

AP English Language and Composition

10 June 2019

Looking Towards a Sustainable Future: A Ted Talk

The environment has provided and nurtured the growth of the human race. Its natural

resources and expanding landscapes have allowed for climbing skyscrapers and vast farmlands.

However, for all that the environment has given the human race, humans have repaid the earth in

the forms of pollution and overconsumption. The current industrial systems, food systems, and

economic systems enable behavior that creates mass amounts of waste. This dilemma inspired

the essential question of what does it mean to be sustainable, or how does one be sustainable in a

modern society? Can sustainability be achievable to the average American family? Sustainability

is using only the essential resources to meet one’s needs so as to limit their environmental

impact. To begin to answer what it means to be sustainable in a modern society, first look at

what is currently being wasted by the average person.

For one week, the material waste that a one produced was recorded. During the week it

became evident that a leading cause of waste production was out of convenience. The use of

paper plates and plastic utensils creates unnecessary waste out of the convenience and ease of a

single-use item. If Americans eliminated the use of single-use plastic and paper items that are

thrown out after one use and eliminated over energy and water consumption, it would be taking

strides towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

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The use of plastics created waste before they are thrown into landfills and littered on the

streets. The production of plastic water bottles consumes 17 million barrels of oil yearly, and it

takes three times as much water to produce the plastic than it does to fill them. Transporting

plastic bottles to stores produces carbon dioxide emissions from the use of trucks and planes. The

majority of plastic water bottles end up in landfills and take hundreds of years to decompose.

Eliminating the use of plastic containers and bottles would reduce the amount of oil consumed,

carbon dioxide emitted, and waste in the landfills. The use of plastics damages the environment

as the price of convenience.

However, plastic is not the only large contributor to environmentally harmful waste. The

fashion industry produces waste during production, and the current consumer culture supports it.

Consumer culture demands new clothes constantly, and consumers purchase cheaply made

clothes to only be worn for one season as it loses its wearability. The clothes are at an

inexpensive price due to the poor working conditions and materials used in production.

However, if consumers were to buy less, repair clothing, and repurpose clothing, then the fashion

industry will move towards a more circular path that eliminates excess waste.

The production and consumption of food in America causes a mass amount of damage to

the environment, disrupts the natural ecosystem, and throws out 40% of its food annually.

Monocrop farms, farms that grow singular crops, remove biodiversity. Without biodiversity, the

different types of insects and animals decrease, disrupting the natural balance of the ecosystem.

Large cattle farms destroy fields of grass due to overgrazing and produce methane gas. Inside the

kitchen, Americans prepare excess food that is never eaten, and waste produce if its appearance
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is less than satisfying. Using produce from local farmers, personal gardens, and reducing meat

consumption is vital to improving the food industry.

In the modern, materialistic society that has been created today, being sustainable is more

costly and requires more effort than not changing current practices. Consequently, this

unwillingness has caused the air to become polluted, increasing the global temperature. In order

to be truly sustainable, the entire system needs to be reworked. However, at this time, it seems

that may be very difficult, if not impossible. The current political climate and polarized opinions

would prevent any significant changes. There is no one answer to be sustainable. Not eating meat

is not enough, just using a metal straw is not enough. Using renewable energy but not changing

any of the other industries is not enough. All industries need to become more circular, and less of

a linear path that always leads to landfills and waste. To be truly sustainable in modern society is

unobtainable. Individuals have no power over how their products are created, or where their

energy came from However, eliminating one’s own waste, using money to tell companies their

values, and being conscious of how everyday decisions impact the environment, is what one is

able to do at the individual level. Until large changes occur in energy and production industries,

one cannot be truly sustainable in modern society.