Introduction
Sustainability is one of the complex concepts as it entails different activities that aim at achieving the wants of the current generation without violating the potential interests of the future generation to meet their needs. Sustainability focuses on the formation of high-quality lives while respecting the role to conserve the available natural resources and protecting the environment.
Some of the activities affiliated to sustainability include accessibility to jobs, fresh water, clean energy, and better resource use without creating problems such as pollutions and unwanted congestions (Bebbington, Unerman, and O’Dwyer 19). Environmental sustainability incorporates the depletion of non-renewable resources, controlled pollution, and effective harvesting of renewable resources. This paper focuses on environmental unsustainability in the African American community while providing remedies on ways to ensure sustainability.
Investing in clean energy
Most power stations located in African-American localities use fossil fuels and coal in the generation of electricity. Consequently, greenhouse gases, which often comprise carbon dioxide and methane, are emitted. These gases are harmful to the environment thus resulting in undesired climate changes. Oil, coal, and gas are nonrenewable sources of energy, and they are easily depleted thus frustrating the energy needs of the generations to come (Noorman and Uiterkamp 106).
Therefore, to counter this problem, the African American community should focus on emphasizing the ultimate need to use clean energy sources. Clean energy refers to electricity from the inclusion of renewable sources. Clean energy is affiliated with negligible instances of pollution and less emission of harmful gases thereby coinciding with the efforts of environmental sustainability. Besides, clean energy is infinite because it originates from renewable sources that entail the solar, water, and wind.
Most African Americans live in areas dominated by power plants that engage in excessive pollution thus causing health conditions such as asthma and heart-related diseases. Besides, the consequences brought by climate change amount to environment-related disasters that could be avoided with clean energy. The adoption of clean energy by the African American will not only result in environmental sustainability, but also a considerable reduction the energy costs (Bebbington, Unerman, and O’Dwyer 99).
By encouraging the use of clean energy in the African American community, new technologies that enable the energy system to attain its desired objective of easy affordability and sustainability are ultimately be achieved. The potentiality of the future generations to acquire and use energy will not be jeopardized because clean energy sources are inexhaustible, and they are used without abusing the environment.
Ensuring better waste management
Since the majority of the African American live in congested areas, they face various environmental challenges due to the high exposure to toxic materials and sewages. The improper disposal of industrial waste is common among the African American community thus violating the dictates of environmental conservation. The inefficient dumping of waste amounts to soil and water contamination thus frustrating the domestic and agricultural needs of the current and future generations (White, Dranke, and Hindle 52).
Besides, the illegal dumping in the African American society poses serious environmental hazards by creating dumps that hinder easy drainage and can eventually result in flooding. Dumps also disrupt the wildlife habitats by hindering their movement to desired destinations. Some of the disposed materials contain compounds that emit toxic gases into the atmosphere with an example of gypsum that releases hydrogen sulfide gas (White, Dranke, and Hindle 67).
Therefore, to remedy the habits of unsustainable waste dumping amongst the African Americans, various waste management measures to promote environmental sustainability can be employed. The recycling of waste provides a means through which natural resources can be replenished thus ensuring a constant supply of such resources to the current as well as the future generations. Moreover, salvaging aids in the conservation of the available energy.
Conservation of energy accrues from the choice to recycle a given item as opposed to manufacturing it. Saving of energy is essential in motivating the efforts that reduce instances of global warming in the future. Furthermore, recycling plays a great role in the prevention of air pollution. Most plastic factories emit harmful smoke into the atmosphere but recycling measures curb this menace (Smith 86).
To ensure environmental sustainability in the African American community, reprocessing of waste is inevitable because the future generations will demand an equal share of energy and a decent environment that is free from destructive effects of improper disposal of waste.
Enhancing easy accessibility and management of water and sanitation
Wastewaters in most African American regions do not undergo the proper treatment after use. This scenario results in environmental hazards due to varying contaminants that are inherent in both domestic and industrial wastewaters. Sanitary wastewaters compromise various environmental impurities originating from the toilet waste and laundry while industrial waste is composed of toxic chemicals and residual metals that are hazardous to the ecosystem (Noorman and Uiterkamp 98).
Wastewaters affect the aquatic life negatively, which results in the declining diversity of specific fish species. Additionally, the land becomes salinized and acidified thus precipitating a drastic reduction in the soil fertility levels. Besides, wastewaters breed air contamination by releasing harmful gases into the atmosphere.
To ensure environmental sustainability in the African American community, various technological advancements, financing mechanisms and partnership should be established to promote wastewater treatment solutions.
Wastewater treatment guarantees clean water to both plant and animals. Fresh water is essential for the sustainability of the aquatic life by providing critical habitats as well as availing a favorable environment where migrating water birds can perch and feed. Clean water will also boost improved recreation and quality life by encouraging users to engage in various activities such as swimming, picnicking, and fishing (White, Dranke, and Hindle 77).
Well-organized wastewater treatment corresponds to the objectives of environmental sustainability that will ensure that the African Americans make the maximum utilization of the water resource while respecting the interests of the future users.
Prevention of air pollution
Different reports have established that the African-Americans are at a high risk of contaminations coming from toxic gases. The poisonous gases originate from traffic and industrial emissions. Due to the poor socio-economic status of some African Americans, rising cases of premature deaths have been witnessed due to air pollutions.
In comparison to their white counterparts, more African Americans reside near power plants and processing industries thereby increasing the risks posed by such environmental hazards. Air pollution is often associated with the depletion of the Ozone layer that is caused by the uncontrolled discharges of chlorofluorocarbons (Moberg, Borggren, and Finnveden 243).
When the amount of the ultraviolet rays reaching the earth is amplified, it results in substantial damage to crops and vegetation thus destroying animal habitats as well as posing threats to daily human activities.
Air pollution disrupts the natural balance thus making the earth’s atmosphere harness more of the sun’s heat hence causing global climate change, which has adverse effects on not only the environment but also other health- related complications to both wildlife and human beings. Moreover, air pollution is responsible for the formation of acid rain, haze, and eutrophication that collectively affect environmental sustainability (Smith 104).
African Americas should uphold the interests of the future environmental users in their endeavors to sustain the environment. Some of the possible ways to curb air pollution in the community comprise energy conservation that demands to switch off the lights and electrical appliances when not in use.
Recycling of plastics, papers, and aluminum materials among others will reduce emissions of toxic gases, thus backing up the strategies that are formulated to ensure environmental conservation (Noorman and Uiterkamp 46). Furthermore, to reduce air pollution, African Americans should adopt the use appliances that are energy efficient, opt for products that attract minimal packaging, emphasize the strict use of canvas bags for shopping, and ensure proper vehicle maintenance because it saves on gasoline and consequently decline in air pollution.
Conclusion
Environmental sustainability is listed as number seven in the millennium development goals. This goal seeks to ensure the availability of safe water and sanitation as well assisting governments to upgrade technology and educational empowerment on the conservation of water resources.
Environmental sustainability entails formulating informed decisions and undertaking actions that are focused on protecting the natural world while laying special emphasis on the ability of the environment to support human life comprehensively (Moberg, Borggren, and Finnveden 240).
African American community has not been in a position to sustain its surroundings due to some inherent environmental challenges. Some of the ways to help the community to sustain its environment successfully include investing in clean energy, the prevention of air pollution, better waste management, and encouraging easy accessibility and management of water and sanitation.
Works Cited
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Moberg, Ã…sa, Clara Borggren, and Göran Finnveden. “Books from an environmental perspective—Part 2: e-books as an alternative to paper books.” The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 16.3 (2011): 238-246. Print.
Noorman, Klaas, and Ton Uiterkamp. Green Households: Domestic Consumers, the Environment and Sustainability, London: Routledge, 2014. Print.
Smith, William. Air pollution and forests: interactions between air contaminants and forest ecosystems, New York: Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. Print.
White, Peter, Marina Dranke, and Peter Hindle. Integrated solid waste management: a lifecycle inventory, New York: Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. Print.