Introduction
Environmental sustainability can be defined as acts of making amicable decisions towards business activities that will reduce the rate of environmental pollution. The process involves not only reducing the rate of waste product production but also coming up with amicable programs that will facilitate sustainability. For instance, many countries in the world experience a lot of water conservation challenges due to rapid population increases; these problems need to be solved.
How countries achieve environmental stability
Many developed countries such as the U.S.A have some water conservation programs that play significant roles in reducing the rate of water consumption. Some of the programs that have contributed positively towards water conservation in the U.S.A are related to those implemented in the AUS. For instance, both the U.S.A and the AUS advocate use of low-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads, faucet aerators, gray water, and the practice of landscape irrigation (EPA, 2012). The U.S.A recommends for installation of plumbing equipment that uses less water.
Egypt is one of the renowned countries in Africa that has advanced greatly in terms of agriculture. Like the AUS, Egypt uses groundwater and harvested rainfall water for irrigation. Although Egypt reuses almost all of its wastewater, its water conservation programs differ greatly from those practiced by the AUS and U.S.A. Egypt also lacks enough financial resources for the installation of facilities such as faucet aerators and flush toilets in diverse localities. Additionally, Egyptian people lack enough knowledge concerning water management, thus they incur a lot of challenges about water conservation (Omar, 2003).
How does AUS achieve environmental stability
The American University of Sharjah is one of the renowned universities in the world that has greatly taken part in the conservation of the environment. It is the only university that has managed to reduce the rate of energy consumption by 12%, water utilization by 39%, and carbon dioxide emission by 13% within a very short period. It started its conservation programs in late 2010. The success of AUS in the conservation of the environment was based on the conservation measures in the university setting.
The AUS has many programs that help greatly in reducing the amount of water consumed within the campus. For instance, most of the washrooms within the AUS campus are installed with manual taps and mechanical taps to reduce the amount of water loss. To further regulate the loss of water, the AUS administration also repaired water leaking systems within the campus.
Most of the counties in the Middle East depend on agriculture activities. However, due to low water, almost all of them import food from other nations. Despite water challenges incurred in the Middle East, AUS has advanced greatly in terms of agriculture. AUS depends on not only underground water, but also harvested rainwater for irrigation. In addition, AUS avoids misplaced priorities; it rarely put its fountains on. In addition to this act aiding in reducing the amount of electric energy used by the university, it also plays a significant role in minimizing the rate of water wastage. AUS has also introduced the use of car machines in the washing of its floors; the use of car machines contributed significantly to the reduction of the amount of water consumed in the cleaning activities (AUS, 2012).
Conclusion
In conclusion, environmental sustainability plays a crucial role in making the human environment suitable for human survival. Environment management involves many activities such as the implementation of regulatory programs. The ASU like many other developed countries has installed many facilities such as low-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads, and faucet aerators that use less water. Egypt also has taken part greatly in the conservation of water for agricultural activities.
References
AUS. (2012). American University of Sharjah. Web.
EPA. (2012). How to Conserve Water and Use It Effectively. United States environmental Protection Agency. Web.
Omar, M. (2003). Wastewater Reuse in Egypt: Opportunities and Challenges. Web.