In the entire history of human life, man has been engaged in a lot of activities to produce the goods and services that are necessary to sustain his life. During the Stone Age period, man used simple tools made from rock to hunt and prepare food.
With time, his brain capacity increased and so did his needs and desires. To meet his ever-increasing needs, man had to boost his production process and improve on efficiency. This ensured that the goods that have been produced are of the right quality and quantity in order to meet the requirements of the consumers.
Since the invention steam engine, a lot of advancement has been seen in the automobile industry, especially in car manufacturing. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, there were only few expertised individuals in the car manufacturing industry.
However, with time, more individuals became familiar with the process and hence more cars were produced. To sustain the increased demand and competition, manufacturers had to build better cars with the latest designs, increased safety and high performance.
As result, companies such as General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Mercedes Benz came up. Up to the present date, it is the dream of many individuals to own a motor vehicle. However, the production and use of motor vehicles has various effects on the environment. Some of these effects include the emission of greenhouse gasses and noise pollution (Ekins, 2000).
The furniture and fitting industry is also another production avenue that has developed steadily over time. Furniture has developed from being basic home requirement to a product of prestige. As a result, the design, quality and quantity of furniture has become more sophisticated.
In addition, the demand of furniture has also increased. From our basic knowledge, we know that the most common material required to produce furniture is wood. Thus, to meet the increased demand for the product, more trees have to be cut down. This has led to the depletion of forests. The overall outcome of this process is the change in weather patterns that we are currently experiencing (Ekins, 2000).
Consumption Behaviours
The consumption behaviours of the goods and services that have been produced have also been changing with time. Some of these consumption behaviours have a significant effect on the environment. The use of bottled water for instance has led to the development of massive waste disposal problems. During its early days, bottled water was believed to be much safer as compared to tap water. This led to the increase in the consumption of bottled water by the world population.
However, it was soon discovered that the concept of bottled water was just a marketing strategy and that there was little difference in terms of quality between bottled water and tap water. However, due to consumer preferences, a high proportion of the population still consumes the product. This has led to the development of a massive solid waste disposal problem due to the inefficiency of recycling the plastic cans that are used to pack the commodity.
The domestic use of energy is also another issue of concern that plays a vital role on the sustainability of the environment. There are high rates of inefficient of energy such as electricity and coal. Leaving lights on when nobody is in the room or running the air conditioning system on good weather are some of unnecessary use of energy. This leads to unnecessary consumption of energy.
Global Sustenance
To meet the ever-increasing demand of goods and services of the global population and to ensure environmental sustainability, wise use of resources is necessary. This entails using resources in a manner that will meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations. This can only be achieved through effective and efficient use of resources to avoid waste, minimizing of costs and meeting consumer needs.
Reference
Ekins, P. (2000). Economic growth and environmental sustainability: the prospects for green growth. London, Routledge