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In Lyco Terms

A word from our faculty members:

Nonrenewable resources, fossil fuels in particular, take millions of years to renew, but renewable resources that constantly recycle replenish such as water, air and soil can be degraded to a point that they are essentially non-functional. Environmental sustainability attempts to help the world keep on functioning while not destroying or depleting resources in the process.

Sustainability is defined as creating a setting in which we do not destroy resources through either overconsumption or pollution and in which we ensure that a high-quality of life is available for future generations.

Organizations feel that if they are not forced to do it and there are no government regulations that require it or see the incentive to do it, they will not take it seriously. I think there are some businesses out there that believe in the moral imperative; others are less concerned about the moral imperative and more interested in how they can make a profit. If they can go sustainable and be profitable, they'll likely do it.

We ought to be using the wealth from oil use to create new sources of energy in the future that can replace what we are using oil for now. There is an obligation to work on the kinds of technology to replace what we are depleting.

Traditionally, ethics deals with how to get along with other people. Now we're trying to move beyond that idea. Not only do we need to consider how our actions impact other people but also how our actions actually impact the biosphere.