Ever since humanity gradually transitioned toward a sustainable way of living, nature is no longer perceived as a set of resources for civilization to use. Nowadays, people believe that environmental concerns should be taken into consideration above the majority of other factors. While natural disasters still occur, they are the indicators of the imbalance left within the system after decades of irresponsible consumption from the past. The lasting effects of desertification still exist, yet the land is gradually being restored. Such a transformation reduces the chances of landslides, droughts, floods, and other major incidents (Liu et al., 2021). People cope with such occurrences by seeking new strategies to restore the planet’s systems. Civilization strives to live in harmony with nature rather than take an exploitative position and drain resources in the name of progress.
Natural processes are not only well-understood by humanity but actively preserved to ensure that the environment remains in balance. Earth’s biodiversity is restored to incorporate complete food chains and is actively protected against any detrimental factors, such as agricultural expansion and the introduction of invasive species. For example, fields can no longer consist of monocultures, as the adverse impact on biodiversity made such an approach prohibited by governments across the globe (Bensel & Carbone, 2020). Instead, the role of each species in the environment is being closely studied, and the impact of human activities on them is minimized through policies that promote responsible behavior. Animal habitats are clearly outlined and protected by governments that consult with specialists knowledgeable in local ecosystems.
In the past, agricultural activities were among the primary sources of significant damage to the environment. Nowadays, farmers’ understanding of biodiversification, soil management, and other strategies that mitigate depletion enable new technologies to optimize the processes in ways that do not expend resources irrevocably (Malhi et al., 2021). Innovations in bioengineering allow humanity to get higher yields, thus making it possible to free up space for nature to reclaim. Irrigation no longer relies on water extraction but rather on conversion and retention. Traditional approaches, such as plowing, became obsolete as new ways of fertilization that are further enhanced by crop rotation are now in use. A growing population does not imply the need to clear more forests for farms but instead calls for funding of research on better optimization strategies.
Water resources are now being strictly protected since life on Earth relies on their availability. The preservation of natural freshwater reservoirs is now a combined effort from the entire civilization. Further acidification is no longer an issue, as carbon-capturing facilities have been upgraded to the point of being able to collect excessive amounts of emissions and negate humanity’s past mistakes. Technologies that restore oceans’ pH levels are actively in use in an attempt to reverse the damage. In comparison with the past approaches, oceans are heavily protected against pollution by a global organization that governs humanity’s interactions with aquatic resources. Factories that pollute water with dangerous chemicals were forced to either get refitted with environmentally friendly technologies or closed under heavy taxation.
Energy production relies on sustainable methods that use renewable sources in the majority of cases. There is an abundance of ways through which energy can be drawn from the environment without damaging it. Electricity from wind, solar, and hydroelectric facilities had to be made more affordable than power from coal and gas plants (Bensel & Carbone, 2020). In correlation with past approaches, humans no longer perceive their energy use as a given and strive to preserve natural resources. Finite fuels, such as coal and gasoline, are now taboo in society. Economic policies drive the change through the differentiation of commercial and residential use of electricity to encourage reasonable expenditures of energy on the production and transportation of goods.
Nowadays, waste management does not imply storing garbage but rather outlines the ways for factories to reuse what minimal resources were left unneeded by others. Traditional landfills are no longer an option, as they continuously pollute the environment and come as a result of a flawed economic system (Bensel & Carbone, 2020). Any good must be designed in a way that it will last longer and can be recycled. Product lifetime plans are not allowed to be linear, as their recyclability is the primary requirement before a good is released into the market (Bensel & Carbone, 2020). Unlike before, different methods of waste decomposition are actively employed in every existing landfill to sanitize the stored material and transform it back into resources.
In conclusion, the structural changes that have to occur in order for civilization to shift its trajectory toward the described future are challenging to accept and require significant alterations of social and technological processes. Humanity has to comprehend that its current behavior is destructive and accept tradeoffs, such as higher fuel and product prices. There is a need to turn away from rampant growth in favor of resource preservation through more ecologically conscious political and social stances. It is possible that the global economy will experience a period of downsizing, as environmentally friendly facilities might not produce goods at the current rates. However, if people are able to reverse climate change, the benefits will outweigh the losses. Adapting to such a way of living will require significant investments in sustainable technologies, which must be actively supported by both authorities and the public itself.
References
Bensel, T., & Carbone, I. (2020). Sustaining our planet. Web.
Liu, H., Xiong, K., Yu, Y., Li, T., Qing, Y., Wang, Z., & Zhang, S. (2021). A review of forest ecosystem vulnerability and resilience: Implications for the rocky desertification control. Sustainability, 13(21), 11849. Web.
Malhi, G. S., Kaur, M., & Kaushik, P. (2021). Impact of climate change on agriculture and its mitigation strategies: A review. Sustainability, 13(3), 1318. Web.