Sustainability It Appears There Is Much Riding Essay

Sustainability

It appears there is much riding on the earth's future. Leadership of the next decades must be ready to deal with new challenges that have not been recorded in history. A major issue of this future will be the ability for society to sustain itself amid an illusion of resource scarcity. The purpose of this essay is to investigate the next generations' ability to carry the torch of sustainability as it relates to the five capitals. These capitals include: natural capital, human capital, social capital, manufactured capital and financial capital. This essay will first present some general background about sustainability before summarily addressing each one of the five sub-points and their relation to one another.

Background

Shott (2012) explained that a new attitude must be adopted by the next generations. He explained the onus rests upon these young people due to their circumstances: "the often maligned Y-Generation is growing up in an age of abundance with regard to interconnectivity and access to knowledge. For the first time in history, young people have the tools of creation and implementation in their hands."

History, however depends on surviving, and surviving depends on sustaining. Sustainability, therefore, is the key to a bright and healthy future. Some have taken a desperate tone in this experience, putting fear and anxiety within the public consciousness. Confino (2011) wrote " Hope springs eternal and particularly when it comes to a belief that the next generation will learn from the mistakes of those who currently hold the reins of power. This is especially so with the issue of sustainability.While the profligate western Generation X baby boomers hid behind short-term prosperity and failed to act on the destruction being wreaked to the planet, the prayer is that Generation Y will get us out of the hole we have dug for ourselves."

One such solution derives from a group called the Forum for the Future where a framework has been developed to divide sustainable progress into five distinct capital divisions. Each capital segment intends to address the most important problems that relate to creating, and then maintaining a sustainable environment. In this group's model they proclaimed "Any organization will use five types of capital to deliver its products or services. A sustainable organization will maintain and where possible enhance these stocks of capital assets, rather than deplete or degrade them. The model allows business to broaden its understanding of financial sustainability by allowing business to consider how wider environmental and social issues can affect long-term profitability."

Natural Capital

Natural capital is another term for what have historically called natural resources. Generations X, Y and Z. must get understand the powerful forces that dictate how natural resources are divided in the future. The earth, as large it is geographically has been virtually shrunk by air travel and the internet. Resources such as oil, water, farmable land and fresh air are global resources, not local.

Human Capital

Within this new paradigm of understanding, new and fresh perspectives on what is considered human capital must be considered to sustain the earth's future. Human capital synergizes the health, knowledge, skills,….....