The Big Question

So my first blog about sustainability defined it basically as a lifestyle that does deplete the earth. In my personal view, the most important factors to me were awareness and religious responsibility. Of course, I still believe those to be true; my religious views were especially reinforced by the readings "The Language of Animals" and "Biomimetics." When Lopez wrote about his experience with animals, he had an awe for nature, for wild animals he saw that "seemed to tremble in the aura of their own light," and he expressed a desire to know and become a part of nature. And when I read the Biomimetics article, I began to understand just how incredibly complex and intricate the functions of nature are. I want to experience that. I want to be overwhelmed in my awe and respect for nature, for what I believe God has created. I think that this view of nature, whether it is religious or not, is vital to the idea of sustainability

Also what I learned in this course was that sustainability affects and incorporates many more differenct aspects of life, and I began to see some of them through my lifestyle project, through the King Corn video, and through other readings. For instance, I didn't really consider the quality of life to be a part of sustainability; the word seems to be referring to just existing to me. But why should we try only hard enough for life to continue to exist? Why not try to create a world where life can thrive, can flourish? Sustainability means going beyond what is good enough. Beyond just preserving nature, but letting it be awe-inspiring and beautiful and incredible, how it was meant to be.