Content uploaded by Lady Shiseida Sade Kelly Aponté
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Lady Shiseida Sade Kelly Aponté on Nov 09, 2021
Content may be subject to copyright.
2015 Report: Unsustainable Environmental Practices
Shiseida Sade Kelly Aponte
Arizona State University
Author’s Note: This report has been created by the independent empirical analysis
of the student, Shiseida Sade Kelly Aponte. In no way shall there be reproduction
of any part of this academic work without proper citation or explicitly expressed
permission from Shiseida Sade Kelly Aponte. If there are any questions, comments,
suggestions, or concerns, please contact Shiseida Sade Kelly Aponte.
Abstract
Efforts to produce sustainability have begun to transform public ideology
concerning the manner in which commerce is negotiated and energy is produced.
Several innovations have, thus, sought to continually propagate the notion of
sustainable philosophy among the social infrastructure. However, despite the
positive outlook produced among the global populace, the negative aspects of these
innovations appear to only be managed in retrospect; that is, without adequate
planning, only after sufficient detriment to monetary gain warrants attentive
consideration. Non-scientific entities have a tendency to fund efforts propounded
as sustainable endeavors without effectively calculating the long-term effects. As
a result, cumulative damage has been wrought to citizens, environment and wildlife
as a by-product of unsustainable endeavors.
Pollution has long been an issue concerning environmental activists. Contamination
of air, animals, food, humans, land, plants and water have been few of the many
concerns brought to the political and science community for resolution. Although
scientific studies have been published concerning the negative and positive effects
of pollution, sufficient corruption within the influential bodies has seemingly
warranted insufficient recourse. Still, composting, limited consumption, recycling
and sustainable electricity have dutifully become central innovations to assist in
the transformation toward a sustainable society. However, merchandising moguls
seemingly abuse the monetary benefit than can be legitimately earned from
empathizing with sustainability activists; so, commercial, economic and legislation
bodies seem to have operated in tandem to maximize profits through the
implementation of seemingly sustainable innovations.
In addition to expeditions into space, geothermal, natural gas, nuclear, solar and
wind power innovations appear to have been used by implements as power tools, not
for the development of an environmentally sound infrastructure, but for commercial
influence and economic gain. Herein, it appears as though scientific studies have
been negated by influential organizations having the authority to institute
sustainable reformations. These studies emphasize the damage wrought by these
innovations and the potential cumulative damage that will likely ensue if such
negation continues. Space debris accumulation has been an issue since the 1950s,
yet space travel continues to evolve without organizations cleaning up their
contaminated contributions post-mission. Geothermal power and fracking have been
viewed by some indigenous bodies as a violation of the earth, causing a disruption
to bacteria and other microorganisms, as well as adding to the issue of
bioecological disturbance and pollution. Nuclear power has been a primary concern
of activists who cite issues with nuclear waste, particularly in terms of proper
disposal and the need for emergency procedures in the case of unlikely,
uncontrollable events. Solar and wind power are problematic issues in terms of the
cooling systems, deforestation, land use, and production of the materials used to
manifest its benefits. Furthermore, all of these innovations harm the quality of
human habitation, as well as result in plant life and wildlife endangerment (e.g.
cetacean stranding through geomagnetic disturbance, coral reef decimation,
navigation malfunction due to echolocation disturbance, permanent bioecological
loss/death, soil retrogression), not to mention the celestial bodies not yet
explored or known. Although there are plentious innovations that can counterbalance
the vast negative effects of these pernicious power structures, the commercial,
mercantile and political bodies seem so dutifully enraptured by the implementation
of tactical psychological warfare (at the behest of consumption) that they fail to
calculate the long-term consequences of their lucrative and often self-fulfilling
practices.
In summary, pollution is a long-held concern that continues to be an issue despite
efforts of composting, limited consumption, recycling and use of sustainable
energy. Commercial and political bodies have found the benefit of significant power
and profit in regulating the implementation of sustainable innovations. The science
community has published much literature of the negative and positive consequences
of sustainable and unsustainable practices, as well as the truly sustainable
innovations that can counterbalance the effects of unsustainable practices.
However, the reality of scientific conclusions seem to have yet to be considered in
the long-term trajectory of implementing these innovations. While the cumulative
effects on animals, environment and humans continues to abound, commercial and
political bodies seem less than sufficiently concerned about creating a truly
sustainable infrastructure.
References
Alam, A. (2014). Soil degradation: A challenge to sustainable agriculture.
International Journal of Scientific Research in Agriculture Sciences, 1, 50-55.
Barras, C. (2009, February, 06). Why sustainable power is unsustainable. New
Scientist.
Bussolari, C. J. & Goodell, J. A. (2009). Chaos theory as a model for life
transitions counseling: Nonlinear dynamics and life's changes. Journal of
Counseling & Development, 87.
Campbell, J-L. & Göritz, A. S. (2014). Culture corrupts! A qualitative study of
organizational culture in corrupt organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 120,
291-311.
Catholic Church, The. (2015). Encyclical Letter Laudato Si' of the Holy Father
Francis on Care for our Common Home. The Vatican.
Cook, D. (2014). Accounting for the Utilisation of Energy Resources within the
Genuine Progress Indicator. University of Iceland.
Cosgrove, W. J. & Loucks, D. P. (2015). Water management: Current and future
challenges and research directions. Water Resources Research, 51(6), 4823-4839.
Dimant, E. & Schulte, T. (2016). The nature of corruption: An interdisciplinary
perspective. German Law Journal, 17(1), 53-72.
Ellis, G., Cowell, R., Warren, C., Strachan, P., Szarka, J., Hadwin, R., Miner, P.,
Wolsink, M. & NadaÏ, A. (2009). Wind power: Is there a "planning problem"? Planning
Theory & Practice, 10(4).
Engle, G. L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: A challenge for biomedicine.
Science, 196(4286).
Goel, T. R. (2010). Finding the balance: Harmonizing renewable energy with wildlife
conservation. Sustainable Pathways Toward Biodiversity Preservation, 10(3), Article
13.
Grandin, K., Jagers, P. & Kullander, S. (2010). Nuclear energy. Ambio, 39(Suppl 1),
26–30.
Hall, L. (2014). The History of Space Debris. Space Traffic Management Conference.
Hottle, T. A., Bilec, M. M., Brown, N. R. & Landis, A. E. (2015). Toward zero
waste: Composting and recycling for sustainable venue based events. Waste
Management, 38, 86-94.
Jepson, P. D., Deaville, R., Barber, J. L., Aguilar, A., Borrell, A., Murphy, S.,
Barry, J., Brownlow, A., Barnett, J., Berrow, S., Cunningham, A. A., Davison, N.
J., ten Doeschate, M., Esteban, R., Ferreire, M., Foote, A. D., Genov, T., Giménez,
J., Loveridge, J., Llavona, A., Martin, V., Maxwell, D. L., Papachlimitzou, A.,
Penrose, R., Perkins, M. W., Smith, B., de Stephanis, R., Tregenza, N., Verborgh,
P., Fernandez, A. & Law, R. J. (2016). PCB pollution continues to impact
populations of orcas and other dolphins in European waters. Nature: Scientific
Reports, 6(18573).
Katzner, T., Johnson, J. A., Evans, D. M., Garner, T. W. J., Gompper, M. E.,
Altwegg, R., Branch, T. A., Gordon, I. J. & Pettorelli, N. (2013). Challenges and
opportunities for animal conservation from renewable energy development. Animal
Conservation, 16, 367-369.
Kelishadi, R. (2012). Environmental pollution: Health effects and operational
implications for pollutants removal. Journal of Environmental and Public Health,
341637.
Lepkowski, W. (2010). Has 'big money' corrupted science? Chemical & Engineering
News, 79(44).
Levidow, L. & Oreszczyn, S. (2012). Challenging unsustainable development through
research cooperation. The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability,
17(1).
Lisciandra, M. (2014). A review of the causes and effects of corruption in the
economic analysis. In S. Caneppele & F. Calderoni (Editors), Organized Crime,
Corruption, and Crime Prevention, 187-195. Springer International Publishing
Switzerland.
Lovitch, J. E. & Ennen, J. R. (2011). Wildlife conservation and solar energy
development in the desert Southwest, United States. BioScience, 61(12), 982-992.
Luna, F. (1999). Corruption and research. Bioethics, 13(3/4).
Mahajan, B. (2012). Negative environmental impacts of solar energy. Energy Policy,
33.
Mims, C. (2009, March 02). Can Geothermal Power Compete with Coal on Price?
Scientific American.
Mooney, T. A., Pacini, A. F. & Nachtigall, P. E. (2009). False killer whale
(Pseudorca crassidens) echlocation and acoustic disruption: Implications for
longline bycatch and depredation. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 87(8).
Montgomery D. R. (2007). Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(33),
13268–13272.
Morse, S. (2006). Is corruption bad for environmental sustainability? A cross-
national analysis. Ecology and Society, 11(1).
National Geographic. (2015, November 20). Climate Change: It’s Real. It’s Serious.
And it’s up to us to Solve it. National Geographic.
Nyberg, D. & Wright, C. (2013). Corporate corruption of the environment:
Sustainability as a process of compromise. The British Journal of Sociology, 64(3),
405-424.
Orr, T. L., Herz, S. M. & Oakley, D. L. (2013). Evaluation of lighting schemes for
offshore wind facilities and impacts to local environments. U. S. Department of the
Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy Programs.
Pearce, J. M. (2012). Limitations of nuclear power as a sustainable energy source.
Sustainability, 4, 1173-1187.
Robbins, P. (2000). The rotten institution: Corruption in natural resource
management. Political Geography, 19, 423-443.
Shuangyan, S. Xing, J. & Hao, C. (2014). Cleaning space debris with a space-based
laser system. Chinese Journal of Aerunatics, 27(4), 805-811.
Sovacool, B. K. (2012). The avian and wildlife costs of fossil fuels and nuclear
power. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 9(4).
Tallis, J. (2015). Remediating space debris: Legal and technical barriers.
Strategic Studies Quarterly, 9(1) 86-99.
Wang, Z-T., Nachtigall, P. E., Akamatsu, T., Wang, K-X., Wu, Y-P., Liu, J-C., Duan,
G-Q., Cao, H-J. & Wang, D. (2015). Passive acoustic monitoring the diel, lunar,
seasonal and tidal patterns in the biosonar activity of the IndoPacific humpback
dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the Pearl River Estuary, China. PLoS ONE 10(11):
e0141807.
Xu, Y. & Small, L. (2014, September 03). How Harmful is Renewable Energy to Birds?
Environmental and Energy Study Institute.