week 7 reflection

 

The lecture this week on "Challenges to Sustainable Development" thoroughly educated me on the complexities that come with achieving sustainability. While sustainable development always felt like a good concept to me, I had no idea how many challenges await it until we covered them in class.

One of the most important lessons for me was the issue of poverty and inequality. What struck me was that sustainable development is not just about saving the environment. It's also about ensuring equal economic opportunities and resources for everyone. This made me reflect on how policies may be great on paper but not necessarily effective for vulnerable segments in reality.

I was also impressed by how much politics and government impact efforts in sustainability. Too often, the absence of political will or corruption can stall or totally hinder progress. This reminded me of the need to have responsible and honest leaders who emphasize long-term over short-term objectives.

Environmental degradation, such as pollution, deforestation, and over-exploitation of natural resources, was also emphasized as a great challenge. It made me realize that human activities, including our personal daily habits, can exert long-lasting effects on the Earth. I was motivated further to adopt small lifestyle changes, like not using plastics from consumption and buying eco-friendly items.

Finally, I appreciated how the class made us think critically about the issues, but also about solutions. Through the group discussions, we were also able to share ideas and reflect on what we, as individuals and leaders of the future, could do to facilitate sustainable development.

Overall, this lesson has taught me that constructing a sustainable world requires not only policies and technology, but awareness, responsibility, and action from all of us.