A question amongst many people these days is about the importance of Environmental Sustainability in front of Economic Growth and vice versa. Both are very important aspects for the survival of humans at the moment.
Economic Growth is the increasing amount of goods and services being produced over a period of time, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Economic Growth is what is most thought about these days, since it’s profitable for individuals and firms. Fossil fuel industries like the oil and mining industries, are very vital to humans, since these resources help produce electricity and are are needed on a day to day basis.
Environmental Sustainability is the rate of renewable resources used and harvested, the pollution emission. The aim for environmental sustainability is to be able to have indefinite amount of resources.
Economic Growth is more profitable for individuals which makes many people lean towards that as more important. Owner of big firms may have a perspective where Economic Growth is a bigger priority, as it it could be their plus point and also since it is more financially rewarding. These people could also believe in protecting the environment at the same time, where they create goods and services at as low pollution rates as possible for them. But there are also many who don’t think of the environment the first thing and instead care a lot more about the economy. People who believe that, are mainly classified in two genres- Techno Centric and Anthropocentric perspectives. They either believe that all the natural resources on the planet are for our (human) use and thus, it’s fine to use as many as required, or that the technology advancements in the world could easily fix the problems being faced by the environment these days.
These perspectives can be helpful but also pose slight problems for the environment. If all environment issues are left to be taken care of later by technology, it may start getting late and the issues could become irreversible. Fossil Fuels take a very long time to be made from decomposed materials, their replenishment at a very quick basis cannot be guaranteed. At the same time, following the anthropocentrists, could cause a very huge amount of depletion in resources due to large amounts of consumption, also not considering all the other organisms co-existing with humans. But of course, these are examples of extreme perspectives. There are people whose perspectives lie in the middle of the spectrums of ecocentrics and anthropocentrics and their opinions on the both the situations balance out.
People who believe that protecting the Earth and all its species, should be the main concern for humans at the moment are called ecocentrics. These people may have such perspectives due to having been raised in a very natural environment or it is just a cause that is taken in interest in by some people.
I personally am a person that lies in the middle of the ecocentrics and anthropocentrics, leaning more towards ecocentrism.
I think the tension between the economic growth and environmental sustainability can be solved if all the ecocentrists, anthropocentrists, and techno centrists, come together to form a balance in perspectives and ideas. This could provide the world with solutions that can help both, the economy and the keep the environment healthy.
