The year 2013 saw increased discussions and in depth planning about the inception and the incorporation of sustainable communities into mainstream life. Sustainable communities are communities that are carefully planned or rather tailor made with an aim of promoting and by all means achieving the highest standards possible of sustainable living. Sustainable living is a rather general term and refers to all aspects affecting human life and interaction for example energy, management of waste materials, water, transportation and infrastructure. The main focus of sustainable living is however undeniably greatly inclined towards economic sustainability as well as environmental sustainability.
As far as energy is concerned the year 2013 saw tremendous strides as far as energy sustainability is concerned. The emphasis areas in energy seem to be renewable energy and clean energy. Renewable energy is energy which can be regenerated from the same source and thus provides a seemingly endless flow of energy. Clean energy on the other hand is energy that is environmentally friendly. This means that this type of energy provides minimal pollution as far as the environment is concerned. This type of energy is very friendly to the environment and has minimal or no damage as far as the state of the environment is concerned. A good example of an organization which made tremendous strides as far as energy sustainability is concerned in the year 2013 is PSEG. The company allocated a large percentage of its investment capabilities to its plants which are fuelled by fossil fuels. This was aimed at reducing the amount of emissions from the fossil fueled plants which are harmful to the environment and as such might result in environmental pollution. Thus the company relegated a large portion of its investment capabilities to clean energy that s sustainable and by all means environmentally friendly.
Infrastructure is also an integral part of sustainability. In order for sustainable living to be achieved infrastructure efficiency has to be established and implemented. In the year 2013 the state of New Jersey made great strides as far as infrastructure sustainability is concerned. This is because the state government made a deal with the PSEG Company that would see the company harden its infrastructure in the state with an aim at sustainability. This deal is worth 3.9 billion dollars and is aimed to be achieved within a ten year time period. This plan has since received tremendous support from trade unions as well as labor unions. A company as vast and as established as PSEG has a vast infrastructure network that runs throughout the state. As such the hardening of this infrastructure is efficient for sustainability not only because of the vastness of the infrastructure but also because of the service to the local people rendered by the infrastructure in question.
Agriculture is also one of the main pillars of sustainability and economic growth especially with regard to the developing countries in Africa and the rest of the third world. Green growth is very important because it gives a sense of food security and with food security comes a rise in the life expectancy of a given population. In the year 2013 a large number of nations in Africa made strides towards development as far as green growth is concerned. An example is the African state of Kenya which saw the government subsidize the price of fertilizers so as to enable farmers to produce a larger output to sustain the growing populous.
Works Cited
"Economy to reap from growth in agriculture."- Business News. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. <http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Economy-to-reap-from-growth-in-agriculture-/-/1006/1975008/-/yw8hb6z/-/index.html>.
"GROWING TOGETHER."Akasha Innovation RSS.N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. <http://akashainnovation.org/index.php/community/>.
"PSEG We make things work for you."PSEG We make things work for you.N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. <http://pseg.com/>.
"Sustainable Societies."College of Public Affairs & Community Service.N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. <http://pacs.unt.edu/soci/content/sustainable-societies>.
