The Earth is probably the most special of all planets in our solar system. Its most important characteristic is that it hosts life. Other solar systems have been found with just one earth-like planet, which suggests that if there are many other planets like ours, they also host life.
That being said, at a first glance, it might be difficult to see why we owe anything to our planet. It provides us with air, water, and food (albeit in small quantities) but doesn't take much effort on our part to do so. The problem arises when you realize that the Earth's resources are finite; if we keep depleting them at the same rate as we currently are, there won't be any left for future generations.
The UN's Brundtland Report of 1987 defined sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Although this concept turned out not to be very useful when it came to measuring progress, it still holds true in one way: we have enough resources to meet our own needs and those of future generations as well, but not enough to keep on doing so at the rate we currently are.
How should we fix this problem? Should we stop using the earth's natural resources altogether? This would be neither realistic nor desirable: people would starve to death, societies collapse. One possible solution is technology. As technology develops, our lives become easier and yet require fewer resources.
Technology isn't the only solution to this problem though: there are other ways to make society more sustainable without using new technologies. For example, using recyclable materials rather than non-recyclable ones would greatly reduce waste and pollution, as well as cut back on waste management costs.
This is just one example of how we can reduce our impact on planet Earth and hope to pass it on in good condition to future generations, but there are many more ways in which we can do this and much more that needs to be done if we want a sustainable society. To learn more about the concept of sustainable development and how it can be achieved.
