Today's youth, tomorrow's sustainability

The youths these days have passions and high hopes for a better tomorrow. What are they doing to make their future exactly the way the want it? What are they missing?

It is an established fact that the only thing which never changes is "change" itself. This simply means that the way something was yesterday is not the way it is today and not the way it is going to be tomorrow. This is true for everything related to human activities because we are never satisfied and we always want to do things the easiest of ways. Asides wanting to do things the easiest of ways, humans will tend to stop doing what they have been doing when they discover that they have been doing it wrong. How do all these connect with the mindset of the youth? Can you connect the dots?

Talking about human wants, we have always wanted items and properties to ourselves but the way we get these properties has undergone a series of changes over the years. Primitive men scavenged for their properties, men in the past generations got their properties through trading by barter, men today work for others or sell goods to make money in order to afford properties... The question is "how would we earn in the future?".

A Revolution is coming

What is a revolution? Simply put, it is a very powerful and colossal change on man's operations. Before the 19th century, humans have only earned through farming, healing, researching and other ways. In the late 18th century, an industrial revolution occurred. This revolution transformed the way man earned. Now, humans earn through labor in various industries, these industries are found worldwide. So far, we have been doing well. We have companies like Chevron, Mercedes, Samsung, etc which are paying well but let's face the fact that these companies are becoming more and more useless as time goes by. They are becoming useless simply because mans' eye is opening to see the effect of the various industries in the world;

Emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Production of non-biodegradable and greenhouse gas emitting goods.
Increase in the rate of Global warming in the world today.

As noted earlier, humans will stop doing what they have been doing if they find out that they have been doing it wrong. One day, a revolution will start. It is a form of revolution that will reduce or even fully stop the use of non-renewable resources, fossil fuels and production of plastics and other non-biodegradable items. When (not if but when) this revolution comes, how will we earn? What hope would the average youths have?

Read Construction of a walkway using plastic bottles

Let's talk about sustainable development

Sustainable development in simple terms, is the use of resources or production of goods today in a manner that the resources (both raw and produced) will still be readily available to coming generations. Let us look at land as a natural resource. Instead of using the normal traditional agricultural method to get (for example) 100 tomatoes from a piece of land, we would change to the modern method of farming (vertical farming, aquaponics) to get more than 1000 tomatoes and even 10,000 fishes if we like. This method of farming reduces the amount of space, water and time used to get even more than what the traditional means can get. Enclosing the plants in a greenhouse would reduce water loss by transpiration and evaporation, planting in shelves will reduce space taken and nutrients always available will reduce the time it takes for the roots of plants to get nutrients and water therefore speeding up the growth rate of plants. Modern farming is just one of many examples of sustainability.

Here's how people in different fields can be sustainable

Sustainability is not restricted to a specific career.

Petitions can be made against stores that use too much packaging. These packaging cause excess waste
Banks should provide fewer loans to firms that pollute the Earth, more loans to firms that support sustainability
The government should maintain potential tourist attractions. Clean up river and sea beaches, make waterfalls accessible by cars
More enlightenment should be done. People should be enlightened about our natural heritage and how our actions pollute our environment
Doctors should tell their patients the source of their infection. For example, patients with malaria should be taught that reducing the amount of stagnant water around them would reduce the amount of mosquitoes
Schools should teach children about the sources, effects and control of pollution

Here's how sustainability is affecting our industries

There are several ways sustainable development is affecting our industries, here's just a few:

Introduction of more solar panels and biogas is reducing the demand of generators, refineries and other industries that rely on fossil fuel
Introduction of electric cars is reducing the demand of petrol powered cars therefore affecting automobile industries and refineries
Introduction of reusable and recyclable plastics has reduced the demand of single-use plastics therefore affecting refineries and industries that make plastics

Sustainable development usually doesn't need a lot of resources for maintenance and operation. This means that when the sustainable revolution occurs, a lot of the Earths resources will be saved since individuals and companies will reuse what are being produced. As you can see, introducing these eco-friendly products and services is very good but will greatly affect our major industries. What can we do? How can we the youths survive tomorrow?

Read Campaign against plastic pollution

Innovation is the key

Innovation is the only way we can survive in the future. Ask yourself: this company that I have been dreaming to work with, isn't it owned by a fellow human? If a man/woman (when he/she was a youth) could dream of owning a very big company, employing thousands of people, why can't I have similar dreams? Why must I limit my dreams to only working under someone, therefore fulfilling his/her dreams? Why can't I be creative? Just imagine when these big companies stop or reduce operations and almost all the youths are still dreaming about working with these companies. It would be a sad situation for those who were unable to dream big. Look at Nigeria as a case study; a country where many companies are fleeing from yet the youths are still hoping they can work with these companies.

Solve problems

Your innovation or creativity should be geared towards identifying and solving problems in your society or the world at large. Lets look at Obasanjo. He found the problem of hunger then invested in Agriculture. Mark Zuckerberg found the problem of lack of communication then made facebook. Now, Facebook has pledged to use only non-exhaustible resources to generate electricity before the end of 2020. Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp found the problem of transportation and made Uber. we hope Uber will make a pledge of using only electric cars as cabs in the nearest future.

The average mindset of the youth is a problem we see and shouldn't remain silent. Here are a few solutions.

Are you a youth?

Don't be scared to dream big
Discover your talents
Work on your talents
Discover your passions
Work on your passions
Look for the similarities between your talents and passions
Focus on these similarities because among these similarities is your purpose in life
Remain useful
Solve problems
Build a network of value-adding friends in your life
Don't stop working on yourself
Keep adding value to people
Hold a strong relationship with your God.
Think creativity, think innovation, think sustainability
Try your best to make the world a better place
Be The Change you want to see in the world