What Does This Mean?
This principle can be understood to say that in order for society to be sustainable, resources must be used fairly and efficiently in a manner that meets basic human needs globally. This interpretation has two distinct parts, one technical and one social. The technical portion refers to the concept of efficiency and the technical reduction of resource throughputs. Which basically means that we must use resources more efficiently in order to get more value out of less resources. The social portion speaks to the fair distribution of those limited resources and equity in accessing them. Therefore, we need to reduce the amount of resources we use while also increasing the amount of human satisfaction we get from the limited resources being consumed.
This principle can be understood to say that in order for society to be sustainable, resources must be used fairly and efficiently in a manner that meets basic human needs globally. This interpretation has two distinct parts, one technical and one social. The technical portion refers to the concept of efficiency and the technical reduction of resource throughputs. Which basically means that we must use resources more efficiently in order to get more value out of less resources. The social portion speaks to the fair distribution of those limited resources and equity in accessing them. Therefore, we need to reduce the amount of resources we use while also increasing the amount of human satisfaction we get from the limited resources being consumed.
How Does This Affect Me?
No matter what your reason is for having a garden, the size of the plot you use, or the specific plants you grow within it, there are certain universal needs that every gardener has. These are water, soil, nutrients, land, some form of pest management, and the knowledge that allows you to find success in growing plants. These are the resources that you share with and extract from the environment and the people around you. The technical portion of principle four instructs us to use these resources more efficiently, so that there will be more of them to go around. The social portion of this principle instructs us to help ensure that everyone has equal access to these resources no matter their social or economic status.
No matter what your reason is for having a garden, the size of the plot you use, or the specific plants you grow within it, there are certain universal needs that every gardener has. These are water, soil, nutrients, land, some form of pest management, and the knowledge that allows you to find success in growing plants. These are the resources that you share with and extract from the environment and the people around you. The technical portion of principle four instructs us to use these resources more efficiently, so that there will be more of them to go around. The social portion of this principle instructs us to help ensure that everyone has equal access to these resources no matter their social or economic status.
Issues
Water -
As a resource, water is essential to gardening and is used in many other aspects of our lives. The average american household uses 2,000 gallons of fresh water per day! Meanwhile, supplies and access to fresh water are dwindling around the country and around the world. Population pressures combined with increased pollution in surface reservoirs has made access to safe fresh water a daily struggle for many people. According to a U.N. study 768 million people (11% of total global population) do not have access to safe water. Here in the United States most people have access to clean water, but we are rapidly depleting our subsurface aquifers, and the rise in hydraulic fracking practices is endangering many otherwise safe sources of groundwater. The following video briefly outlines the issues facing our global usage of fresh water resources.
As a resource, water is essential to gardening and is used in many other aspects of our lives. The average american household uses 2,000 gallons of fresh water per day! Meanwhile, supplies and access to fresh water are dwindling around the country and around the world. Population pressures combined with increased pollution in surface reservoirs has made access to safe fresh water a daily struggle for many people. According to a U.N. study 768 million people (11% of total global population) do not have access to safe water. Here in the United States most people have access to clean water, but we are rapidly depleting our subsurface aquifers, and the rise in hydraulic fracking practices is endangering many otherwise safe sources of groundwater. The following video briefly outlines the issues facing our global usage of fresh water resources.
Knowledge -
Knowledge is a resource we don't often think of when we consider practices like gardening, but it can make a big difference in how successful a given practitioner is in this field. Knowledge of gardening can come from many different sources like first hand experience, reading a book, taking a class, joining a club, or even this website or others like it. Not all of us have equal access to knowledge about gardening techniques, nor does everyone have the resources available to them to effectively gather this information. In many communities a little extra knowledge about gardening techniques could help feed a whole family more effectively. We, as gardeners, should help spread our unique knowledge about gardening to other people in our communities.
Knowledge is a resource we don't often think of when we consider practices like gardening, but it can make a big difference in how successful a given practitioner is in this field. Knowledge of gardening can come from many different sources like first hand experience, reading a book, taking a class, joining a club, or even this website or others like it. Not all of us have equal access to knowledge about gardening techniques, nor does everyone have the resources available to them to effectively gather this information. In many communities a little extra knowledge about gardening techniques could help feed a whole family more effectively. We, as gardeners, should help spread our unique knowledge about gardening to other people in our communities.