Q&A with a Natural Resource Major

This Q&A is was done over email and we covered multiple points that come up when talking about sustainability. While I only minor in Sustainability Jeremy Majors in natural resource management and has a much broader view of some of the problems and issues we are currently facing when it comes to sustainability and how people view it.

Q: Tell me a little about yourself… age, major, minor, where you go to school and why you got into the current major you are in.

A: My name is Jeremy. I am 23 years old and I am currently attending Colorado State University. I am majoring in natural resource management with a minor in conservation biology. A passion for wildlife led me to a degree in wildlife biology but after a desire to seek out a wider perspective I switched to studying natural resources.

Q: How would you yourself define sustainability?

A: I would define sustainability as the practice of using techniques which do not inhibit the future use of resources.

Q: Do you think that the idea of becoming a more sustainable society is a possibility?

A: I believe that sustainability is something that is currently making its way more and more into our society, however without providing powerful incentives for people to become more sustainable I think it is unlikely we will see a significant improvement.

Q: Do you think people will be open to changing their everyday habits (eating meat every day, or taking a shower for example) to make the changes the world needs or do you think people are unwilling to change? Why?

A: I think that if people are provided with the proper education as well as the motivation to change, they will continue to make improvements in their daily life. I do not think that people will drastically change how they live just for the sake of being sustainable. Other people also do not have the ability to live sustainable because other things simply take personal priority.

Q: Would you consider the city of Fort Collins to be a sustainable city?

A: I think that Fort Collins is more sustainable than other larger cities, but I would not consider Fort Collins a sustainable city. There is many things that could be improved in the town to make it more sustainable.

Q: What about America?

A: I think that the amount of improvement that is required for America to become what I would call “sustainable”, is substantial. There simply is not enough effort put in by the major powers at play in order to be effective.

Q: What do you see as the biggest issues facing us in terms of becoming more sustainable?

A: Some of the major issues that come to mind include pollution, deforestation, anthropogenic climate change, water quality, and habitat loss.

Q: Would you consider yourself to be sustainable or just more informed than most people about the subject of sustainability?

A: I consider myself educated about the concept of sustainability, however there are still many ways that I could improve in my daily life to become more sustainable.
Being in the field of natural resources, the word sustainability comes up a lot. Being in college has taught me about sustainability and I feel as if I am more educated about the subject than the majority of Americans.

Q: Are you skeptical about the word sustainability? Do you think it is more of a buzz word than a word that holds a lot of meaning?

A: I am worried about how often the word sustainability is used and I feel that a lot of people don’t understand the definition to the full extent and I think that it can be perceived in many ways.

Q: Where do you think the biggest issues are when it comes to being more sustainable… our agriculture, our transportation system, corrupt governments or any others that you can think of?

A: I would not single out an individual branch as one that contributes significantly more than the other. I think that our problems stem from a combination of factors which needed to be assessed on an individual basis.

If anyone was wondering….

This is how the City of Fort Collins defines sustainability. Also if you wanted to know what steps Fort Collins is making to become more sustainable I wrote a listicle about it.

Or if you just want more information on sustainability the EPA has some good information.