Why We Need To Be Working Towards Sustainable Industry
Sustainable industry is a target towards which we need to be aiming if we are to progress from our current level of development. Many of today's industrial processes involve practices which could not be carried out an indefinite number of times, usually because they involve the use of resources which cannot be replenished. The most striking and obvious example of this is the fossil fuel which is used in so many industrial processes, and which is used in transportation even where it is not used in the actual process. Take transportation into account, and there is hardly a product in the world which can genuinely be called sustainable.
Of course, sustainable manufacturing and sustainable transportation are two entirely different issues. Even if products need to be transported in heavy trucks using large amounts of fossil fuel, it is still vastly preferable that the manufacturing process be refined to a sustainable one if possible. The issue of transportation is a separate one, and can only be solved when we have the right electric vehicles, and renewable sources of electricity. Sustainable manufacturing starts with the raw materials. To be genuinely sustainable, a manufacturing process has to use raw materials which can be readily replaced.
A good example of this is wood from a sustainable forest where at least one new tree is planted for every old one which is cut down and used. The test for sustainability then goes through the entire process of the manufacture of the product. If, at any stage, there is something in the process which cannot be replicated indefinitely, then the manufacturing process is not truly sustainable. Any fuel which is used in the manufacture has to be taken into account, and this is where the gray areas occur. If there is any use of fossil fuel, then the process is definitely unsustainable.
However, if the process is sustainable in every other way, it is harsh to reject it on those grounds alone. The fuel source can easily be changed so that it is fully renewable, and that will change the nature of the entire process. It is also important to consider the waste products created by the process, and the way in which these are disposed of. So many processes in modern industry fall down on this consideration, and the amounts of toxicv waste created can be frightening.
The creation of sustainable industries is necessary for the long term growth of our economy. In many cases, there can also be spin off benefits to other industries at the same time. A good example of this is the paper industry using waste products from other industries such as cotton. This not only allows paper to be created without the loss of trees, it gives the cotton industry a way of disposing of its waste in a genuinely useful and profitable way. More use of resources in this manner will help us create our much needed sustainable industry.
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