Envisioning the Future

The focus of my vision would be to enhance the knowledge of society as a whole to improve the environment we live in. Without a well-sustained environment, things would begin to go downhill and then what would we do? While watching the video, Fixing the Future, the following statement really caught my attention: “Do people exist to serve the economy or does the economy exist to serve the people?” I think this question stuck out to me because as a young adult and examining the behaviors of others in today’s society it seems as though we have a sense of being only concerned about one thing, ourselves. A fine example of how a crisis with our environment greatly affects the human population and even wildlife is that of oil supply. This topic attracted my attention because of where I am from, Cushing, Ok where we are known as “The Pipeline Crossroads of the World.” I’ve grown up surrounded by tank farms, oil drilling, and relatives owing mineral rights to land; which is about to be drilled upon to look for oil as we speak. What happens when oil supply runs out is an alarming question that was asked in the video 2050 – The World. Visioneering: an essential framework in sustainability science, talked about how a vision never changes-it only refines, improves, and advances to determine our destiny. I believe that this is an encouraging way to look about our future as it will be here before we know it.  The video, 2050 – The World, reinforces this thought by saying that our future is upcoming and much closer than we think it is.

In order to believe that something great can come about people across the globe being aware of a sustainable future would be that of faith. We have to believe in what we have yet to see, but we know and trust that as time goes by technological advancements will be made and progress will take action. We as society would need to have an optimistic mindset about our future. Thinking Ahead: The Value of Future Consciousness is an article that talked about having a creative mindset when coming up with techniques, technologies, and imagining possibilities to put our vision into action.  Individuals and researchers would have to believe the old saying, “where there’s a will there’s a way.” When entering college four years ago, as a freshman, we were told time and time again that the jobs created when we graduate aren’t even in existence. So, we must keep this mindset of understanding the importance of believing in what we do not see… yet.

Some habitual beliefs that can present barriers to this vision are that of overconsumption. Like in every situation, as technology improves there are pros and cons to be addressed. In the article, Limiting Consumption, as years go by consumption has increased greatly.  A way to help the environment would be to “reduce the burden of overconsumption.” With the oil crisis, this might indicate individuals not traveling excessively for self-fulfilling purposes. Oil is a natural source that we need for the basis of travel. I believe that this topic would greatly engage others because it is something we can all relate to. When we turn 16 we want a car; when we travel we go by train, fly, or drive. Researchers are looking for ways to go about recreating the reaction of nuclear fusion that can enable our knowledge to never have to drill for oil again, 2050 – The World.