BEC English Friday: Sustainability

Starting from today I will post a thread following the themes set by Blog English Club (BEC) each Friday. BEC is a brand new community of Indonesian bloggers who want to improve their English. It was initiated by Nita, Ryan and Dani.

Introduction
From the very start I have found this a sympathetic idea so I gladly joined this club. I also take part in the daily WhatsApp session which has just started before Christmas. I admire the hunger of fellow bloggers to improve their English skill.

Many fellow Indonesian bloggers deal with these situations when they try to write/speak in English or other foreign languages: fearing of making mistakes, having fellow Indonesians laughing at them when they make mistakes or even worse being branded as arrogant when trying to converse in English. As I love foreign languages and being a multilingual myself, I am able to live in their shoes. I recognize these all too well, been there done that.

By joining the club I hope I could contribute and help as 90% of the posts here are in English. Joining this club is also practising my blogging motto: to share, to inspire and to interact.

Weekly theme
Now back to BEC again. Each week on Friday there is a topic for members to write about. All topics are defined by the initiators. Afterwards members are able to give each other feed back.

Kicking off the first English Friday, the topic is word of 2015.

My submission
My word for this year is sustainability. According to the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in Our Common Future also known as The Brutland report; the definition of sustainability is:

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

This one from EPA explains the word better

Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.

Background
Why I chose this word to be word of the year for me? Watching my daughter grows I wonder what kind of life she and her children would have let’s say 30 – 40 years from now.

I have been asking myself whether what we do today is sustainable enough to provide the next generations to live in the future. Would there be enough clean water and clean air to breathe?

P for people
3 P’s People Planet Profit are the pillars of sustainability development. It was established somewhere in the 90’es. Those three must be in balance for sustainable living.

My contribution as P for People is the following:

Using energy when needed. Meaning: no lights on in the rooms in the house when no one is in. Setting heater temperature 20 degree Celsius max. If it’s still cold, I use a blanket.

Cooking with ingredients of the season. Now I feel strange to eat Strawberries in the winter (Strawberries are summer fruit).

Doing groceries with a canvas bag, instead of the plastic bag from the store.

Separating my trash; paper, glass/ceramic, organic and plastic.

Beside those domestic acts above I apply sustainability in my relationship with my husband as I believe warm loving parents who love each other forms a good base for our daughter. I take care and give attention to my family, friends and colleagues. And the last important thing is my own sustainability in term
of staying healthy by doing exercises and eating good nutrient food.

Actually I have been doing those things since I moved to The Netherlands. There was a turning point in my life then. Some people might find me boring or even idealistic. That doesn’t bother me. I just want to leave my daughter and her children a good place to live.

Now I look forward to reading submissions of this first BEC topic from other bloggers.

Sources:
Our common future
Image is courtesy of Freepik.com