Final Reflection

Over the course of this module my awareness about water quality and sustainability grew because I never took into consideration how much clean water was on Earth or how other people are using it. Growing up in the Yakima Valley I knew we did not have enough water to grow so many crops, but we still continued grow them. Over this course I learned why water quality varies from region to region, what I believe is important when striving for sustainability, and how we can improve water sustainability for domestic and agricultural use. Climate change is all ready happening now is the time to change policies and educate society on how to help save our planet. As a consequence of engaging with this module I’ve learned how water availability and

Before taking this module I did not take into consideration how important having a sustainable ecosystem was. Now I am aware that we need to become more biocentric, so we have more respect for the ecosystem and other living organisms. I believe suitability should require four dimensions of sustainability include 1. Life quality, 2. Equity, 3. Biodiversity, 4. Human survival. Out of the four dimensions human survival is last, which I believe emphasizes all the luxuries we do not need, such as golf courses in the dessert. We first need to remember that we share the Earth with biodiversity. We need animals and plants to live, so we need to ensure their survival first. For example, in the Yakima Valley the salmon run is not as great as it use to be. This is a consequence of people taking so much water from the Yakima River. If there would be a set limit for how much people use up on water than I believe we as a society would be striving for sustainability. As a result of participating in this module I learned that the Yakima Valley has an even bigger problem than I imagined. I would argue that we also need to educate people in order to reach water sustainability. Water scarcity is a problem where my family lives, but we are not educated to help stand up for water regulations. If it weren't for this module I would not have gain the knowledge to learn about what I believe sustainability should include. We need more education on water sustainability and how our actions are effecting the environment. In this course I learned that water labeling is a possible solution for creating water awareness. I believe requiring water labels on items would help educate people about how much virtual water an item carries. If labeling all the times is too much then we could label products similar to an organic or GMO Free