The Future?

Living sustainably is all about looking into the future. The little things we do in our homes, our schools and our community probably won't have a major impact on our lives, but future generations will benefit from our efforts.

Preserving energy, water and biodiversity means that our children's children will be able to enjoy the same planet as we are. The most important thing to remember is that the future starts with YOU.

Resource use is at an unsustainable level in Ireland and in Europe. In the end, most of the products become waste, which then needs to be managed for recycling and disposal. This is an unsustainable trend and it is up to you and me to make changes in our lives to curb this link. We need to consume less through our lifestyle choices.

The future is local. Local ideas and local initiatives can all drive a sustainable existence for you, your family and your community.

Government Policy

In 2007 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) produced their third formal strategy - 2020 vision: Protecting and Improving Ireland 's Environment - which set-out a long term vision for Ireland 's environment to 2020. Six goals were determined:

• Limiting and adapting to climate change

• Clean air

• Protect water resources

• Sustainable use of natural resources

• Protect soil and biodiversity

• Integration and enforcement

The whole document can be viewed online on the EPA website.

The Dublin City Council developed a sustainable process, which involves four steps based around the '2020 vision.'

1. Creating awareness

2. Conducting analysis

3. Developing a vision of a sustainable Dublin in 2020

4. Implementing the vision