Humanities and STEM 1

Self-Sustainability in American Society

By Christian Trebisacci

February 12, 2016

Mrs. Oliveira Period 5

Humanities and STEM 3

Self-Sustainability in American Society
Americas exorbitant reliance on foreign goods and
services creates a fragile and weak economy which can easily
crumble as a result of tension or aggression between countries. The
United States imports roughly $500 billion worth of goods more
than it exports (P. Grewal and S. Grewal). This exporting deficit
exemplifies the United States heavy reliance on foreign goods and
demonstrates how America lacks the competence to create and
distribute goods for its people. American society must acquire the
ability to obtain or produce its own necessary resources, a concept
known as self-sustainability, self-sufficiency, or self-reliance. The
formula % of self-[sustainability] = [(Area X Yield) / Intake] X
100 determines a societys self-sustainability and expresses it as a
percent (P. Grewal and S. Grewal). The total expenditure times the
percent of self-sustainability will determine that amount of money
retained (P. Grewal and S. Grewal). Self-sustainability keeps
money in America, however, with an increased effort in self-

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sustainability an increased effort to preserve resources must follow.
The United States, unfortunately, lacks in self-sustainability and
the ability to preserve resources, but self-sustainability also leads
to the conservation of resources. Once a country produces its own
goods, it controls all resources involved and retains the ability to
govern the usage of these resources, providing the country with the
capability and the drive to save essential resources. American
society needs to increase its self-sustainability efforts in order to
create a more stable economy and environmentally sound culture.
Agriculture in the United States operates as one of the
largest active industries, but as a result, production takes
precedence over efficiency. Irrigation methods used in the United
States quickly water fields, but at the cost of 80% of fresh water
used in the United States (What Other Nations). Most
commonly, farmers use surface irrigation techniques such as flood
irrigation and sprinkler irrigation. Flood irrigation uses channels of
water running through the farm, wetting the soil and providing the

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plants with the necessary nutrients, whereas, sprinkler irrigation
utilizes a sprinkler system raining water on a farm from above the
soil (Falkenmark). Both types of irrigation sufficiently provide the
crops with water and farmers can operate the systems easily;
neither method, however, efficiently completes the task of
irrigating the fields because both methods waste large amounts of
water and energy. Such agricultural practices consume ten percent
of the United States energy budget (P. Grewal and S. Grewal) and
utilizes 50% of the land in the United States (Gunders). As well as
consuming essential resources, the agricultural market generates
the single largest component of municipal waste in the United
States. The primary contributor to this waste remains the forty
percent of uneaten food in the United States which consumers
waste and discard, filling landfills (Gunders). American agriculture
focuses on producing and processing the greatest number of goods
as rapidly as possible, disregarding the resources wasted with each

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ton of food grown, even though roughly 800 pounds of food of that
ton produced will eventually rot in a landfill (Gunders).
Within the last couple decades, scientists and botanists
experiment with alternative growing methods to preserve precious
resources and create a more efficient farm. The most well-known
and proficient modern technique developed does not use soil.
Known as hydroponic growing, from the Greek words hydro and
ponics meaning water-labor, this method cycles water through a
system in which plant roots grow through a permeable medium or
directly into nutrient rich water (Hochmuth, Sweat, and Tyson).
Since the system recycles the same water over a growing period,
hydroponic growing conserves water. In a study done at the
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, researchers found that
using a hydroponic growing system rather than a soil growing
technique conserved water ranging from 42.9 to 62.9% of the
control for peppers and 54.3 to 79.1% for strawberry [plants]
(Albaho, Christopher, and Thomas). As well as conserving vital

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natural resources, a hydroponics system requires less energy
because the system utilizes only a single water pump to recycle the
water rather than many heavy machines to tend to a field. A
hydroponics system also needs less land to produce the same yield.
According to studies conducted in Cleveland regarding selfsustainability, roughly 14,000 acres of land used for traditional
agricultural growing results in the same produce yield as 800 acres
of hydroponic growing (P. Grewal and S. Grewal). Converting
traditional agricultural farms to hydroponic growing systems
improves American agriculture by using less water, energy, and
land, while also growing more produce. The issue of waste
conservation unfortunately persists as a major issue. The most
effective way to counter waste production from the agricultural
market requires backing from the Federal Government. In France,
stores must donate all unsold produce to charities or food banks,
greatly reducing the amount of food waste produced from markets
(Schofield). For American society to reduce food waste, the

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Federal Government must take action similar to the French
governments laws enacted. America can adapt new agricultural
techniques and enact food waste laws, but in order for this action
to occur, citizens need knowledge of the problems and the desire to
find solutions.
To achieve a self-sustainable society, America needs to
conserve the most vital resources for survival and production, yet,
American society wastes even the most valuable finite resources.
Fresh water, although not commonly thought of as a finite
resource, a resource that people will someday exhaust, becomes
scarcer with each wasted gallon. Approximately seven billion
gallons of water leak out of pipes and outlets in the United States
everyday (What Other Nations). Towns, cities, and companies do
not feel the necessity to repair faulty piping because leaking water
does not cost an organization a substantial amount of money.
Without a monetary incentive, establishments will take scant action
to begin mending outdated water transportation structures.

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Inefficient irrigation methods utilized in the United States waste
copious amounts of water as well. Drip irrigation, the most
environmentally sound irrigation technique, irrigates merely five
percent of fields in the United States (Falkenmark). Similar to the
problem of water leaking from pipes, a lack of a monetary
incentive deters farmers from attempting to preserve water. The
United States does not implement sufficient techniques to preserve
water or take advantage of environmental factors to store water. No
cities in the United States utilize systems to capture rain water on a
large scale and few coastal cities operate desalination plants across
the country (What Other Nations). Water conservation becomes
a more serious issue daily and remains vital for the United States to
develop a self-sustainable society.
American citizens and establishments can make moderate
changes to their society which will increase self-sufficiency and
conserve the natural resource water. In an attempt to improve the
water leakage dilemma, programmers created software capable of

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detecting leaks in pipes. Implementing this technical advancement
in most major facilities results in retaining 670 million liters of
water per day and quicker pipe repairs (What Other Nations).
Once the program detects the leaks, maintenance crews can swiftly
and easily make the necessary renovations. In an attempt to
encourage the maintenance of water transportation systems, the
Federal Government can, although currently does not on a federal
level, offer tax credits to companies that meet water conservation
standards. Doing so effectively saves companies money and towns
water which benefits the economy and the environment. To
conserve water in the agricultural industry, alternate watering
methods must irrigate fields. Israel irrigates 90% of its fields with
Drip Irrigation and the country uses one fifth of the water per year
that the state Arizona uses in the same year; two places similar in
population (What Other Nations). Currently, Arizona primarily
utilizes flood irrigation, the most wasteful technique of irrigation.
If Arizona implements drip irrigation systems in fields, then the

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United States will quickly reduce the amount of water used in
agriculture. Simply conserving water will not suffice to meet a
self-sustainable Americas water needs in the future. Major cities
can create structures to capture and purify rain water for the public
to use. Moreover, more coastal towns and cities can utilize
desalination plants to create fresh water from ocean water. A
society cannot become self-sustainable and environmentally
friendly unless its people can make changes to their society which
will provide citizens with locally produced vital resources.
Even more wasteful than the agricultural industry and water
usage, the United States consumes more energy than the top five
ranked energy consuming countries beneath it, India, Russia,
Japan, Germany, and Brazil, combined (Magill). The United States
still relies on fossil fuels to provide energy with coal burning
creating 39% of energy, natural gases creating 27% of energy, and
renewable sources of energy creating only 13% of energy (Magill).
Burning coal and fossil fuels releases fumes harmful to the planet

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into the atmosphere. Moreover, coal and other fossil fuels such as
oil cannot last forever. The United States cannot form a selfsustainable culture if its main source of energy will someday cease
to exist. Drivers in America act as one of the primary consumers of
fossil fuels. The United States developed an ingrained car culture
following the mass production of automobiles, and today 95% of
households in the United States possess a car (Magill). City
governments focus efforts more on the construction of roadways
promoting more drivers and a stronger car culture. The vast
majority of cars function by burning fossil fuels most abundantly
found off of American soil, and America cannot become selfsustainable with this dependency for fuel from other countries.
Although the United States economy continues to grow, the
United States continues to waste energy while the Federal
government does not take any major action on a national scale to
improve energy efficiency.

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Coinciding with the Industrialization of America, energy
production quickly became one of the top pollutant producing and
environmentally detrimental industries of all American businesses.
To become more self-sustainable, America can increase the amount
of energy produced through renewable sources, rather than using
finite and environmentally damaging energy sources such as fossil
fuels. According to experiments conducted by the Center for Urban
Environment and Economic Development, cities have the
potential to substantially increase their energy self-reliance, which
may bolster their economic resilience and reduce their ecological
footprint by utilizing wind power, solar power, and biodiesel (P.
Grewal and P. Grewal). To reduce fossil fuel emissions from
transportation, the government needs to promote and improve
public transportation. Increasing public transportation efforts
discourages Americas car culture leading to fewer drivers and cars
releasing harmful emissions. Unlike the US, Germany created
official plans to decrease energy usage by twenty percent by 2020

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and fifty percent by 2050 (Magill). For America to begin
conserving energy, the government must implement an energy
savings plan similar to the plans set forth in Germany. A plan
similar to Germanys energy reduction plan pulls all levels of
government together, as observed in Germany, to solve major
issues with Americas self-sustainability and environmental
impact. Inefficient energy consumption in the US wastes exorbitant
amounts of money and proves detrimental to the environment.
Many of these seemingly simple solutions to Americas
self-sustainability issue never materialize because the large initial
monetary investment outweighs the amount of money saved every
year. For instance, a single solar panel installation can cost $22,000
and only save $2,400 a year (Magill). Large figures for small short
term progress tends to worry public officials, however, long term
utilization of solar panels will save money and create a more
environmentally friendly culture. Research done regarding
Cleveland, Ohios energy consumption reveals that once the city

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reaches one hundred percent energy self-sustainability through
wind power, solar power, and biodiesel, energy self-reliance could
result in $28.7M to $1.76bn being retained in Cleveland annually
(P. Grewal and P. Grewal). Over the course of twenty years, this
plan could save well over $20 billion in Cleveland and eliminate
all need to burn coal for energy. Utilizing renewable energy
sources reduces smog and pollution and overall creates a healthier
living environment for the citizens because a city no longer needs
industrial factories to produce electricity. Knowing the long-term
results can set public officials monetary qualms at ease because the
subsequent benefits of increasing self-sustainability in an urban
environment compensates for all preliminary investments.
Although most Americans cannot observe the relations of
each aspect discussed on a daily basis, they must understand the
interrelationship of self-sustainability, the environment, and the
economy. Producing ones own food reduces the amount of energy
used and fossil fuels burned during travel, while also saving a

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person money due to fewer expenditures and conserving water
when the farmer utilizes efficient farming methods or irrigation
techniques. Today, however, modern cities almost exclusively rely
on the import of resources to meet their daily basic needs creating
a feeble economy almost completely reliant on the efforts of
another people (P. Grewal and S. Grewal). The government needs
to set forth plans that incorporate all aspects of the idea of selfsustainability. For instance, building a desalination plant generates
more fresh water for a population of people, however, the plant
consumes a large amount of energy which costs money. To counter
the energy consumption concern, the plant can utilize solar power
creating a self-sustainable factory which benefits the economy and
the environment. Economic reimbursements come as indirect
benefits of self-sustainability resulting from the decrease in
expenditures it takes to produce the product, whether food,
resources, or material possession. When America reaches a selfsustainable culture and cities and towns can produce their own

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necessities, mankinds industries cease to act as the foremost threat
to nature, and mankind and nature can live in a more harmonic
state.

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Works Cited
Albaho, M., A. Christopher, and B. Thomas. Christopher.
"Evaluation of Hydroponic

Techniques on Growth and

Productivity of Greenhouse Grown Bell Pepper and

Strawberry." International Journal of Vegetable Science
14.1 (2008): 23-40. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Falkenmark, M. "Growing Water Scarcity in Agriculture: Future
Challenge to Global Water

Security." Philosophical

Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical

and Engineering Sciences 371.2002 (2013): 20120410.
Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Grewal, Parbir S., and Parwinder S. Grewal. "Can Cities Become
Self-reliant in Energy?"

Cities 31 (2013): 404-11. Web. 6

Dec. 2015.
Grewal, Parwinder S., and Sharanbir S. Grewal. "Can Cities
Become Self-reliant in
Web. 6 Dec. 2015.

Food?" Cities 29.1 (2012): 1-11.

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Gunders, Dana. "Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent
of Its Food from Farm to

Fork to Landfill." Wasted: How

America Is Losing Up to 40 (2012): 1-21.

NRDC

Publications, Aug. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.

Hochmuth, Robert, Michael Sweat, and Richard Tyson. "Building
a Floating Hydroponic

Garden." EDIS New Publications

RSS. University of Florida, 2015. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.

Magill, Bob. "Germany Is No. 1 in the World for Energy
Efficiency." The Weather Channel. The

Weather Channel,

Oct. 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.

Schofield, Hugh. "Is France's Supermarket Waste Law Heading for
Europe?" BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation, 18 Aug.
2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
"What Other Nations Can Learn from Israel's Solutions to the
Scarce Water Challenge." Knowledge Wharton. University of
Pennsylvania, 10 Oct. 2012. Web. 4 Dec.

2015.