The Many Definitions Of "Sustainability"

I've been skeptical of terms as they come and go. (earlier post) Sustainability, again, is one of them. Yup, cultural definitions evolve and morph. But when the tag for the future dynamic of Earth jumps all over the map, we need to take stock of what exactly is at stake. 

The following definitions were compiled and distributed recently by a conference session here in Madison. They represent some current versions of sustainability. I'm taking the liberty to comment. Others?

• Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs.

Brundtland Report (World Commission on Environment & Development)

Is sustainable development an oxymoron?

• Sustainable design is the set of perceptual and analytic abilities, ecological         wisdom, and practical wherewithal essential to making things that fit in a world of microbes, plants, animals, and entropy. In other words, (sustainability) is the careful meshing of human purposes with the larger patterns and flows of the natural world, and careful study of those patterns and flows to inform human purposes.

David Orr, Ecological Literacy 

Philosophically sound if humans follow suit with patterns and flows. 

• Sustainability is the ability to achieve continuing economic prosperity while protecting the natural systems of the planet and providing a high quality of life for its people. Achieving sustainable solutions calls for stewardship, with everyone taking responsibility for solving the problems of today and tomorrow-individuals, communities, businesses and governments are all stewards of the environment.

 Environmental Protection Agency

This government agency has two sides to its mouth: economic prosperity vs. stewardship.  Paradox.

• Sustainability is asking ourselves today: How much do we really need? Then, not taking more from the earth than that.

Alliance for Global Sustainability Principle Investors

Huh…?

• A transition to sustainability involves moving from linear to cyclical processes and technologies. The only processes we can rely on indefinitely are cyclical; all linear processes must eventually come to an end. 

Dr. Karl Henrik-Robert, MD, founder of The Natural Step, Sweden

True.

• Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. For humans, sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions.

Wikipedia (Jan 2011)

The first sentence is true, which is why resilience may be a better overall concept than sustainability.

• Sustainability occurs when human activity does not adversely affect the quality of the environment and resource base available for future generations of living things on the planet.

Alliance for Global Sustainability Principle Investors

Many resource bases have already been altered beyond future availability.

• Sustainability is equity over time.  As a value, it refers to giving equal weight in your decisions to the future as well as the present. You might think of it as extending the Golden Rule through time, so that you do unto future generations (as well as to your present fellow beings) as you would have them do unto you.

Robert Gilman, Director Context Institute

Yes.  ["Why should I do anything for future generations. They haven't done anything for me." Groucho Marx]

• Leave the world better than you found it, take no more than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, make amends if you do.

Paul Hawken

True, but already unattainable. 

• A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.

Aldo Leopold, A Land Ethic, from Sand County Almanac

Simple and wise…

• Clean air, clean water, safety in city parks, low-income housing, education, child care, welfare, medical care, unemployment (insurance), transportation, recreation/cultural centers, open space, wetlands... 

Hazel Wolf, Seattle Audubon Society

Finally getting to the social justice?

Wangari Maathai 1940-2011

Wangari Maathai of Kenya passed away yesterday in Kenya.  She was a world leader in the social-justice/ environmental sphere.  (Note article in Yes! Magazine)

I will be planting a tree in her honor…

On The Line, Off The Grid

As with most activities needing a change in habit, taking the time to slow down is part of the formula. I know...most of us don't do slow. Slow may not be part of the daily vocab. I have expounded on slow before. But if we will be encouraged culturally to do slower in the future, we'll need to practice how to efficiently infuse slow into daily life. Incidentally, slow does not mean a void in productive time. 


There's a website for everything. Fact. When I came upon the Laundry List site I was amused, but aware of the impact of the message. These folks promote taking one home task and removing a huge amount of energy by eliminating the electricity involved. The clothes go on the line, not in a heating machine. 


Line drying is one of those "entry energy activities." As energy conservation measures become new habits in one's home, we find that many require little sacrifice and usually very little time. But they reduce the carbon output significantly...easing into a lighter footprint.


The Laundry List folks propose that you pledge to hang 80% of your yearly dirty laundry out to dry!  They also promote all aspects of laundry art, writings and poetry!

Hanging it out 76 times in Madison 2010

I can gloat a bit about this one. For the past two seasons, from April through October, we have used the backyard line almost exclusively. Seventy-six times this past summer. So, the clothing is as fresh and clean as I remember as a kid. (I know I didn't appreciate this at the time.) If there's a breeze, most clothes are dry in an hour. Do they sometimes brittle-up a little in the sun? Yup. Does rain creep in? Sometimes. Do you wake up in the middle of the night wondering if the laundry was brought in? Often. Oh, well...


Other perks? Hanging clothing keeps me tuned to my yard - a yard where there are gardens, both flower and vegetable; a yard where there are insects and birds; a yard where my dog gets a bug up her butt and tears around like she's crazed. It's called being o-u-t-s-i-d-e. 


Unfortunately, there are places in this country where this activity is actually banned. The Laundry List people also spend time advocating for the repeal of these restrictions. (Hail suburbia.) Someone we all know couldn't resist creating a sketch on this issue.  As usual, the absurdity is hilarious. Please enjoy a quick segment of the Colbert Report.

Conservation - The Concept Has Changed

Are we stuck with a 20th century understanding of conservation? As often happens with language, the common public version makes a dynamic shift.


Conservation needs a clearer definition in 2010. It’s been in rehab. We’re talking about a term that has been associated with the environment for decades and decades. But throughout this time our physical negative impact on Earth has steadily risen. Conserving is still a critical behavior - with a different slant.  


So, what are the historical vs. current distinctions?


From the beginning of our oil age (mid-19th C.) public concerns began to bubble up about cavalier use of land for urban, suburban, transportation and recreational purposes.  The United States was growing rapidly. Red flags were raised about the human dominance attitude upon the natural environment. Muir, Roosevelt and others led the way to reserving massive tracts of land for national parks. Mainstream environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club and Audubon Society, formed powerful and united voices. Ansel Adams produced black and white photography that spoke thousands of words in defense of simple and dramatic natural wonders. 


In the first half of the 20th century, the understanding of natural interrelationships among organisms and land matured. Leopold developed the science of ecology and land ethics. A bit later, Ed Abbey defended and ranted against the vandalism of natural landscapes of the West. Earth Day - 1970. “Save the Rainforest” and “Save the Whales” were cries in the 1980’s.  GREENPEACE patrolled and monitored the seas. There were less patient and more militant organizations, such as EarthFirst!  Environmental groups proliferated and set the foundation for the 21st century. 


In general, the impetus for action and concern during this time was to preserve and protect the natural environment. A “Conservation Movement” evolved, which strived to keep nature natural; to protect the land’s beauty, its geological history, and its spiritual gifts to mankind. It meant conserving it from pollutants and the bulldozer. We “treaded lightly” and “packed it in; packed it out.” Endangered species and DDT took center stage. We conserved habitat for the timber wolf, the great blue, and northern spotted owl. To be sure, conservation of energy was an important component. 


So, where do we stand now; a decade into the next century?  How has conservation morphed?


We are now in the land of a triple (at least) whammy. Fossil fuel emissions have jeopardized our futures with greenhouse gases. The extraction of fossil fuels has lead to peak oil constraints. Population numbers rise to ever more unmanageable levels. Our finite Mother will need a breather and she will take it.  We will need to transition into consuming less of everything in order to maintain any semblance of sustainability.


Conservation, then, becomes a personal and universal movement that cuts back and down-sizes our current usage of every natural resource. This is where the visceral context kicks in. We are certainly protecting and preserving, but the preservation now involves insuring human sustainability. After a long period of unleashed growth and natural resource energy waste, we must now, individually and collectively, conserve in order to sustain. 


I see two options:

Informed Conservation vs. Coerced Conservation

We can either voluntarily begin to create habits of less and pass them on to our young people, or we may be forced into consuming less without preparation. 


Conservation, in this sense, has not yet taken on a critical urgency by the general public. For many reasons, comfort and denial being two, we do not conserve to any great extent in our daily routines.  


We tend to depend on the future magic of technology and the erroneous assumptions of infinite resources to procrastinate our personal cut-backs. It is very difficult to change habits when everything appears to be clicking right along in our lives. As stated in the previous post, it’s incredibly difficult to turn an ocean liner. Behavior changes are in the same league. It's a tough mandate.


Conservation, then, has become more of an energy and consumption-based concept. And the elephant has entered the room.