Some food for sustainability thought …

Our guest editor for this edition describes himself as a civil engineer with an artists heart. Asitha Jayawardena’s deep concern for sustainable present and future for all in the human family is expressed through the all four Ps – prose, poetry, painting and photography – and this month he brings all of this to the Indicator .

Food for sustainability thought, courtesy the EfS programme

When I started studying for the MSc in Education for Sustainability (EfS) at London South Bank University in September 2007, my main interest was the ‘big picture’ of sustainability. I strongly believed that an endeavour towards human sustainability is almost entirely underpinned by modern science. That is, the ‘big picture’ I expected to see was predominantly science-based.

Eventually, however, I realised that this big picture was much BIGGER, extending beyond the boundaries of (modern) science. In fact, the Unit 6, ‘Science and Culture in EfS,’ is my turning point in the EfS programme. That both science and culture/religion play essential and complementary roles in an endeavour towards human sustainability was news to me and I crafted my dissertation theme around this. There, I explored whether, in the ‘rough seas of unsustainabilty’, culture (informed by religion) can act as ‘a meaningful moral compass’ that guides the ship of humanity powered by the ‘engine of science’ to the safe comforts of the ‘port of human sustainability’.

In this edition my focus is on some other food for sustainability thought, ‘cooked’ by the EfS programme – directly and indirectly.

Firstly, what is fundamental and essential for human sustainability? According to Maiteny and Parker (2002), all things – living and non-living – on the planet Earth are interconnected and human existence in particular heavily depends on non-human living parts and non-living parts of Earth. Unfortunately, we humans neglect these facts and, as Sloep and Van Dam-Mieras (1995) highlight, continue to assault the global ecosystem with infringements that are large enough to alter the current patterns of energy transfer and materials recycling, threatening all life on Earth – including our own. My write-up We are a threat to all life on Earth!, based mainly on Sloep and Van Dam-Mieras (1995), discusses this aspect in more detail.

Secondly, what is more crucial for human sustainability? The global economy or the global ecosystem.

According to Prugh et al. (2000), modern economics is rapidly ‘progressing’ with ever-growing growth, neglecting the fact that the global ecosystem is the parent system of the economy. Since no subsystem can outgrow its host, the global economy cannot grow larger than the global ecosystem. Therefore, on a planet that is not getting bigger, economic growth cannot continue indefinitely. This is the main idea of ecological economics, which insists on three house-rules: conserve resources, protect ecological services and conserve waste-absorption capacity. The write-up Economy, ecosystem and human sustainability, based mainly on Prugh et al. (2000), discusses how we can run an economy without destroying the ecosphere that makes it possible.

Thirdly, with our strong addiction to energy, especially oil, can we continue to survive? As Hartmann (2001) reveals, what we are using up as coal and oil is ancient sunlight energy reserves that formed over 300 million years ago. Today, human existence and wellbeing is largely dependent on the continued availability of oil and oil is running out fast. Without ancient sunlight energy, Earth could sustain a human population of between a quarter of a billion and one billion – the number it supported prior to the discovery of coal and oil. Today, without coal and oil, the other five billion people would simply starve. The write-up A tale of ancient sunlight energy with a dark end yet to come, based entirely on Hartmann (2001), discusses the inevitable collision between our growing human population (with its increasing consumption of dwindling supplies of ancient sunlight) and our ability to sustain that population.

Fourthly, is our intense focus on the outer eco-social world adequate for human sustainability? Are we merely focusing on the tip of the iceberg, paving the way for consequences of titanic style and scale? As Maiteny (1999) shows, our modern society driven by the materialistic consumerist mythology seemingly fails to deliver wellbeing while assaulting the ecological life support systems on which we all depend for existence. For human sustainability, we should learn about the relationship in our lives between outer (ecological and social) worlds and our inner (personal and collective) worlds of motivation, meaning and value. By seeking alternative routes to wellbeing that are more explorative of our inner worlds, we can lower pressures on the ecological life support systems. The write-up Outer and inner worlds and human sustainability, based mainly on Maiteny (1999), discusses the outer and inner worlds and their relationship to human sustainability.

Fifthly, can we modern human beings learn from the ‘uncivilised’ indigenous peoples on how to live sustainably? The trouble with the modern man is his attempt to control nature, mentally positioning himself above the rest of nature. However, most indigenous peoples, such as Native Americans, see themselves as part of nature and have amassed a wealth of useful knowledge on how to live in harmony with nature. As described by Pierotti and Wildcat (1999), Native Americans, guided by a spatially-oriented worldview that requires one to be native to a place and to live with nature, are aware of the connectedness and relatedness of all things. Through (scientific) observation, they gather knowledge on other species and enhance their chances of survival; through detailed (cultural) stories told again and again, they pass this knowledge onto others and future generations. The write-up Sustainability lessons from the ‘uncivilised’?, based mainly on Pierotti and Wildcat (1999), explores what we can learn from the Native Americans on how to live without being a threat to our own wellbeing and existence.

The academic articles that my write-ups are mainly based on (i.e. Sloep and Van Dam-Mieras, 1995; Prugh et al., 2000; Hartmann, 2001; Maiteny, 1999; and Pierotti and Wildcat, 1999) are all from the Course Readers of the EfS programme. That is, they are food for thought direct from the EfS programme.

Now let’s turn to the sources outside the EfS programme.

A tale of two forests (one in a city!)

Forests, especially rainforests, are important players in a game of human sustainability.

The first write-up, Tropical forests – Planet’s heart as well as lungs, entirely based on Pearce (2009), reveals a new theory that awards tropical rainforests another title – Planet’s heart. The second one, ‘Happiness buildings’ with a green topping, entirely based on Klinkenborg (2009), discusses about green (or living) roofs in urban areas. The original articles of these write-ups appeared in New Scientist and National Geographic, respectively.

At the end of each write-up appears a brief profile of a website, containing more related information. The Prince’s Rainforests Project aims to find means to encourage rainforest nations to protect their forests, and to identify ways for funding this approach. The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) explores and demonstrates globally sustainable, whole and ecologically sound technologies (such as green roofs) and ways of life, promoting the idea that sustainable living is easy and can also improve the quality of life.

Brief is beautiful …. so are nature’s hues

Being an enthusiast of quotations and sayings, I thought of sharing with you some nature quotations and some brief lines of poetry on nature.

I used to paint but now I (camera) click instead. This is an invitation to (mouse) click your way into the splendour of nature’s hues at Hampton Court Palace Gardens in Surrey, UK, as witnessed in April 2009.

London’s giant green step forward

Back to London.

This year’s World Environment Day, 5 June 2009, witnessed London become the first European capital to launch a Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The event took place at London South Bank University, the co-ordinator of this initiative that comes under the UN ESD programme. The write-up Let’s build a sustainable London! tells more on RCEs, the London RCE in particular.

Some dessert for sustainability thought

Now that I have shared with you some food, I wish to finish with some dessert.

When I reflect on my wonderful period as an EfS student at London South Bank University, the most important sustainability lesson I can think of is that individual survival is not possible without collective survival. Either we triumph together or fail together. And ‘we’ includes non-human beings. In other words, achieving human sustainability seems to be impossible without a concern for the rest of nature, simply because, as Sloep and Van Dam-Mieras (1995: 37) aptly put it, we humans are ‘animals among animals, organisms among organisms.’

Moreover, you may notice that my write-ups reflect random ideas and they are not fitted into a proper framework as such. That’s because I’m still putting the jigsaw pieces together and the BIG picture is not yet complete. And I doubt if it will ever be complete as it keeps expanding its horizons…..

In the meantime, let’s hope we’ll bump into each other next time in a more sustainable world, or perhaps in a more sustainable London!

References

HARTMANN, T. (2001) We’re made out of sunlight In: The last hours of sunlight: waking up to personal and global transformation, pp. 9-22. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

KLINKENBORG, V. (2009) Up on the roof. National Geographic, May, pp.84-103.

MAITENY, P. (1999) Balance in the ecosphere: a perspective. European Judaism, 32(2), issue 63, pp. 131-138.

MAITENY, P. and PARKER, J. (2002) Unit 6 Study guide: Science and culture in education for sustainability. London: Distance Learning Centre, South Bank University.

PEARCE, F. (2009) Keep the planet’s heart pumping. New Scientist, 4 April, pp.6-7.

PIEROTTI, R., and WILDCAT, D.R. (1999) Traditional knowledge, culturally-based worldviews and western science In: POSEY, D. Cultural and spiritual values of biodiversity. London: UNEP and Intermediate Technology.

PRUGH, T., CONSTANZA, R., and DALY, H. (2000) Minimum technical requirements for sustainable development. Chapter 2 in: The local politics in global sustainability. Washington: Island Press.

SLOEP, P. and VAN DAM-MIERAS, M.C.E. (1995) The environment in the eyes of a natural scientist In: GLASBERGEN, P., and BLOWERS, A. (eds.) Environmental policy in an international context: perspectives on environmental problems. London: Arnold/ The Open University of the Netherlands.