Can We Sustain Our Present Course?
Posted by forwardonline on February 6, 2007
In a few days, Savannah will be hosting an event on “Sustainability” as part of the “Creative Minds” series. I’m looking forward to attending this one, as sustainability is such an important topic within Futures Studies (And for humanity in general). As a matter of fact, it may be this particular issue that can get more people to think about the future across domains, and that’s a good thing!
Hopefully, we will begin to see more organizations and cultures begin to look for positive futures and transformational development rather than simply attempting to avoid undesirable futures by not doing this or that. It’s not that avoiding undesirable futures and ceasing the activity that causes them is a bad thing - this is necessary. However, one is reactive, and one is proactive. Creating preferable futures before they arrive is much better than trying to reverse the damage that is already being done. We may have to engage in both at this time, but we certainly should never think that we have to choose, working to fix a problem before we dare to dream. Being reactive simply means that you will always be putting out fires. Becoming proactive means that you are recognizing emerging issues and living from a place of innovation and creativity. Which of these sounds like the person or organization that you would like to be?
For those who are interested, here are the particulars of the upcoming seminar:
“CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: RECOGNIZING, REPAIRING AND RESTORING A FRACTURED WORLD”
**Held at the Trustees Theatre**
A Seminar Featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Paul Dolan and Robert Berkebile
Opening Comments by Congressman Jack Kingston
Saturday, February 10, 20078 a.m. – 1 p.m.
$50 per person
Continuing education credits offered by of the Georgia Department of Education, and will qualify for credit for contractors, architects, and engineers.
The signs are inescapable: melting polar ice caps, more frequent and more devastating hurricanes; significant portions of the globe racked by famine, poverty, and violence. It is clear that our world — the world our children will inherit — is in trouble. Despite the tremendous technological advances of the twentieth century, our present course is not sustainable. But there is hope. We have the power and the knowledge necessary to change our course, repair the world, and ensure a bright future for our children.
This symposium features legendary environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who was named one of Time magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet” and led the fight to restore the water quality of the Hudson River, sustainable architecture guru Bob Berkebile, one of the nation’s leading architects and the founding chair of the American Institute of Architect’s Committee on the Environment, who will offer his insight into solutions for the future, and Mendocino Wine Company co-founder and fourth-generation vintner Paul Dolan, the author of True to Our Roots: Fermenting a Business Revolution, who will discuss how sound environmental and social practices are also good business.
This enlightening seminar will provide a road map for the changes we must make today: changes in the way we do business, changes in how we become better stewards of our environment, changes in our very approach to how we structure our society.
“To me, the environment cannot be separated from the economy, housing, civil rights and human rights. How we distribute the goods of the earth is the best measure of our democracy.” -Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in an interview with Time magazine
***This event will be held at the Trustees Theatre on Broughton Street in Savannah. Tickets can be ordered from the Trustees box office by calling (912) 525-5050, or by logging onto http://www.scad.edu/venues/trustees/box_office.cfm
Image: Richard Eriksson (Flickr)
February 8, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Frank,
I’m looking forward to hearing your experiences.
February 8, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Hi Kevin,
I look forward to sharing, it should be very good.
February 8, 2007 at 9:19 pm
We definitely need to scope the futures we want.
One thing that I am worried about is the rise of the belief in scarcity; the idea that the universe is not full of enough good things to satisfy all of our needs.
But my reading of the biblical concept is the opposite of scarcity: God’s universe holds literally infinite storehouses of good things for humanity, and it is our job to embrace them.
The consequences of scarcity theory are serious. It leads us to viewing the world in such a way that “if you have something, I do not”. And “if I want something, I must take it from you”.
We need a more wholesome way of looking at the world and the universe.
-micah
February 9, 2007 at 3:53 am
Hi Micah,
It’s great to see you post here! Hope you enjoy the blog.
Meadows touches on the issue of swinging the pendulum too far when he noted that sustainability is a foreign concept to our growth-obsessed culture, but also stated that, “We don’t think a sustainable society need be stagnant, boring, uniform, or rigid” (p. 11). I take this to mean that his version of sustainability isn’t equal to some form of environmental or social communism, but rather paints a picture of “a world that has the time, the resources, and the will to correct mistakes, to innovate, to preserve the fertility of its planetary ecosystems… on mindfully increasing the quality of life rather than on mindlessly expanding material consumption and the physical capital stock” (p. 12).
I agree that even a “pop” moderate view of sustainability does not go so far as to promote the developmental transformation that is advocated by authors such as Darrow Miller, and the inference of scarcity certainly does not align with boundless Divine creativity. But we must also take a hard look at the damage that is being done. Interestingly, even though globalization has swept across economic, social, and to some degree, political domains, the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” has widened, the air and water pollution from China alone has completely altered the ecosystem in the Asian world, and just taking into account the “de-greening” of Sudan would be enough to recognize a major problem.
Of course, I believe that transformational development and the “economy of the open heavens” is the answer, and this is why I believe being “proactive” is better than being “reactive.” We aren’t aiming for “lowest common denominator,” but rather creative solutions that allow everyone to experience the blessings of a “new heaven and new earth.”
Thanks Micah!
February 9, 2007 at 3:57 am
Oh, BTW, I meant to reference the Meadows’ quotes:
Meadows, D. (2004). Limits to growth: The 30-year update. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publising.