Sustainability History Project

This post continues the conversation from the post On Sustainability, Spring 2010. Again, I’ve gleaned themes and questions from student responses to the assignment (reproduced below) and from class discussion on April 6:

Understanding Gibson’s Purpose & Approach

Many students found Gibson’s 2006 article difficult. As Gibson writes, his article “outlines the basics of a practical generic approach to sustainability assessment (italics mine).” Thus, he analyzes a range of sustainability programs put in place since publication of the Brundtland Commission report (1987); remember that the Brundtland report did not come with specific assessment criteria, but was an intellectual framework outlining the idea of “sustainable development.”

Gibson analyzes twenty years of “deliberations and experience[s] with sustainability assessment initiatives” to identify 1) basic requirements to inform assessment programs; 2) key implications of these requirements to develop assessment and trade-off criteria; 3) understanding how assessment approaches must be tailored to specific circumstances; 4) suggestions on how to design practical assessment programs (171).

“What does this all mean?” one student asked in reply, and continued: “This is not teaching me anything . . . I get it in that there are a lot of variables . . . But must it be this confusing and detailed?” The student found Gibson’s article to be “redundant and somewhat unnecessary” because, “Instead of trying to do all of this sustainability categorization, why doesn’t Gibson just chose a topic . . . and start offering some possible solutions? Shouldn’t it be that simple? Treat everything on a case-by-case basis instead of lumping everything . . . The reality is that every situation is different, and needs to be handled differently.”

These are excellent points, and I have two items to consider in reply. First, as stated above, Gibson’s goal was to provide a broad overview of assessment measures implemented in the real world, learn what these measures had in common, and provide some general guidelines to help develop future assessment programs.

Second, there are many reasons why treating things on a case-by-case basis is potentially not a viable solution. One reason is that businesses demand consistency in the regulations under which they operate, so that they can make long-term plans with the assurance that the business environment won’t change drastically in the meantime and undermine their plans. Another reason is that society also needs consistency in both regulations and enforcement so that individuals and groups (including businesses) can be sure to act within the general parameters of the law. Another reason is that there are some things that can be universalized, and to good effect; therefore, if we establish some universal rules, we’ll be more likely to provide positive benefits broadly.

Sustainability & “Trade-offs”

One student wrote that “Gibson made a good point when he mentioned that sustainability is not about balancing, which presumes a focus on compromises and trade-offs. Instead the aim is multiple reinforcing gains. Trade-offs are acceptable only as a last resort when all the other options have been found to be worse.” Another student observed that “Gibson wants trade offs to be a last resort,” but found that “in reality, trade offs will occur with great regularity in order to get people of different mind sets to agree on an undertaking, or decision on sustainability. ” Gibson writes that sustainability should be thought of not as a series of compromises and trade-offs, but about the process of striving for “mutually reinforcing gains” (172).

Sustainability & Complexity (Reprise)

One student wrote that “the problem in making sound decisions is one of unknown complexity. A web of interconnected variables creates seemingly black hole of possible outcomes.” This does seem often to be the case, but in a seemingly paradoxical way, individuals and societies must also constantly make decisions in spite of what appears as a yawning abyss of complexity. The process by which we make these decisions as a society cane be called politics, and the study of this process and its repercussions over time can be understood as one of the purposes of history.

Difficulties Defining Sustainability (Reprise)

The complexities involved in defining and assessing sustainability are ever-present. Quoting a 2002 Economist article, one student wrote that “Sustainability risks being about everything and therefore, in the end about nothing.” This student continued: “Giving specific considerations to specific conditions will alter the definition of sustainability. Both articles qualify what sustainability can be. The ambiguity of what can be sustainable will continue as long as long as there is change.”

In spite of these difficulties, Gibson does assert that “sustainability must act as a primary lens through which everything is viewed, analyzed, and decided upon,” as another student paraphrased.

Finally, also regarding questions about how “sustainability” is to be defined, one student asked: “Will there ever be a consensus on what sustainability is going to mean in the future (italics mine)?” This is an interesting question, but one that’s impossible to answer with any kind of certainty – unless, of course, we invent a time machine and travel into the future. This question could be re-framed in historical terms; when we do, we find that there was a broad consensus on the definition of sustainability contained in the 1987 Brundtland Commission report. Granted, the consensus was not absolute, but it was sufficient to spur substantive action.

—-
Student Sources:

Amaranthus, Michael P. “Forest Sustainability: An Approach to Definition and Assessment at the Landscape Level,” USDA Forest Service: General Technical Report (Dec. 1997), 1-20.

Cairns, John Jr., “The Zen of Sustainable Use of the Planet: Steps on the Path to Enlightenment,” Population and Environment 20: 2 (Nov. 1998).

Harridge, Stuart. (2010) “An Apocalyptic Warning: The Malthusian Politics of the Global Food Crisis,” Ethos 17: 4, pp. 26-29.

Hart, Stuart L. “Beyond Greening: Strategies for a Sustainable World,” Harvard Business Review Jan.–Feb. 1997.

Rao, V., Women Farmers of India’s Deccan Plateau: Ecofeminists Challenge World
Elites, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Rosenberg, N. J., Smith, S. J., “A Sustainable Biomass Industry for the North American Great Plains,” Science Direct 1 (2009), 121-132.

Stavins, Robert N., Alexander F. Wagner, and Gernot Wagner, “Interpreting sustainability in economic terms: dynamic efficiency plus intergenerational equity,” Economics Letters (June 2003).

—-
ASSIGNMENT

Sources:

Gibson, Robert B. “Sustainability Assessment: Basic Components of a Practical Approach.” Impact Assessment and Appraisal 24: 3 (Sept. 2006), 170-182.

1 peer-reviewed journal article chosen by the student that addresses in some way the meaning(s) of sustainability, how sustainability is measured, how professionals in the students’ academic field or area of interest understand the term, and/or how the concept has evolved within a given profession or discipline, etc.

Questions for You:

In response to the sources above, please provide the following:

1) What did you draw from these readings that engaged you in some way? This engagement can include agreement, disagreement, qualification, support, opposition, etc., and should relate directly to issues centered on the question “what is sustainability?”

2) Make explicit connections between the two readings in ways that help you articulate the response to the question above – i.e., did one author support or contradict the other? Are both authors dealing with similar intellectual issues or not? Do the authors use similar or different approaches in framing their points of view? Are there any noteworthy points to be made about the notion of sustainability in general and how the concept is framed, applied, or measured in your discipline or profession?

3) Don’t forget to use citations when you need them!

4) In response to the sources above and any other sources on the topic that you care to include, please come up with three questions that you have and/or areas of interest that you would like to pursue that relate the readings with the content of the course. These questions will help feed discussion in class.

–
James V. Hillegas, April 7, 2010