Sustainability History Project

[The post below was written by students Ian C., Natalie T. Z., and Brian H.]

Enhancing human capitol (through education) and strengthening social values and institutions (like trust and behavioral norms) are important tools to increase the resilience of social systems and improve governance. (Intergovernmental panel on climate change, 2000)

Sustainability simply means being able to sustain something for some period of time. When we speak of sustainability, what we aim to sustain are those things which are required for humanity to thrive. The three pillars of sustainable development have been defined as economy, ecology, and equity. Of those three, equity seems to be furthest from the spotlight. While protecting rainforests and wetlands can be the first thought that comes to mind when the concept of sustainability is raised, developing social justice and sustainability could have a greater impact on the ability of future generations to thrive. Stable social environments are a crucial building block in developing sustainable growth, Oluf Langhelle reinforces this concept saying “the environment does not exist as a sphere separate from human actions, ambitions, and needs” (Langhelle, 131).

Raising quality of life for the poorest populations has reinforcing benefits. The more people benefit from their society, the more stable that society will be, as it will be in everyone’s interest to maintain it. The more people receive quality education, and have the opportunity to apply themselves to something beyond obtaining basic necessities, the more thinkers there will be to tackle the world’s problems. By contrast, allowing gaps between rich and poor to continue increasing will result in snowballing problems. When large numbers of people aren’t reaping the benefits of their society, it leads to social unrest. Which sabotages the other two pillars. Social instability is bad for the economy. And only a stable society can afford to direct its efforts into protecting the environment.

One example of equity improvements translating into sustainable development is a program in Uruguay, spearheaded by CEIBAL, which provide computers and internet access to children and families. About the effect of these computers on development the author writes: “this allows for a more dynamic learning environment that encourages innovation and creates a culture of lifetime learning” (Vasquez).

While it is by no means our opinion that the efforts towards economic and ecological preservation should be devalued, instead we believe that the efforts of social improvement be viewed side by side with the traditional sustainability practices.

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Works Cited:

Oluf Langhelle. “Sustainable Development: Exploring the Ethics of Our Common Future.” International Political Science Review 20: 2 (April 1999), 129-149.

Tabare Vasquez. “Digital Democracy.” America’s Quarterly (Winter 2009).

Ramon, Pichs. “Development, Sustainability, and Equity,” in Development, Sustainability, and Equity: Proceedings of the Second IPCC Expert Meeting on DES, Havana, Cuba 23-25 February 2000, Ramon Pichs, Rob Swart, Neil Leary, and Flo Ormond, eds.

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