The Challenge of Sustainability
The simple definition for something to be sustainable, it must be able to continue on indefinitely. When taken literally, this is a tough standard. It is a criterion or threshold which few activities and projects can actually achieve. The United Nations and other organizations have defined international development in terms of sustainability and in so doing have created authoritative definitions of this essential concept. These definitions include social and environmental components. Both are evident in this definition that sustainable development occurs when economic prosperity is pursued in the context of social equity, human rights, peaceful relations among peoples, and ecological balance. Definitions of sustainability generally presume that there must be justice if we are to survive and prosper over the long run. Thus, it is said that sustainable development requires the alleviation of poverty and a more even distribution of wealth in the world. And no definition of sustainability would make sense without insisting on intergenerational equity a fancy name for respect for future generations (Akhtar et al., 2017). The landmark 1987 Brundtland Report states “Our Common Future,” provided a definition of sustainability which has been repeated many times in his writings meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Native Americans approximate this definition with their law of seven generations which requires that decisions be made based on consideration of the consequences of actions over seven generations. World renowned architect William McDonough has translated the sustainability challenge into a provocative question he poses whenever he speaks about the fundamental goals of design. He believes that sustainability involves a shift in attitude and values and an expansion of our sphere of moral concern. If all of this sounds difficult and complicated, that’s because it is. Sustainability requires no less than solving the fundamental problems facing all of humanity so that a decent life on our planet will be possible for all, forever (Anthony Swaim et al., 2016). While it would be valuable to consider how the teaching and research activities of colleges and universities contribute to or detract from sustainability in its full meaning, the campus sustainability movement has primarily focused on the environmental component of sustainability as applied to campus operations. Perhaps it was felt that this would be challenging enough. However, it is important to realize that campus environmental sustainability involves more than just reducing campus environmental impacts. To achieve sustainability we must completely stop damaging and depleting the environment because even small increments of harm repeated over many years will produce significant degradation at some point in the future and thus undermine sustainability and the lives of future generations (Auestad & Fulgoni, 2015). So, again, we see sustainability’s high hurdle. Minimal consumption of all natural resources, Reuse or recycling of all waste, No polluting or emitting of wastes beyond what ecosystems can breakdown and harmlessly recycle naturally, Total reliance on clean, renewable energy technologies We see that even schools with highly successful green campus programs don’t come close to achieving sustainability when defined properly. Uneducated women in remote areas are given the opportunity to to learn how to make solar panels. These women are then given the chance to take the things that they have learned, and teach them to other women in their area. This method helps provide uneducated women with the chance to have a job, and have an income, and teach sustainable energy methods, rather than burning old cupboards in the middle of the floor. Rafea is going to teach the women in her village the methods that she learned while at Barefoot College. By doing this, she will be able to be independent, and allow other women to do the same (Castanheira et al., 2014). However, because she is a woman, and she is teaching other women, she has to overcome the fact that families, husbands in particular, have to approve of their wives leaving the house and being a part of the program. She, and the others in the village, must also accept the fact that they are leaving traditions behind, and doing more than sitting around drinking tea and smoking cigarettes.
Interdisciplinary Environmental Science
Sustainability is not just a pretty word. It’s a sobering challenge, maybe the ultimate challenge. Of course, the above notwithstanding, I know that the term sustainability will continue to be misused (Hirsh, 2014). We will use it loosely, hopefully, to mean tending in a genuinely sustainable direction. And we should feel good about the steps we take even if in the grand scheme of things they are small steps, that will encourage us to have a longer view, work harder, and not settle. Too much is at stake.
Interdisciplinary environmental science has become in recent years an important part of the scientific endeavour. We are also currently living in a world where development has become irrevocably linked with the environment. Human activities have been recognized as strong agents and forcing within the Earth system, and as a result, the concept of sustainable development has emerged as an important theme in the national and international arena To the extent that natural science is objective, sustainability is an objective concept, and it is feasible to establish scientifically the environmental burden that is admissible on the basis of the objectives of sustainability (Johnston, Fanzo & Cogill, 2014). To some extent based on the recognition that sustainability is an objective concept, the greening of industry and business has become an important goal in some countries. In addition, there has developed a strong need for explicit interactions across the physical including chemical and biological, including human sciences that would improve our ability to understand environmental effects from human activities and natural causes and their potential feedbacks, and to develop appropriate environmental regulation and protection policies, as well as the technological means to implement them. Regardless, environmental problems are increasing worldwide as the developing countries rapidly industrialize (Kohtala & Hyysalo,2015).
Looking at the whole of the global environmental crisis, there are numerous parts of the problem that demand policy development, analysis, and planning at all levels of governance. However, the world’s governmental, industrial, and academic structures have been slow to develop an effective response to this situation (Lechenet et al., 2014). Part of the reason for the lack of an effective response has been an extreme ignorance on the part of society, including its policy makers, for the complexities of problems of the environment and the concepts of sustainability. To some degree, this ignorance stems from a woefully inadequate rigorous education in earth, ocean, ecological, and atmospheric sciences. In particular, while various parts of the scientific community have developed monitoring, modelling, and experimental approaches to articulation of the basic scientific research questions related to global environmental issues, educational programs at the undergraduate level in global environmental and Earth system science including concepts of sustainability have generally been part of another established curriculum (Malhotra, Melville & Watson, 2013).
The Need for Improved Education on Environmental Science
Recognizing this situation, in 2012 the first time I felt to make a project in Global Environmental Science (GES). Global environmental science has much to offer the student who is interested in the environment, the effects of humans on the environment, and the concepts of sustainability. Global environmental science is an holistic and rigorous scientific approach to the study of the Earth system composed of the interacting reservoirs of water, rock and soil, ice, air, and life. The subject matter of GES focuses on these global reservoirs and their interfaces and the processes acting upon and within this interactive system including human activities. The academic program has important ties to the more classical sciences of geology and geophysics, meteorology and climatology, oceanography, and ecology, as well as to the social sciences. Thus, the scope of GES is broad (McKinnon et al., 2015).
The sustainability that gives women from around the world the chance to learn and work. The school teaches women to assemble solar lights for villages without electricity. The college impacted her village’s economic sustainability because it gave women the chance to work and earn a salary instead of receiving all of their income from the state. It impacted her village’s equity in giving women the chance to learn since they are not allowed to attend school past the age of 10. Finally, it impacted her village’s environmental sustainability because the solar energy used to power the light poses no negative impact on the environment (Severo et al., 2015).
However, the skills developed in this program can be brought to bear on environmental and sustainability issues at the local and regional level and provide the necessary tools to appreciate the science behind the concept of the Hawaiian ahupua’a system as well. One action strategy of the Strategic Plan is to enhance the involvement of undergraduate students in the creation and transfer of knowledge. This implies research-intensive courses, student research opportunities and related employment, joint faculty-student publications, and service learning opportunities. In addition, there is the recent recognition for the necessity to reinvigorate science teaching at leading research universities throughout the nation. We in GES are far ahead of the game. Many of our professors apply as much innovation and energy to their teaching and mentoring efforts as they invest in research. They encourage students to participate in active research programs with world-class scholars and provide the opportunity for hands-on research experiences. Students are exposed to research experimental, observational, and theoretical methodologies and are required to design and conduct a senior research project using one or more of these methodologies. Students then complete a senior research thesis and present their results in a public seminar with faculty, graduate students, and peer undergraduate students (Tilman & Clark, 2014).
Policy Development and Analysis
The ultimate objective of the GES program is to produce students informed in the environmental sciences and the concepts of sustainability at a rigorous level who are able to go on to graduate or professional school; enter the work force in environmental science positions in industry, business, or government; enter or return to teaching with knowledge of how the Earth system works or enter the work force in another field as educated persons with the knowledge required to enable them to become wise environmental stewards of the planet.
Therefore to conclude, I know that the term sustainability will continue to be misused. We will use it loosely, hopefully, to mean tending in a genuinely sustainable direction. And we should feel good about the steps we take even if in the grand scheme of things they are small steps. Let’s keep sustainability’s true meaning in mind. That will encourage us to have a longer view, work harder, and not settle, too much is at stake.
Reference:
Akhtar, P., Khan, Z., Frynas, J. G., Tse, Y. K., & Rao?Nicholson, R. (2017). Essential Micro?foundations for Contemporary Business Operations: Top Management Tangible Competencies, Relationship?based Business Networks and Environmental Sustainability. British Journal of Management.
Anthony Swaim, J., Anthony Swaim, J., Maloni, M. J., Maloni, M. J., Henley, A., Henley, A., … & Campbell, S. (2016). Motivational influences on supply manager environmental sustainability behavior. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 21(3), 305-320.
Auestad, N., & Fulgoni, V. L. (2015). What current literature tells us about sustainable diets: emerging research linking dietary patterns, environmental sustainability, and economics. Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal, 6(1), 19-36.
Castanheira, É. G., Grisoli, R., Freire, F., Pecora, V., & Coelho, S. T. (2014). Environmental sustainability of biodiesel in Brazil. Energy Policy, 65, 680-691.
Hirsh, J. B. (2014). Environmental sustainability and national personality. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 233-240.
Johnston, J. L., Fanzo, J. C., & Cogill, B. (2014). Understanding sustainable diets: a descriptive analysis of the determinants and processes that influence diets and their impact on health, food security, and environmental sustainability. Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal, 5(4), 418-429.
Kohtala, C., & Hyysalo, S. (2015). Anticipated environmental sustainability of personal fabrication. Journal of Cleaner Production, 99, 333-344.
Lechenet, M., Bretagnolle, V., Bockstaller, C., Boissinot, F., Petit, M. S., Petit, S., & Munier-Jolain, N. M. (2014). Reconciling pesticide reduction with economic and environmental sustainability in arable farming. PloS one, 9(6), e97922.
Malhotra, A., Melville, N. P., & Watson, R. T. (2013). Spurring impactful research on information systems for environmental sustainability. MIS Quarterly, 37(4), 1265-1274.
McKinnon, A., Browne, M., Whiteing, A., & Piecyk, M. (Eds.). (2015). Green logistics: Improving the environmental sustainability of logistics. Kogan Page Publishers.
Severo, E. A., de Guimarães, J. C. F., Dorion, E. C. H., & Nodari, C. H. (2015). Cleaner production, environmental sustainability and organizational performance: an empirical study in the Brazilian Metal-Mechanic industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 96, 118-125.
Tilman, D., & Clark, M. (2014). Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature, 515(7528), 518-522.
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