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Introduction to
Sustainability
TREN 1F90
Introduction to Sustainability
Definitions
environment
policy
scale
jurisdiction
Defining Sustainable Development
About Interdisciplinarity
Definitions, tools
and frameworks
environment
in-'vI-r&(n)-m&nt, -'vI(-&)r(n)-
environment
the totality of
surrounding conditions.
[n]
environmental
effects
are felt, and modified, in 3 main ways -
->
MATERIALS
ENERGY
INFORMATION
policy
policy
scale
- an ordered series of
- relative magnitude
scale
may be:
- physical / geographical
ranking based upon size, dimension,
geographical subunit, etc.
- ecological
individual, deme, community, population
- jurisdictional
local, municipal, regional, federal, global
scale
GLOBAL / MACRO
earth
continent
country
province
region
municipality
neighbourhood
household
individual
LOCAL / MICRO
spatial
United Nations
.
.
governments
.
.
ngos / community groups
.
individuals
jurisdictional /
decision making
jurisdiction
- the legal power to administer and
Defining
Sustainable
Development
Sustainable development:
meeting
Elements of sustainability
Environment
Economy
Society
the sustainable
development triangle
Elements of sustainability
Environment
Economy
Society
Elements of sustainability
Environment
biodiversity
materials
energy
biophysical interactions
Elements of sustainability
money and capital
employment
technological growth
investment
market forces
Economy
- World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987
Elements of sustainability
human diversity (cultural, linguistic, ethnic)
equity (dependence / independence)
quality of life
institutional structures and organization
political structures
Society
- World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987
The 3 Es Model
Ecology
Economy
Equity
SOCIETY
ECONOMY
HEALTH
ENVIRONMENT
Sustainability: PROBLEMS
- WCED, 1987
Sustainability: SOLUTIONS
EQUITY
LIMITS TO GROWTH
-WCED 1987
EQUITY
-WCED 1987
EQUITY
the quality of being fair or impartial;
fairness; impartiality
something that is fair and just.
-dictionary.com
Contrast with:
EQUALITY
the state or quality of being equal;
correspondence in quantity, degree,
value, rank, or ability.
uniform character, as of motion or
surface.
-dictionary.com
LIMITS TO GROWTH
-WCED 1987
LIMITS TO GROWTH
-
-WCED 1987
Sustainable development...
implies
limits
Sustainable development
and economic growth
Economic growth must be made:
less material intensive (dematerialization of
the economy)
less energy intensive
more equitable in its impacts
lack of accountabiity
failure to make the bodies whose policy
actions degrade the environment
responsible for their actions
materials and
energy
HEAT
HIGH
THROUGHPUT
WASTE &
TOXINS
Sustainable civilization:
Energy Efficiency
ENERGY
LOW
THROUGHPUT
RENEWABLE
MATERIALS
Low-quality
Heat Energy
CONSERVER
SOCIETY
Waste Minimization
Toxics control
Low-volume
Nontoxic
Waste
Materials
information
and decision
making
Sustainable development...
considers
ECONOMY
ENVT
SOCIETY
TRADITIONAL
DECISION MAKING
ECONOMY
ENVT
NON-PARTICIPATORY
SOCIETY
FRAGMENTED
TRADITIONAL
DECISION MAKING
ECONOMY
ENVT
SOCIETY
SOCIETY
TRADITIONAL
DECISION MAKING
ECO- ECONOMY
SYSTEM
HEALTH
ENVIRONMENT
ECOSYSTEM-BASED
DECISION MAKING
SOCIETY
PARTICIPATORY
ECO- ECONOMY
SYSTEM
HEALTH
ENVIRONMENT
INTEGRATED
ECOSYSTEM-BASED
DECISION MAKING
Fragmented decision-making
private
other
interests
community
groups
public
ISSUE
municipal
regional
federal /
national
provincial /
state
- after Barrett and Kidd, 1991
Integrated decision-making
private
other
interests
community
groups
public
ISSUE
municipal
federal/
federal
national
provincial/
state
regional
- after Barrett and Kidd, 1991
decision making
reactive
decision making
reactive
(end of pipe)
decision making
anticipatory
reactive
decision making
anticipatory
(planning for
change)
reactive
decision making
radical
anticipatory
reactive
decision making
radical
(fundamental;
root causes)
anticipatory
reactive
decision making
radical
anticipatory
reactive
Industry
radical
anticipatory
reactive
change in demand
- less consumption
- alternative consumption
environment
and
economy
and
society
change in process
- clean technology
- elimination of toxics
environment
and
economy
environment
or
economy
Historical
example:
Northern
Telecom
based in Canada
42 plants in various countries
manufacturer of electronic components
(telecommunications)
1988: 1000+ tonnes of CFCs per year
1992: 0 tonnes of CFCs used per year
Original Process
1) raw components and grease
2) manufacturing and assembly process
3) clean off grease with CFCs
4) finished product
Revised process
1) raw components, no grease
2) manufacturing and assembly process
3) no need to clean off grease with CFCs
4) finished product
radical
anticipatory
reactive
Industry
radical
anticipatory
reactive
Industry
radical
anticipatory
reactive
change in
demand for
product
change in
industrial
process
sewage
treatment
plant for
wastes
Industry
radical
anticipatory
reactive
Biodiversity
change in
demand for
product
apply
landscape
ecology
principles
to human
activity
change in
industrial
process
establish
national
parks (12%)
to protect
habitats
sewage
treatment
plant for
wastes
zoo / seed
bank for
endangered
species
Transportation
Industry
radical
anticipatory
reactive
Biodiversity
Transportation
change in
demand for
product
apply
landscape
ecology
principles
to human
activity
complete
redesign of
our cities
change in
industrial
process
establish
national
parks (12%)
to protect
habitats
alternative
fuels for cars
sewage
treatment
plant for
wastes
zoo / seed
bank for
endangered
species
catalytic
converters
values, ideologies
and strategies
values
ideology
strategies
interactions amongst
interactions amongst
ideologies
Short form summary of basic values that
eliminates the need to engage in deep
philosophical investigations every time action is
required
interactions amongst
ideologies
(e.g. Industrial Capitalism, Marxism, Christianity,
Liberalism, Socialism, Conservatism, Judaism)
interactions amongst
ideologies
(e.g. Industrial Capitalism, Marxism, Christianity,
Liberalism, Socialism, Conservatism, Judaism)
which give rise to
strategies
practical applications of ideologically consistent
ideas, actions, policies and programs
interactions amongst
values
ideology
strategies
environmental values
holistic perspective
everything is connected to everything else
parts can only be understood in the context
of the whole
nature as a living organism or system
values
ideology
strategies
environmental values
humans living within nature
-> inherent value of other organisms and
inanimate objects
limits to growth
values
ideology
strategies
environmental values
appropriate technology
matching the scope and scale of technology
to the task at hand
principles of durability and efficiency
values
ideology
strategies
environmental values
appropriate scale
appropriate sizes for institutions, social
organizations, communities
accessible and accountable decision-making
values
ideology
strategies
interactions amongst
values
ideology
strategies
examples of
environmental ideologies
technological optimism
sustainable development (Brundtland Commission)
social ecology (Murray Bookchin)
deep ecology (Arne Naess)
ecofeminism (Franoise DEaubonne)
values
ideology
various
green political
parties strategies
many variants: e.g., alliances with socialism,
feminism, peace movement, etc.
interactions amongst
values
ideology
strategies
environmental strategies
and strategists
reform environmentalism (traditional
bureacracies and political action)
direct action and intervention (e.g. Earth First!)
single-issue lobbying / intervention groups
(e.g., Save the Rouge Valley System)
interactions amongst
values
ideology
strategies
interactions amongst
values
ideology
strategies
interactions amongst
values
ideology
strategies
interactions amongst
values
ideology
dogma
strategies
interactions amongst
values
ideology
strategies
Sustainability:
How do we move from
rhetoric to reality?
principles
principles
policy
principles
policy
practice
To be useful, principles of
sustainability must:
be easily understood
be applicable in many contexts
be transferrable across scales
translate well from fundamental values into
applied policy and practical action
identify possibilities for radical
transformative change AND
positive incremental change
Some
Principles of Sustainability
in the literature:
Recent compilation of
Principles of Sustainability
http://iisd1.iisd.ca/sd/principle.asp
-IISD (Winnipeg)
One example:
About
Interdisciplinarity
career
goals
academic
major
Normative
categories
ethnocultural
identity
Normative
categories
Normative
disciplines
categories
disciplinary
Multidisciplinary
Interdisciplinary
Transdisciplinary
- what are the differences?
Reference: Stefanovic, Ingrid. 1996. Interdisciplinarity
and Wholeness: Lessons from Eco-Research.
Environments 23(3): 74-94.
Disciplinary:
of
knowledge
boundaries
Disciplinary:
Examples of disciplines:
sociology, philosophy, biology,
political science, chemistry, economics,
geography, mathematics...
Multidisciplinary:
insights achieved through an approach which is essentially additive rather than integrative
Multidisciplinary:
arguably the approach which produces the most substantive research results
ISSUE
discipline
e
n
i
l
p
i
c
s
di
discipline
ISSUE
discipline
dis
cip
lin
e
e
n
i
l
p
i
c
s
di
discipline
di
sc
ip
lin
e
Interdisciplinary:
the issue, problem, or concern defines the disciplinary expertise which is brought to
bear
Interdisciplinary:
a level of integration which involves more than an additive analysis of the disciplinary
perspectives
an a priori attempt
ISSUE
ISSUE
discipline
discipline
discipline
discipline
ISSUE
discipline
discipline
discipline
discipline
sector
sector
sector
sector
ISSUE
sector
sector
sector
sector
Transdisciplinary:
Transdisciplinary:
an attempt to transcend the dynamics of a dialectical synthesis to grasp the total dynamics of reality as a
whole
discipline
discipline
discipline
discipline
ISSUE
discipline
discipline
discipline
discipline