Redefine sustainability
The Power of Campus Culture to Change SocietY
The goal is to create a campus movement that incorporates a redefined vision of sustainability that encompasses thriving ecosystems and which recognizes Nature’s intrinsic value beyond human needs. |
Time to Redefine Sustainability to include Harmony with Nature Did you know?
The definition of sustainable development that is currently in use spawned the sustainability movement and has been the guiding principle since 1987. However, it is outdated and leaves nature and future generations at risk. It does not reflect the current scientific understanding of the interdependence of all life on the planet -we are part of Nature and are entwined in a single web of life as part of Nature, not its masters." The ecological crisis we are facing is a product of the belief that Earth is nothing more than a commodity which can be bought and sold. Rather than squander the treasures of the natural world we must become active stewards working with nature to preserve it for future generations. With increasingly calamitous heat waves, wildfires, and floods, combined with ever increasing water shortages, forced migration, starvation rates, sea level rise and species extinction the urgency cannot be underestimated. Even the best intentioned of those who work for 'environmental sustainability' may not realize they are working with a definition that is out of context with the real 21st century challenges driven by a consumer culture growing more voracious and wasteful by the minute. Time for a cultural shift in perspective. |
The most widely used definition of sustainability is:
"Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
"Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
This human-centric definition reflects a bedrock legal principle and fundamental cultural assumption that Nature exists to serve human beings, and human beings alone. It does not recognize nature's intrinsic value, nor does it acknowledge our fundamental dependency upon, and responsibility for the natural world of which we are a part.
Examples of alternative definitions are:
"Meeting humans' present, basic needs without compromising the future of all life on the planet, including future human generations."
Examples of alternative definitions are:
"Meeting humans' present, basic needs without compromising the future of all life on the planet, including future human generations."
LET'S BUILD A MOVEMENT
We invite you to join a growing coalition of students, activists, scientists, policymakers, lawyers and everyday citizens working to guide transformative system change…. Beginning with the redefinition of Sustainability.