Sustainability An Interdisciplinary Academic Pursuit

What is sustainability? What does it entail? What is required to truly achieve it?

The 3 “Pillars” of Sustainability

Environmental Sustainability = protection of “natural capital” (i.e., “resources”) Water, air, minerals, plants, animals, ecosystems, etc. Often converted into “economic capital” or “manufactured capital” – i.e., resources are those things that we as humans say have “value” Natural capital is usually maintained as a material source However, it is also often used as a sink for wastes

Achieving Environmental Sustainability requires careful attention to how we use Earth’s natural capital from both “source” and “sink” perspectives Source side = use “renewable” resources at rates that are less than or equal to their regeneration rates “Nonrenewable” (or, “finite”) resources can be made “semi-sustainable” if our rate of their use is held equal our rate of development of renewable substitutes for them Unfortunately, as has been all too often happened, many “renewable” resources have been made finite (i.e., eliminated) because our rates of use so greatly exceeded their regeneration rates Sink side = release wastes at rates less than or equal to ability of environment to handle waste Can be either promoted or inhibited by technology

Academic fields that are needed to develop our understanding of Environmental Sustainability Biology Chemistry Geology Geography History Economics & Business Political Science Architecture & Interior Design

Social Sustainability Social sustainability = maintaining “social capital” Investments and services creating basic framework for society Community cohesion for mutual benefit, connectedness between groups of people, tolerance, compassion, equal rights, patience, access to information, common standards of behavior, discipline and ethics

Social Sustainability Commonly shared rules, laws and information promote social sustainability Violence is cost of failure to invest in social capital Violence and social breakdown major barriers to sustainability

Social Sustainability Fields of Study Criminal Justice Political Science Sociology Philosophy Religion Peace Studies Geography Anthropology Communication Computer Science Psychology Civic Engagement Global Studies Modern Languages

Economic Sustainability Maintaining economic capital Consumption should only occur to the extent that one can remain as well off at the end of the period Consumption of interest (value added, not capital) Economics values money and rarely natural capital Economics must add scale to traditional criteria of allocation and efficiency Material, labor and energy must be renewable Waste streams converted into income streams

Economic Sustainability Economics Business Ecology

The three pillars of development (economic, social and environmental) must be strengthened together. But it is evident that two of the pillars - economic and social - are subsidiary to, and underpinned by, the third: a vibrant global ecology. Neither dollars nor our species will out- survive our planet. The earth can survive happily without people or profit - Dave Hampton (letter to the Financial Times, November 2004)

Human Sustainability Maximizing the life experience Human lifespan finite Human sustainability requires investments in the individual for duration of life Human sustainability = maintaining human capital Health, education, skills, knowledge, leadership and access to services

Human Sustainability II Good start – promoting maternal health and nutrition, safe birthing, early childhood care Requires 2-3 decades of formal education and apprenticeship Requires continued inputs into skills development, education, preventative health care and curative health care

Human Sustainability Nursing Social work Education Medical sciences Psychology Sociology Nutrition Interior Design