A Full Box of Marbles
By Cindi Breschak
What does sustainability mean to you? According to my dictionary “to sustain” means to hold up, and nourish or supply with sustenance. As a UWSP Natural Resource student I have learned concepts of sustainability as they apply in different contexts. From forestry and soils to wildlife ecology and monetary economics, an important component in sustainability is recognition of the carrying capacity threshold. I liken this abstract but measurable point to a box of marbles. The box has a finite size. Only so many marbles will fit. While it is possible to re-arrange the marbles to hold a maximum number, the amount is still limited.
Is Natural Resource sustainability possible in our global circumstances? In a recent blog by Aaron Reynolds, Wisconsin’s Dry River he mentions “the mindset of growth” in reference to what appears to me to be a situation of Garret Hardin’s classic Tragedy of the Commons dilemma. The frequency of this conundrum is becoming more and more disturbing in our un-sustainable culture of free capitalism. It is a perpetual mindset of growth, dependent on private property ownership where individuals and companies compete for their own economic gain. While our current system is based on the separation of state and business activities we hypocritically assume and depend on governmental agencies to regulate allocation of our shared finite resources of land, water and air. This is illustrated from another aspect in a blog by Ross Dudzik transfer-of-development-rights-programl where Ross points out that we assume the right to use our property according to our own wishes and plans.
In "Common Sense," Thomas Paine wrote, "A long habit of not thinking a thing is wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right." This is certainly true for compensation strategies in business, finance and resource management as well. I think we have all had recent adjustments to consider in relation to the recent economic recession. Current political efforts are concentrating on economic growth through monetary re-arrangement and job creation, but can you think of one single thing can grow indefinitely in a finite world? I cannot. It is a reasonable assumption that growth in one area will come at a cost to another, and that this growth will reach a threshold of capacity and either sustain or die.
I do not have a pessimistic nature, and I do not advocate opinions of inevitable doom but as my resource textbooks estimate our planets human capacity to be around 6 billion, a Google search shows our current population will reach 7 billion in 418 days and that we are growing at the rate of 2.43 people per second. I am no more comfortable considering these issues than most. Some days I can push it into the darkest corner of my consciousness. It can be easy hide and ignore these pressing issues beneath the frantic momentum of everyday activities and accept a compliant paradigm. To me however, the worst fate I can think of for myself is to suddenly be 90 years old and think “damn, I wish I would have…” This thought inspires me to incite a revolution to on behalf of our planet. In the logic of moderation though, I will simply implore you to dare to use your education for the non-conformity required to attain true sustainability because if not you, then who?
5 comments:
Cindi, " My definition of sustainability goes with what Robert Gillman says. “Meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
Its true times have been hard for everyone. I mean its been hard for myself to even get work here in Stevens Point and on Campus. At my level of schooling I feel I’m ranked as a sixty year old woman. Businesses want the young they attract the young. Judging me solely on the fact that I have a year left of school. People that are hiring they disregard altogether that I need a job money is tight. Prices keep rising in food courts, vending machines, and tuition. Enough is enough! I have grown up with politics of greed . I have lost all faith in my government . I’m tired of the greed I’m tired of the rich always being rich. The poor always being helped by the government. While the middle class people that are trying to do well and doing what best they can to sustain the life they live and what they have. We get no help to achieve a higher standard for everyone to live by. For the middle class knows the meaning of hard times and that we have to make money to have money. If only we can look to being more comfortable with what we have and knowing how to use what is already here instead of always looking toward other easier cheaper options to make a quick dollar. I love what you said about thinking of one single thing which can grow indefinitely in a finite world. It is true eventually resources run out. If people only knew nothing lasts forever. It’s a hard concept to understand when we are not considering personal family or a relationship. Would you agree with that? People need to be aware. By people I mean the uneducated the uninformed. When we give hand outs, and give people something for nothing. How does that build the sole to cherish the things we have? To understand you can’t always get what you want! We need to stop wanting more. How do you feel as the population rises will we be able to keep are none growing resources sustainable?
Laura Arts
I recently encountered the word "Thrivability." I'm not sure who coined it, but the definition ensured me that we must not merely sustain ourselves. Rather we must thrive.
The core of the sustainability movement implies that we are in a state of crisis, in the red, negative, and insists that we focus our collective attention on the patching and repairing of our existing infrastructure, lifestyles and ecosystems so we can return to a homoeostatic way of life. This frame of mind greatly limits our capabilities. Thrivability on the other hand advocates for innovative building and expansion in the face of perceived crisis situations pushing us to seek what lies on the other side of zero. Sustainability focuses on, “how do we fix the mess we’ve made?” whereas thrivability poses the question, “what kind of world do we want to live in?”
Thrivability encourages passion, persistence and innovation. It encourages dreaming and hoping, but it also advocates for proactive rather than reactive policy. It assures us that through constructive collaboration we may achieve a global, local, personal state that is better than the past and present. I want to thrive rather than simply sustain.
If you go out and ask 20 people the definition of sustainability, you'll get 20 different responses. The definition is the same as Laura’s meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. One problem with natural resource majors is they are cursed with tunnel vision. The environment is not the only aspect of sustainability. Sustainability is making decisions that are economically efficient, environmentally conscious, and socially responsive.
Mike,
Looking into thrivability, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is as credible as communism. The only way those ideas would work is if there was peace on earth. Humans in nature are greedy individuals that will kill its own kind over meaningless materials. If any paradigm shift is going to occur, people will need to be forced to live that way.
To sum up everything, I think people should be held accountable for their actions.
There will become a point in time where we do reach our carrying capacity unless we continue to kill ourselves off in more upcoming wars. Everyone accepts this country as being free, but freedom doesn't last forever and economics will be the first to kill it. If the wealthy wanted to buy up all the land in the country right now, they absolutely could. I guess it's a good thing most tend to keep it all in their pockets waiting for some apocalypse to occur where they'll withdraw their money only to find out it's worth nothing. It's too bad something so beautiful and powerful as nature has to tolerate the abuse caused by humanity. Maybe one day nature will have had enough and let the world know.
I agree with Alex that eventually we are going to reach our carrying capacity and the only way to prolong the inevitable is to start making drastic changes in our daily lives. The problem is that not everyone feels the same way so making these drastic changes is nearly impossible. I think Stephen Jay Gould sums up the way I feel about this topic best when he wrote the following: "I suggest that we execute a plan with our planet. She holds all the cards and has immense power over us-so such a compact, which we desperately need but she does not at her own time scale, would be a blessing for us, and an indulgence for her. We had better sign the papers while she is still willing to make a deal. If we treat her nicely, she will keep us going for a while. If we scratch her, she will bleed, kick us out, bandage up, and go about her business at her planetary scale. Poor Richard told us that "necessity never made a good bargain," but the earth is kinder than human agents in the "art of the deal." She will uphold her end; we must now go and do likewise."
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