3-11: Sustainable Development

Eugene S. Takle
© 2001, 2002


En Español

Introduction

Introduction

President Clinton convened a Council on Sustainability with members drawn from the private sector, government, and major non-government organizations. They issued a very probing document outlining the pathway to sustainability in the US. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has wiped all the references off the White House website, so they no longer are available online. However, the key element of the document was the " We Believe" statement that outlined the basic premise of the report. Read these as a backdrop for understanding at least one approach to sustainable development.

Definition of Sustainable Development

Definition of Sustainable Development

The commonly used definition of sustainable development was put forward by the Brundland Commission (World commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, 1987):

"To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

This is a very far-reaching principle that admits a wide range of activities to allow residents of the planet - present and future - to live fulfilling lives. Basic to the definition is the concept that needs are met. So present realities of malnutrition, lack of suitable housing, and lack of safe drinking water suggest that significant development is needed for the present generation. The issue of intergenerational responsibility also is raised.

Note that this definition does not denounce the depletion of non-renewable resources. Under this definition it is permissible for the current generation to use up all fossil fuels (a practical impossibility), but, in the process, the current generation would be obligated to find alternate supplies of materials for future generations to meet needs now met by use of fossil fuels.

During the early 1990s the concept of sustainable development was widened to include a social dimension by including preservation or enhancement of opportunities of future generations rather than simply preserving a historically given state of environmental quality or abundance of natural resources. Serageldin suggested that

"sustainability is to leave future generations as many opportunities as, if not more than, we have had ourselves."

Progress in the 20th Century

Progress in the 20th Century

The Social Dimension:

The Economic Dimension The Environmental Dimension

The greatest environmental progress has been made in the realm of institutional developments, international cooperation, public participation, and emergence of private-sector action

Owing to the availability of new and better technologies, the rate of environmental degradation in developing countries (atmospheric sulfur dioxide, for example, and soot and smoke) has been slower than that experienced by industrial countries when they were at the similar stage of economic development. The Political Dimension

Perhaps the most significant and remarkable changes over the past 30 years have occurred in the political arena:

An example of a private company seeking to address sustainability through the social dimension as well as the economic and environmental dimensions is the program of Weyerhaeuser (see particularly the Weyerhaeuser Roadmap for Sustainability on p.3).

Remaining Deficits

Remaining Deficits

The Social Dimension:

The Economic Dimension: The Environmental Dimension: The Political Dimension: The most important task for governments to as partners , catalysts, and facilitators for sustainable development. They must: The best of present thinking indicates that a human centered, market-friendly approach is the most effective approach to promoting development in a particular country. We have more and better information than any past generation. Further progress on the road to sustainable development is today predominantly a question of the political and individual will to "walk as one talks".

Issues of Particular Importance

Issues of Particular Importance

Governance

A comparison of countries that have developed rapidly with countries having comparable resources that have not developed as rapidly reveals that the difference is mainly attributable to the level of good governance. Governments that are effective have adopted many characteristics of the private sector:

Countries where sustainable development has not been achieved are characterized by: Technological Progress

Tremendous progress has been made as a result of research and technological achievements of the past 200 years. And this should give encouragement for the future. Ninety percent of all scientists and technologists who have ever lived are working today. The persistently low price of oil does not allow the market to encourage energy efficiency. However, most ecologists see technological progress and associated breakthroughs in efficiency as a necessary but not sufficient condition for global sustainable development. They argue that these technological advances need to be accompanied by a change of consciousness and attitudes on the individual level.

Voluntary Simplicity and Sophisticated Modesty

Voluntary Simplicity and Sophisticated Modesty

The quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi is still appropriate. Twenty percent of humanity lives 10-15 times more destructively than the 3-3.5 billion low-income people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Under today’s technological conditions, the global environments cannot tolerate all 5.9 billion people living the American Dream because consumption of non-renewable resources as well as the emission of waste products would overtax the carrying capacity of the planet.

Alternatives to the current wasteful lifestyles are characterized by some as "the elegance of simplicity", or "affluence lite", to bring awareness to the fact that high quality of lifestyle need not depend on superfluous or conspicuous consumption.

Take the Quiz

Back to Unit Page