Let's start with this quote from Donella Meadows, making an important albeit blunt point:
"Environmentalists have failed perhaps more than any other set of advocates to project vision. Most people associate environmentalism with restriction, prohibition, regulation, and sacrifice. Though it is rarely articulated directly, the most widely shared picture of a sustainable world is one of tight and probably centralized control, low material standard of living, and no fun." She invites the reader to envision a "sustainable world as one that would be wonderful to live in."
Her obituary [1], February 2001, read in part:
Professor Meadows, known as "Dana" to friends and colleagues, was a leading voice in what has become known as the "sustainability movement," an international effort to reverse damaging trends in the environment, economy, and social systems. Her work is widely recognized as a formative influence on hundreds of other academic studies, government policy initiatives, and international agreements.
Dana Meadows was also a devoted teacher of environmental systems, ethics, and journalism to her students at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she taught for 29 years. In addition to her many original contributions to systems theory and global trend analysis, she managed a small farm and was a vibrant member of her local community. Genuinely unconcerned with her international fame, she often referred to herself simply as "a farmer and a writer."
The article goes on to describe Meadows' lifetime of contributions to the field of sustainability, including founding the Sustainability Institute [2] (now called the Donella Meadows Institute) in 1997, which she described as a "think-do-tank."
Let's step back and entertain Donella Meadows' invitation to envision a "sustainable world that would be wonderful to live in."
Read this paper, in full, Envisioning a Sustainable World [3], written for the International Society for Ecological Economics, 1994. Take the time to read (or watch) it all. Link to full transcript is below video.
On page 6, the section Envisioning a Sustainable World, begins: "So I invite you to join with me in building that vision. What kind of sustainable world do you WANT to live in? Do your best to imagine not just the absence of problems but the presence of blessings. Our rational minds tell us that a sustainable world has to be one in which renewable resources are used no faster than they regenerate; in which pollution is emitted no faster than it can be recycled or rendered harmless; in which population is at least stable, maybe decreasing; in which prices internalize all real costs; in which there is no hunger or poverty; in which there is true, enduring democracy. But what else? What else do YOU want, for yourself, your children, your grandchildren?" The section goes on to describe how to envision and more questions you may want to ask yourself.
This is your assignment: envision a sustainable world that would be wonderful to live in. This is not easy to do and will take daring and imagination on your part. Go for it! Dream on and be inspired by the ideas of others. Don't argue for limitations and don't morph into implementation planning. Use this forum to build a vision, your vision, of a sustainable world that would be wonderful to live in.
Post your work in the Discussion, "Envisioning a Sustainable World" You'll find it in in Canvas, in the Unit 5 module. Please follow full instructions there.
Please see Canvas calendar for due date of your FIRST posting and date when discussion ends (graded participation ends, all replies must be in).
You will be graded on the quality of your participation. Be interesting and interested! You may comment, of course, aspects of the Donella Meadows article, but don't let these threads sidetrack you. Your graded participation will be on postings related to your vision. Please see Syllabus for full Discussion Forum grading criteria.
Links
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/22/us/donella-meadows-59-author-and-advocate-for-environment.html
[2] http://www.donellameadows.org/
[3] http://www.donellameadows.org/donella-meadows-legacy/envisioning-a-sustainable-world/