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A detailed compilation of all notes form classes and tutorials over the course of period 1 of the program.
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Week 1Study questions (see the associated ‘knowledge clips’ for guidance)
1. What were-are the critiques on the conventional model of development?
a. Conventional model of dev: linear and based on modernization and
westernization – Baker discusses Rostow’s model and critiques at page
3-5
b. Economic boom is exceptional and contingent for Baker
c. Within this critical environment (7 critiques), sust dev emerged
d. Limitations of the biosphere
e. Development before was based on GDP etc not the holistic view of dev
we have under
2. What is the Brundtland report and the Brundtland definition of sustainable
development?
a. Bruntland report 1987 reconciles development and sustainability –
biosphere capacity is limited and we have to stay within it – economy
can grow still but in a green way with technology and societal change
– 3 pillar: society, env and economy
b. Definition ADD and LEARN
c. Technology can be part of the solution
3. What are the different views on sustainable development (weaker approach,
stronger approach, other approaches)?
a. Weaker – still growth oriented
b. Stronger – involves demand and societal change
c. Pollution control – globalization and exploitation
d. Ideal model
e. Policy action – social change
f. Sam - Lack of clarity at the time on how to interpret these approaches
g. Sam - Viewed as strong approach
h. Ato - Interaction between the three pillars impacts on how strong an
approach, controlled by the different assumptions based on each – if u
focus on environment, you will have stronger policies implemented
4. What are the SDGs (content AND development process)? 13.30
a. Rio +20 conference: the future we want
b. Check progress report by UN on SDGs + paris agreement
c. Interpreted as oxymoron and thus vague criticism
d. Vagueness and accountability issue
e. 2015-2030
f. Before MGs 8#
Should SDGs be made compulsory
Discussion questions
, 1. Evaluate the current policies in your own country; are they mostly guided by
the conventional model of development or by sustainable development?
a. Basic universal income, creation of more natural parks, protection of
oceans, recycling and upcycling, incentives such as bikes [+]
b. On the social aspect still a lot of injustices and inequalities or
disparities so still lots to be achieved
2. What is your view on the Brundtland report?
a. What key issues/concepts do you think the Brundtland report really added to
the policy discussions about our future society/planet?
- marriage of sust and dev (mutual) + 3 pillars
- biophysical limitations
- global focus
- focused on the ecological side but less on the societal one (empowerment,
education etc)
- target on diminishing population numbers which is missing in SDGs as
sensitive political issue
b. Review Box 2.4 in Chapter 2 from the textbook by Baker: which of these
issues do you think are still relevant today and how do these issues compare to
the SDGs?
- all of them seem still relevant
3. Do you think that the following readings can be labeled as a weak or as a strong
approach towards sustainable development:
a) the Brundtland report (strong – especially at the time)
and b) the paper by Griggs et al.? (Strong)
from griggs: protection of Earth's life-support system and poverty reduction
must be the twin priorities for SDGs - To set appropriate goals and targets,
environmental conditions have to be identified that enable prosperous human
development and set tolerable ranges for the biosphere to remain in that state – SDGs
need to be measurable – 6 SDGs: thriving lives and livelihoods, sustainable food
security, sustainable water security, universal clean energy, healthy and productive
ecosystems, and governance for sustainable societies - National policies should, like
carbon pricing, place a value on natural capital and a cost on unsustainable actions
gives model of sust dev with envir and soc and only then, econ
provisional goals are measurable
4. One of the critiques on the concept of sustainable development has been that it is
too vague.
A) do you agree with this critique and
YES – vague could be good as there is no one way but different ones
depending on countries, GDP etc – also good as valid in the long term
B) do you think the SDGs provide a sound framework for operationalizing the
SDG?
YES, together with the individual targets, they provide a better understanding
of goals and a starting point for actioning on those goals but still lots to be done e.g.
XX
,https://referencelist.library.maastrichtuniversity.nl/E/
d51a8bef9950412682aa24b6bce6f671
Tutorial
Pim Martens. Com
Different dimensions of sust dev
Week 2
Study questions
1.What was the main message of:
Leopold in a Sand County Almanac? 1949 – received more attention in 1970s when
environmental awakening – land is not a commodity – moral responsibility of
humans towards land (land ethic) – shift of humans from conquerors to part of
natural system – land pyramid to represent interconnectedness in nature much like a
food chain (energy cycle, fountains of energy) – introduced thinking of se systems –
we could not exist without ecological factor – need for interdisciplinarity –
ecocentric view
Rachel Carson in Silent Spring? 1962 – about pesticides – documented negative
effects of ‘biocides’ – she did not advocate to end the use completely (can be used to
end malaria) but needs to be only when necessarily – critical of development and
dominion over earth – accused government of uncritically accept the chemical
industry claims of safety, started the movement, brought to the ban in 1972 and to
creation of Environmental Agency
Accountability and transparency importance/centrality – critical of progress and blind
progression
(the DDT particles move along the food chain to us – like to almanac)
Lovelock in his work on the Gaia-hypothesis? Working for NASA and Mars life
project – biosphere self regulates itself and acts as a living organism – system is
dynamic with feedback processes – daisy world illustrates Gaia hypothesis –
Emphasis on feedback loops and interconnectedness – resilience within the limits of
the system, away from turbulences (introducing tipping points) – system emergence
<> reductionism, since you can only understand temperature regulation when looking
at both daisies
2.What are ecosystem services and what kind of ecosystem services can be identified?
- what: conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems sustain
human life – they maintain biodiversity and production of goods
- types: provisioning services (products people derive from ecoystems) –
regulatory (benefits people obtain from regulation of ecosystem processes) – cultural
services (non-material benefits) – supporting services (those who support production
of all other services)
- millennium ecosystem assessment 2005
3.What is meant with the Anthropocene?
, Proposed (as not yet approved) geological epoch dating from the
commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and
ecosystems - This time period coincides with the Great Acceleration, a post-
WWII time during which socioeconomic and Earth system trends started
increasing dramatically, and the Atomic Age. Starting mid 1900.
- It acknowledges that human activity is in effect a geological
process, and that we are generating a physical and biological
environment that is distinct from anything before and that is likely to
leave a substantial trace in the geological record of Earth's history
(Ellis 2013)
- broad interest in the Anthropocene likely has a moral component,
based on a coming to terms with human responsibility for the
planet‐wide changes the Anthropocene represents. Thus, for some,
the Anthropocene idea offers an occasion for passing judgment on
humanity's domination of nature. But for others it prompts a desire
to engage with the processes that are contributing to those
changes, in the hopes of shaping a future that is morally
acceptable. (Ellis 2013)
We hold, therefore, that the Anthropocene is a concept that has moral content
at its core, rather than being only a scientific concept with a detachable moral
significance. Our position has three important implications for the scientific
study of the Anthropocene—what we will call Anthropocene science. (Ellis
2013) First, while study of the Anthropocene is firmly anchored in geology, it
requires concepts and methodologies from disciplines well beyond the Earth
sciences. (Second and coupled to the need for a synthetic approach is the
need to be strategic about the development of research programs: the need to
keep an eye on the big problem in what will inevitably be a long haul to its
resolution. Third, the moral core of the Anthropocene concept challenges
Earth scientists (along with others who study it) to acknowledge that their
subject matter demands a kind of moral engagement. To some extent, we can
choose which Anthropocene will actually happen.
Discussion questions
1.Why do you think that that Leopold’s book ‘A Sand County Almanac’ can be
considered a milestone in our changing perception on the environment?
Moving to ecocentric view – land has intrinsic value – talking about responsibility
and ethics
2.Why do you think that Rachel Carson’s book ‘Silent Spring’ can be considered a
milestone in our changing perception on the environment?
3.Why do you think that Lovelock’s work on the Gaia hypothesis can be considered a
milestone in our changing perception on the environment?
We depend on the system but not regulate it, rather impact and influence it – we r part
of the system
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