A complete, in-depth guide to mastering global sustainability with these meticulously organized and content-rich notes from a Spring 2024 Global Sustainability course. Packed with essential insights, these notes provide a clear, comprehensive overview of sustainability concepts, strategies, and rea...
What is Sustainability?
● How to be more conscious of the earth and how we interact and affect the earth and
its environment
Sustainable Development – the idea of how we continue to progress; developing ways to
try and not ruin the earth for future generations
● The U.S. is not one of the most developed countries although it is still a well
developed country
● 1987 Brundtland report; publication of Our Common Future
○ This report inspired the United Nations (2000) to develop the 8 MDGs
(Millenium Development Goals) to work on going towards 2015
Millenium Development Goals of 2000 (on exam)
1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. To achieve universal primary education
3. To promote gender equality and empowerment for women
4. To reduce child mortality (death before 5 yrs. )
5. To improve maternal health
6. To combat HIV/AIDs, malaria, and other diseases
7. To ensure environmental sustainability
8. To develop a global partnership for development
This list has since been expanded to 17 points working towards the year 2030
What has been added, removed, or changed since the addition of the last 9
points?
● Watch video Understanding the Dimensions of Sustainable Development for
more information on these points (rewatch and take notes)
Sustainability is very broad, but it can be broken down into some basic themes…
● Environmental
● Ethical (Social)
● Economical
○ “The Pillars of Sustainability”
○ “The Three Es”
,How are all of these themes connected?
● Solutions must consider the whole picture
● Unintended Consequences
Connective Systems Thinking
● Allows us to evaluate consequences of decision making on local and global scales
○ An ecosystem works like this; all parts are connected, so our thinking must be
as well
United Nations & Sustainability Goals
● Organized in 1945 w/ 51 countries
● League of Nations was predecessor
● Today there are 195 countries involved
● Goal of maintaining international order
Myths about Sustainability
1. “Nobody knows what sustainability means”
a. It's very broad and can be confusing
2. “Sustainability is all about the environment”
a. For some people, it is all about the environment
b. Most likely came about during the big environmental movements in the US
government
3. “Sustainable is a synonym for the word green”
a. Usually used for someone’s preference for natural over artificial
b. Can be used derogatorily
4. “It’s all about recycling”
a. Some of the most important areas include energy, transportation, and climate
change
b. Recycling has changed over the years; rethink, renovate, recover, redesign,
repair, etc.
5. “Sustainability is too expensive”
, a. Some truth to this: purchasing electric cars, solar panels, etc. and takes years
for the benefits to outweigh the costs
b. Habits need to change, they will be expensive in the beginning, but it will
outweigh the costs later
c. Richardsville Elementary: first school in US to create more energy than they
were using
6. “Sustainability means lowering our standard of living”
a. We do have to go with less
i. Stop driving vehicles
ii. Use less electricity
iii. Eat and grow our own or local food
b. We do not have to go back to the stone age to be sustainable but small
changes could go a long way
7. “Consumer choices and grassroots activism, not government intervention, offer the
fastest, most efficient routes to sustainability”
a. This myth operates from the idea that wasteful use of resources will drive up
costs and people will stop the activity – this is not true or happening
b. Consumers can create change, however the government must put in
regulations for people and corporations to comply
c. Climate Change: not costing the emitters barely anything to continue
polluting; will not change because of individuals alone
d. Government laws and regulations do help and elected officials need to be on
board to make these sustainable changes
8. “New technology is always the answer”
a. We do not have to invent new technologies, but rather use older technologies
that we have used before
b. Falling back on existing technologies could direct us to solutions; it doesn’t
have to be all brand new
9. “Sustainability is ultimately a human population problem”
a. Every environmental problem is in part a population problem
b. Our current practices put us over the carrying capacity of the planet in some
places, but does represent a false solution
c. It is possible to slow a population down, but it takes decades to see change
10. “Once you understand the concept of sustainability, living sustainably is easy”
a. If it was easy, we would all be doing it
b. Oftentimes, a choice that seems sustainable turns out to actually be
problematic
i. Ethanol from corn is a good example, excess corn created numerous
problems (both human and environmental)
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