Sustainability examination and assessment

Progress: Community Sharing vs. Individualistic Consumption

In an unsustainable society, priority is placed upon economic growth at all costs, regardless of how this may affect variables such as climate change, a condition which will hurt all of humanity in the long run. Our current worldview or paradigm prioritizes all societies moving to an urban model of development which emphasizes consumption. Even modern agriculture has been influenced by this profit-oriented focus and does not focus upon preserving land and minimizing waste instead. Thus to foster sustainability, as noted by Wessels, the concept of progress as something that is linear and equally beneficial to all societies must change. We now conceive of progress as increasing consumption and increasing GDP but this is not a sustainable model for the future, particularly if all developing societies also adopt this worldview that 'more stuff' is better.

Rather, newer, greener, and more sustainable measures must be adopted. In Leonard's The Story of Stuff, ultimately a vision of community sharing that disdains individualistic consumption and striving is offered as an alternative vision to the current model of progress. Improving the planet requires a shift in worldviews and how we conceptualize a better life. This does not necessarily mean that our culture must resist the increasing shift to urban life but rather the types of values we celebrate and the ways we create communities in urban life must change as noted in Dawson's conception of new ecovillages which encourages minimal waste through collective efforts.

Q2. The overwhelming amount of available evidence indicates that changes in the ways human beings dwell on and relate to the earth have profoundly altered it during the age of industrialization, creating 'climate change,' or a state in which temperatures and sea levels are rising, causing more severe storms and other ecological changes. The goal of a more sustainable society is to reduce the negative effects of climate change. However, it should be noted that trying to 'go back in time' is not a solution to the question of how to reverse the negative effects of climate change. For example, according to Owen, despite the common notion that rural life is more natural than urban life, urban communities are often more sustainable than rural communities, given the presence of public transportation as an alternative to cars and other amenities that reduce the ecological footprint of residents. Even urban agriculture can provide communities with a connection to nature that people who shop at big box stores lack. Climate change can be curtailed by reducing transportation costs due to non-renewable resources produced by cars. Climate 'feedback' loops can be positive or negative -- either accelerating or decelerating climate change. By making environmentally sound actions and making the proactive lessons of so many positive urban environments more available, a positive feedback loop can be facilitated. A number of authors, including Leonard and Carlsson, advocate creating radical new ways of structuring human life to ensure that a constant positive feedback loop is created -- i.e., so every decision de-incentivizes waste rather than incentivizes consumption.

Q3. In Hern, a paradox is noted -- sometimes the cities (such as Portland) which have the greatest apparent commitment to a green lifestyle are the most expensive to live in, creating an apparent dichotomy between equality and social justice and sustainability. Hern suggests that community cooperatives such as community land trusts of shared housing and land (including community gardens) can help to create urban spaces so the benefits of environmentalism can be enjoyed by all. Douthwaite has also commented that inherited wealth leads to an economy that is both unequal and frustrates attempts to create sustainability through interest -- those with money can make money off of that money while those who cannot do not; rather than positive and sustainable behaviors, simply being rich is effectively rewarded and there is no encouragement to share 'in kind.' This creates the need to have more and more material goods that are only shared in private. Dawson even envisions solidarity economies of 'ecovillages' (modeled in part upon indigenous societies) which are based upon the principles of sustainability. All authors stress the notion of environmental sustainability as a complex system in which various contributing factors all influence its development simultaneously: in contrast to a linear system where one or two variables can be easily isolated, complex systems require holistic change. For example, Dietz & O'Neill stress the need to act now to change societal values to promote sustainability: it is not enough to make small, cosmetic changes but rather the whole system of human values must be altered to prioritize positive communities over enhancing individual self-worth.

Q4. Cultural capital is often defined as the ways in which people can survive together, both socially as well as in a biological sense. Sustainable cultural capital stresses the need to focus on the future rather than just upon the here and now when conceptualizing this notion. Instead of focusing on cultural capital as a way of creating more technologically-sophisticated societies and encouraging consumption, authors such as Leonard believe that deemphasizing consumption and encouraging a new attitude towards how 'stuff' is used is essential for human beings to continue to live on this planet. Consumption should never be regarded as good in and of itself: people must ask why consumption is needed to improve human life -- and Leonard suggests that most consumption is not driven by real needs but rather by egotism and social display. If people worked few hours, she believes, they would be happier and the world would be better off. Dietz & O'Neill likewise stress that not chasing after stuff and working more hours but rather asking 'how can I give back' is needed to facilitate both justice and equality. Community participation can actually reduce the need for consumption as this allows for more opportunities to recycle what has been formerly in use in an effective fashion.