CREATING A SUSTAINABLE

WORLDCopyright © 2009 by Keith H. Adkins

Because of our phenomenal success! The Industrial Revolution changed the way

we lived, and the impacts on our quality of life were undeniable.

But downsides were accumulating from the start.

Air pollution in the late 1800s created London’s infamous “fog.”

Other side effects were unseen, like invisible CO2 emissions.

How did we get to the point where we are running out of

resources?

Regenerative resources are being harvested more rapidly than they can replenish themselves (e.g., fish, and trees).

Non-regenerative resources simply cannot replenish themselves (e.g., oil, and coal).

Despite growing awareness, things are going from bad to worse worldwide.

Global warming is the bell tolling the end of the Industrial Age.

And Here’s What’s Happening

Oceans are acidifying. Glaciers are melting. Weather is becoming more extreme. Forests are threatened. One billion people could be forced from

their homes by 2050. Want some evidence? A picture is worth a

thousand words:

Our Climate Is Changing

The most startling evidence yet…

Plant trees.Use solar energy.Put up wind turbines.Promote and use mass transit.Great slogan: “I eat local because I can.”

So What Do We Do?

The Industrial Age Point of View.

OUT WITH THE OLD

Society

Environment

Economy

The Post-Industrial Age Point of View.

IN WITH THE NEW

Economy

Society

Environment

Over the next 40 to 90 years we will exceed the capacity of earth to supply our needs.

The morality simply comes from the eighth commandment: Thou shalt not steal—even from future generations.

Humanity is now between a tipping point in climate change and a point of no return.

There is an urgent need for someone to invest in the development of carbon capture technology.

WE MUST LEARN TO LIVE SUSTAINABLY

We must cut carbon dioxide emissions globally by 80% in the next twenty years.

We need to drastically reduce our consumption of water and energy.

We all have to be a part of the solution. In an interconnected world, it doesn’t matter whose end of the boat has a hole.

So how do we do it?

THE NEED FOR SUSTAINABILITY

1. The path forward must consider future generations by living in the present in ways that do not jeopardize the future.

2. Institutions matter. We got into trouble collectively, not individually, and the path out will be through acting interdependently.

3. Change is grounded in new ways of thinking. We all need to work together differently than

we have in the past.

3 GUIDING IDEAS

1. From a Limited Worldview to Seeing Sytems.

2. From Isolation to Collaborating Across Boundaries.

3. From Reactive Problem Solving to Creating Desired Futures.

3 NEW WAYS OF THINKING

1. Energy and Transportation.

2. Food and Water.

3. Waste and Toxicity.

But how does this come together?

3 INTERCONNECTED CHALLENGES

INDUSTRIAL AGE NATURE

ENERGY AND

TRANSPORTATION

FOODAND

WATER

WASTEAND

TOXICITY

We can create a sustainable world by learning from

nature.

INDUSTRIAL AGE NATURE

ENERGY AND

TRANSPORTATION

90% of our energy comes from burning

fossil fuels.

FOODAND

WATER

WASTEAND

TOXICITY

We can create a sustainable world by learning from

nature.

INDUSTRIAL AGE NATURE

ENERGY AND

TRANSPORTATION

90% of our energy comes from burning

fossil fuels.

Life has flourished for 2 billion years on one

source of energy:______

FOODAND

WATER

WASTEAND

TOXICITY

We can create a sustainable world by learning from

nature.

INDUSTRIAL AGE NATURE

ENERGY AND

TRANSPORTATION

90% of our energy comes from burning

fossil fuels.

Life has flourished for 2 billion years on one

source of energy: solar.

FOODAND

WATER

WASTEAND

TOXICITY

We can create a sustainable world by learning from

nature.

INDUSTRIAL AGE NATURE

ENERGY AND

TRANSPORTATION

90% of our energy comes from burning

fossil fuels.

Life has flourished for 2 billion years on one

source of energy: solar.

FOODAND

WATER

Our food often travels thousands of miles to get to us.

WASTEAND

TOXICITY

We can create a sustainable world by learning from

nature.

INDUSTRIAL AGE NATURE

ENERGY AND

TRANSPORTATION

90% of our energy comes from burning

fossil fuels.

Life has flourished for 2 billion years on one

source of energy: solar.

FOODAND

WATER

Our food often travels thousands of miles to get to us.

Most food is local (although seeds can be

carried a great distance).

WASTEAND

TOXICITY

We can create a sustainable world

by learning from nature.

INDUSTRIAL AGE NATURE

ENERGY AND

TRANSPORTATION

90% of our energy comes from burning

fossil fuels.

Life has flourished for 2 billion years on one

source of energy: solar.

FOODAND

WATER

Our food often travels thousands of miles to get to us.

Most food is local (although seeds can be

carried a great distance).

WASTEAND

TOXICITY

Society generates enormous amounts

of waste.

We can create a sustainable world by learning from

nature.

INDUSTRIAL AGE NATURE

ENERGY AND

TRANSPORTATION

90% of our energy comes from burning

fossil fuels.

Life has flourished for 2 billion years on one

source of energy: solar.

FOODAND

WATER

Our food often travels thousands of miles to get to us.

Most food is local (although seeds can be

carried a great distance).

WASTEAND

TOXICITY

Society generates enormous amounts

of waste.

In nature there is no such thing as waste.

We can create a sustainable world

by learning from nature.

Nature must not be systematically deteriorated (e.g., deforestation, loss of top soil).

Substances extracted from the earth’s crust cannot be allowed to increase in nature (e.g., fossil-based emissions).

Substances produced by society cannot be allowed to increase in nature (e.g., CFCs).

People are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs (e.g., lack of access to education or clean water).

CONDITIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Reduce and eventually eliminate our contribution to the buildup of materials taken from the earth’s crust. This includes fossil fuels and their associated wastes.

Reduce and eventually eliminate our contribution to the buildup of synthetic substances produced by society.

Reduce and eventually eliminate our contribution to the ongoing physical degradation of nature.

Reduce and eventually eliminate our contribution to conditions that undermine people’s ability to meet their basic needs.

OBJECTIVES FOR SUSTAINABILITY

They seek to contribute to the health and well-being of living systems.

They reject the notion that the sole purpose is to make a profit.

They regard their quality of relationships as the true indicator of success.

They live out the root meaning of company, com panis, “the sharing of bread.”

A NEW GENERATION OF MISSION-BASED COMPANIES

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2007 (Cambridge, 2007). Peter Senge, The Necessary Revolution (Doubleday, 2008). Tim Flannery, NOW or NEVER (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009).

www.nasa.govwww.RealClimate.orgwww.climatesafety.orgwww.newscientist.com

Sources