Post by cye on May 23, 2011 17:29:07 GMT -5
Conor wrote to me today with some thoughts on what sustainability is versus what the commercial world sells as sustainability. It was a good take, so I decided to post it up here to stimulate some conversation ....
I was thinking about the word "sustainability". It is used everywhere it will fit. I was wondering why. I think it is a very comforting word, more so these days than ever before. Here is how I think it works. The thing that we would really like to be sustainable is our current life style, population growth, consumption and so on. We all know, at some level, that this is not possible. The evidence is stacking up against our dream. The climate is changing beyond any excuse, things are becoming more expensive which we all know is caused by an imbalance in supply and demand, or the speculative expectation of imbalance. Stuff is running out. So what do we do? We look to the higher authorities for help and they tell us to adopt sustainable behaviour. Unplug your phone charger, grow some lettuce. With these changes implemented, and a wee pat on the head, we return to business as usual. We have are heads in the sand and our ars*s in the air. Few people want to be told that things are not getting any better. Those who would listen already know. We have already spoken about this. The phrase "sustainable growth" is a tip-off. It is an oxymoron, a contradiction in linguistic terms long before it becomes a practical impossibility.
The question I have is, has this crap been cynically crafted to keep the peace or is it a sign of systemic panic? I don't suppose it matters, the outcome will be the same.
I was thinking about the word "sustainability". It is used everywhere it will fit. I was wondering why. I think it is a very comforting word, more so these days than ever before. Here is how I think it works. The thing that we would really like to be sustainable is our current life style, population growth, consumption and so on. We all know, at some level, that this is not possible. The evidence is stacking up against our dream. The climate is changing beyond any excuse, things are becoming more expensive which we all know is caused by an imbalance in supply and demand, or the speculative expectation of imbalance. Stuff is running out. So what do we do? We look to the higher authorities for help and they tell us to adopt sustainable behaviour. Unplug your phone charger, grow some lettuce. With these changes implemented, and a wee pat on the head, we return to business as usual. We have are heads in the sand and our ars*s in the air. Few people want to be told that things are not getting any better. Those who would listen already know. We have already spoken about this. The phrase "sustainable growth" is a tip-off. It is an oxymoron, a contradiction in linguistic terms long before it becomes a practical impossibility.
The question I have is, has this crap been cynically crafted to keep the peace or is it a sign of systemic panic? I don't suppose it matters, the outcome will be the same.