The question of the survival of our plan and the struggle between consumption and long-term sustainability is before us. I have begun to seriously reflect upon this as I have begun a Stanford MOOC course on Sustainability.
One things is clear: "Space Ship Earth" is our home. It must be nurtured, sustained and maintained. The first lecture of the Course on the "Story of Stuff" was compelling, tough to listen to but crucial to understand and embrace. Our host reminded us that "the Linear System on a Finite Planet" cannot be sustained. It was a hard reality that must be recognized:
Here is the link just in case the "embed" does not work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gLBE5QAYXp8
The compelling opening thoughts uttered by our host goes to the heart of the challenge we face as we have embarked upon this path to educate ourselves. The worst of the worst is the United States. With only 3% of the World's Population, it is consuming over 30% of the World's Resources.
What is critical to recognize is that It is a reality that must be shared by recognizing the entire "linear system" and understanding the process is destroying the only home we all know. The biggest culprit is just one country: The United States. I view it as a call to action to think less of the here and now and to think about the kind of planet we must have for the sake of generations to come. It reminded me of this reminder from the Environmental Defense Fund:
The implicit ultimate message here is this, though: Do we all have the courage?
One things is clear: "Space Ship Earth" is our home. It must be nurtured, sustained and maintained. The first lecture of the Course on the "Story of Stuff" was compelling, tough to listen to but crucial to understand and embrace. Our host reminded us that "the Linear System on a Finite Planet" cannot be sustained. It was a hard reality that must be recognized:
Here is the link just in case the "embed" does not work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gLBE5QAYXp8
The compelling opening thoughts uttered by our host goes to the heart of the challenge we face as we have embarked upon this path to educate ourselves. The worst of the worst is the United States. With only 3% of the World's Population, it is consuming over 30% of the World's Resources.
What is critical to recognize is that It is a reality that must be shared by recognizing the entire "linear system" and understanding the process is destroying the only home we all know. The biggest culprit is just one country: The United States. I view it as a call to action to think less of the here and now and to think about the kind of planet we must have for the sake of generations to come. It reminded me of this reminder from the Environmental Defense Fund:
The implicit ultimate message here is this, though: Do we all have the courage?
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