“The Concepts of Sustainability” MIT Press & “Accumulation: The Material Politics of Plastic”
-The US has begun to enter a “third epoch” or period of environmental concern.
-Introducing sustainability in relation to an American lifestyle
-Sustainability: economic development activity that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
-The basic premise of sustainability is that Earth’s resources cannot be used, depleted, and damaged indefinitely.
-The idea could be traced back to Thomas Malthus because at some point humans will run out of resources, especially if the population keeps growing
-Brundtland Commission of 1987 described sustainability as having 3 co-equal parts or elements, all of which start with the letter e: environment, economy, equity.
-Sustainability must simultaneously protect the environment, preserve economic growth and development, and promote equity.
-Particular emphasis on ecology and economics
-Sustainable biological resource use: focuses on the maximum sustainable yield from natural systems, such as forests and fisheries.
– Sustainable Agriculture: ensures that farming remains productive during and after major disturbances.
-Carrying Capacity: the ability of an area of land to support human populations
-Achieving sustainability requires some types of socio-political characteristics
-Sustainable Energy: producing electricity and powering machinery through means other than burning fossil fuels
-Sustainable Society and Sustainable Economy: a broad array of efforts to maintain social conditions and economic and human well-being
-Does higher economic growth really translate into better quality of life?
-Sustainable Development: the relationship between economic growth and environmental protection
-Ecological Carrying Capacity (strain of thought): suggests that an ecosystem has a finite capacity to sustain life
-The Resource/Environment (strain of thought): the depletion of natural resources as the primary challenge of sustainability
-The Biosphere (strain of thought): based on the notion that human activity has the ability to affect the health of the entire planet
-The Critique of Technology (strain): technology and technological innovation have played in promoting rather than avoiding degradation
– The No-growth Slow-growth (strain): a global perspective that there are limits to the Earth’s carrying capacity
-Ecodevelopment (strain): the focus on the need to reconcile social, economic, and political objectives with the realities of natural resources and the environment
-Shifting global thought to think topologically rather than the logic of inexorable effects
-PET bottles are single-use bottles
Guest Speaker Discussion:
I found the guest speaker discussion to be highly stimulating and informative. Since his work is centered in Shanghai it is much easier to envision the current situation that we are confronted with around us. It felt like he was offering insider knowledge and it made the discussion even more dynamic. It also gave me somewhat of a hopeful outlook on the future and the possibilities of human technological development regarding sustainability. Even though there is a lot of unanswered questions, we are setting up the discussion to bring attention to the issue. I wanted to hear more about his findings and research. The part I found most interesting was when he talked about how he followed locals who gathered trash to certain places and the efficiency of their role as unofficial trash picker-uppers.
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