Sustainability Competing Visions and Collaborative Research Paul B
Sustainability Competing Visions and Collaborative Research Paul B. Thompson W. K. Kellogg Professor of Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics Michigan State University
Ø Something to which we aspire… Ø Something we ought to achieve… Ø Lack of sustainability shows that we have a problem… Ø An unsustainable practice or world calls for change or reform. v Something that can be evaluated through factual inquiry… v We could be mistaken… v Sustainability can be informed by scientific research… v Science can help identify paths to sustainability.
The Emergence of an Ideal 1948 1900 1950 Ideals of progress, prosperity and perpetual peace. 2000 Liberty Hyde Bailey 1858 -1954 “Permanence” A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.
The Emergence of an Ideal Proliferation of definitions for sustainability and sustainable development 1987 1900 1950 Emergence of “environmentalism” along with civil rights and women’s movements. “Sustainable Agriculture” Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring 1962 1970’s 2000 The Brundtland Development that Commission meets the needs of. Report: current Our Common generations Future without compromising the Sustainable ability of future Development generations to meet their needs.
The Philosophy of Sustainability Profits Economy Planet Environment People Society Three Circle Sustainability
A Better Philosophy of Sustainability? Resource Sufficiency Functional Integrity Social Movement
A Better Philosophy of Sustainability? Resource Sufficiency True False Functional Integrity Social Movement
A Better Philosophy of Sustainability Resource Sufficiency Resource sufficiency might be thought of as dynamic if we include the possibility that we will shift and substitute our resource use as scarcity increases or as Functional Integrity technology changes. A system or practice is sustainable if the resources needed to carry it out are foreseeably available. Social Movement
A Better Philosophy of Sustainability Resource Sufficiency A system or practice is sustainable if it is resilient or relatively invulnerable to the threat of internal collapse. Functional Integrity This might apply to ecosystem functions, but it might also be applied more broadly. Social Movement
Game Management Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac • Resource Sufficiency Wild game populations are sustainable if there are enough individuals for hunters to shoot. • Functional Integrity Wild game populations are sustainable if the ecosystem that regulates habitat and population levels is intact.
Real Estate Values circa 2006 Resource Sufficiency Functional Integrity • Real estate values are sustainable if there are enough home buyers entering the market to prevent a surplus. • Real estate values are sustainable if the home finance system is not vulnerable to structural factors that distort the incentives of lenders.
The Lansing Catholic Diocese Resource Sufficiency Functional Integrity • The Diocese is sustainable if there are enough Catholics foreseeably available to continue to populate all of the churches. • The Diocese is sustainable if the system for recruiting and retaining priests is adequate to populate each parish.
Biomass Electrical Generation Resource Sufficiency Functional Integrity • Biomass fueled plants are sustainable so long they comply with regs and there is enough wood waste (or other biomass) to fire the plants. • Biomass plants are sustainable if they do not pose (or re-impose) threats to processes that stabilize climate and air quality or to regeneration of markets for Point: regional A Secondary While from the underlying income tourism. The Main Point: This is not just the economy/environment thing over again mechanisms are related, FI calls attention to the value (importance) of systemic interactions.
A Better Philosophy of Sustainability? Resource Sufficiency A system or practice is unsustainable if it is generating acts of resistance, protest and political change. Sustainability is conceptually linked to social justice, fairness and recognition. Functional Integrity Social Movement
A Better Philosophy of Sustainability? Resource Sufficiency A system or practice is unsustainable if it is generating acts of resistance, protest and political change. Sustainability is conceptually linked to social justice, fairness and recognition. Functional Integrity Social Movement
Sustainability and the Sciences Resource Sufficiency Functional Integrity Social Movement
Sustainability as Resource Sufficiency Brundtland Era Sustainability Functional Integrity “External costs” -toxicology -pollution -ecosystem services Grounded in Economic Development Theory -just/fair savings --growth theory --discounting --measurement Social Movement Production Economics -input/output -supply chain modeling Basic Accounting -life cycle analysis -resource depletion & renewal
Sustainability as Functional Grounded in Integrity Humans as Ecology -sustainable yield --resilience --ecological Integrity -functionalist social science Stressors -Pollution Resource Sufficiency -Life cycle analysis -Production economics Policy Science -market failure -regulation -incentives System Resilience and Reproducibility Functional Integrity Social Movement
Sustainability as a Social Movement Unsustainability rooted in social conflict. Economic and ecological approaches omit key Integrity goals Functional Basic Problems: Injustice Resource Sufficiency Lack of Recognition Imbalance of Power Models of “proponency” and “opponency” Social Movement Sustainability is a banner that can promote human rights and environmental concern.
Sustainability and Interdisciplinarity Values/Emphasis Individual vs. System Local vs. Global Short vs. Long Term Resource Sufficiency Use of common indicators, metrics or methods can both obscure differences and facilitate collaboration. Functional Integrity 1. If sustainability just is whatever the movement says it is, what’s the role for science? 2. If sustainability is owned by a social movement, won’t someone have to be opposed to it? Social Movement Theorizing sustainability as a social movement legitimizes those who are “against” sustainability.
Sustainability, Ethics and Technology Resource Sufficiency Technology is good when it increases the efficiency of a production process or a consumption activity, or when it substitutes plentiful for scarce resources. Functional Integrity It is bad when it increases total resource consumption. The Ethical Maxim: Find the optimal ratio between benefit and risk. Social Movement
Sustainability, Ethics and Technology Resource Sufficiency Technology should not introduce fragility or brittleness into the system. It should not create new sources of vulnerability. Functional Integrity The Precautionary Approach: Lack of full scientific certainty about risks should not preclude taking precautionary measures. Social Movement
Sustainability, Ethics and Technology Resource Sufficiency Technology is good when it levels power relationships. It is bad when it strengthens or entrenches power relationships. Functional Integrity Enough for whom? How is the system defined? Social Movement
A Technology Case Study Integrated Biosensors
An Application: Animal Disease Responding to animal disease imposes costs in livestock production that have effects on resource use. Use of prophylactic antibiotic dosing threatens the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. Animal disease vectors have huge impacts on both human and animal health. Diseases such as HIV, avian flu, West Nile Virus and Ebola are cases in point.
Animal Disease: Resource Sufficiency Responding to animal disease imposes costs in livestock production that have effects on resource use. Use of prophylactic antibiotic Greater efficiencies in dosing threatens the integrity animal production mean of aquatic ecosystems. less feed and fewer Animal disease animals, whichvectors meanshave less huge impacts on both human water and less energy. In and animal health. Diseases short, efficiency means such as HIV, avian flu, West greater resource Nile Virus and Ebola are sufficiency. cases in point.
Animal Disease: Functional Integrity Responding to animal disease imposes costs in livestock production that have effects on resource use. Use of prophylactic antibiotic dosing threatens the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. Animal disease haveand track An enhanced ability vectors to monitor huge impacts on both human disease on a real-time basis eliminates the animal health. use Diseases needand for prophylactic of antibiotics. such as HIV, avian flu, West Nile Virus anduse Ebola are for wildlife Removing antibiotic is good casesmicrobial in point. resistance to and helps limit antibiotics.
Animal Disease: Power Issues Responding to animal disease imposes costs in livestock production that have effects on resource use. A good Use of prophylactic antibiotic thing. . . dosing threatens the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. Animal disease vectors have huge impacts on both human and animal health. Diseases such as HIV, avian flu, West Nile Virus and Ebola are cases in point.
Animal Disease: Power Issues A good thing?
What Have We Done? 1. Traced the evolution of sustainability as an idea… 2. Offered a “typology” with three different ways to understand sustainability as a philosophical ideal… 3. Discussed links between each type and the sciences… 4. Examined the example of biosensors…
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