Implications for Education

From this discussion, some important values and principles that will have to guide approaches to education for sustainable development can be deduced:

Acceptance of limits: In closed system there can be no unlimited growth. The long term target is zero growth in consumption, carbon neutrality, energy neutrality, zero waste. This will be a tough challenge, since the founding principle of our current economic and political models in most areas of the world need to change, and practice on all levels will have to reflect this new understanding. It also means shedding some myths of the sustainable development discussion such as the 'win-win' promise: in a closed system there is no ultimate win-win', there is only 'win-lose'. If one group increases their resource consumption there will be less left for all the others, particularly in a context of population growth, an expansion which itself needs challenging.

Efficiency: Optimizing the input-output ratio of resources is very important. If we can squeeze more use out of the same or a smaller amount of a resource, we increase our flexibility. But even here the Laws of Thermodynamics apply: efficiency cannot be increased beyond a certain point and beyond the availability of the existing resource base. Over the last thirty years there have been some outstanding increases in resource and energy efficiency, up to 70% with some electrical appliances. But overall increased per capita consumption, displacement activities with new fuel-hungry appliances, and population growth, have negated many of these gains.

Sufficiency:This principle, uncomfortable because it is inconsistent with expansionist world views, is key to sustainable development. Only if we learn to appreciate that enough is enough, that as a global population we have sufficient means, and indeed that more in material terms, does not necessarily lead to more fulfilling lives, will a transition to a sustainable society be possible.

Durability:Increasing the durability of all the products we use is important in terms of reduction of resources for production of new short-lived products with fast replacement cycles. Current examples are mobile phones and computers, which despite the clear benefits in knowledge and engagement that they are currently bringing even to less affluent, remote and poorly educated people, are also creating disposal problems.

Consistency:Adopting an approach which is consistent with the biological, chemical and physical realities of the Earth is increasingly important for our decisions about the use, production, disposal and distribution of the Earth's resources. The Natural Step provides a consistent framework for putting sustainable development into practice. This framework consists of four conditions which must be met to achieve global sustainability.

•           System Condition 1: Substances extracted from the Earth's crust must not systematically increase in nature. This means that, in a sustainable society, fossil fuels, metals and other materials are not extracted at a faster pace than their slow redeposit into the Earth's crust or their absorption by nature.

•           System Condition 2: Substances produced by society must not systematically increase in nature. This means that, in a sustainable society, substances are not produced at a faster pace than they can be broken down and reintegrated by nature or re-deposited into the Earth's crust.

•           System Condition 3: The physical basis for the productivity and the diversity of nature must not be systematically diminished. This means that, in a sustainable society, the productive surfaces of nature are not diminished in quality or quantity, and we must not harvest more from nature than can be recreated.

•           System Condition 4: We must be fair and efficient in meeting basic human needs. This means that, in a sustainable society, basic human needs must be met with the most resource-efficient methods possible, including a just resource distribution.

Complexity, cradle to cradle: Another paradigm shift needs to hap, in the way we think about and perceive things. Those educated in western style societies have been largely trained since the Industrial Revolution to discipline their thinking. This means that rather than looking at things in a systemic way, trying to understand 'the whole picture', schools, universities and workplaces train people to dissect everything into parts, disciplines, or compartments. This is not wrong as such, because it can and does yield immense understanding of details. But it is only helpful when it becomes reintegrated into a systemic understanding of complex interactions which stray far beyond the original geography of the problem. For example, in choosing a mobile phone we must learn to consider not only its use and aesthetics, but its design, production and disposal, not just from a narrow environmental perspective but also in terms of its impact on the fabric of communities in the countries where the resources are exploited, or where the 'superseded' items are jettisoned. Conflicts in Congo arise over mining for columbite-tantalite ore ('coltan') from which the element tantalum is extracted for use in consumer electronics, for instance. This is an illustration of scientific/technological and social interdependency, in a recently emerged 'wicked' problem.

            This is where the ideas of systems and of systems thinking are valuable. When we start to think about sustainability, it is essential that we ask questions at a range of levels from the local to the global. Questions arise about what aspects of our existence we want to sustain, how much we are prepared to compromise with others' needs and what unexpected results of our actions might occur. That is, we need to start asking question about the systems involved in sustainable living.

Acceptance of responsibility: None of us can ignore our responsibility for our actions, be they private, professional or in our role as citizens. This does not mean that we individually have to shoulder the burden of all the ills in the world, but it does mean that we use the full spectrum of actions to further sustainability. Where individual action cannot make a difference, we cannot delegate our responsibility to others, but must work towards a change in the structures of society to promote sustainable development for all. Those privileged to have received education beyond the very basic, also have responsibilities to assist those less fortunate in developing their understanding and skills in this regard, too.