Sustainability
sus•tain•a•bil•i•ty
1. Living within one's means.
2. Living in such a way to preserve the planet and its resources for future generations.
Sustainability ≠ ‘Environment’; it is an ideal that encompasses social justice and economic well being as well as ecological integrity.
The three pillars of Sustainability:
The 1987 UN Conference defined sustainable developments as those that “meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (WECD, 1997).
A Generational Shift:
Sustainability and sustainable practices are growing both as local and global movements. Our parents’ era was a time of seemingly unlimited resources, unregulated growth and abundant waste. Our generation is experiencing a shift in mindset as we recognize a need to conserve limited resources, seek renewable options, and mitigate the extensive damage that has already been done. This shift in mindset requires us to questions our deepest values and ideas about how we live and “prosper” in this world.
Sustainability is finding a way for humans and nature to co-exist successfully. Humans are part of “nature”—deeply reliant on earth’s resources—land, water, air, energy. Even if we live in a city, we still are living “in nature”. So while sustainability seeks to preserve “nature”, this is not a separate goal from the humanitarian effort to preserve “people” as well.
Higher Education
Higher education plays an important role in educating and preparing this generation and future generations to face a different world from our parents. Our awareness, efforts and actions will impact our world, our future.
Increasingly, universities recognize that their core responsibility of preparing students for engaged citizenship in the 21st century requires them to:
* Teach collaborative problem solving among diverse groups of individuals.
* Prioritize integrative learning skills as well as specialization within disciplines
* Provide opportunities and encouragement for active community engagement as well as theoretical study.
* Embody the values they intend for students to adopt in their institutional practices.
In a sense, then, ‘sustainability in higher education’ just means ‘liberal education for the specific challenges of out time’.
Albert Einstein said: “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.” We encourage you to keep an open mind, challenge yourself to think differently, become aware of the issues and ACT in both small and big ways. We are the leaders of tomorrow and a new level of awareness will be necessary to solve our problems.
