The Philosophy of Sustainability: Element 5 - Conservation

This is Part 5 of a 6-part series wherein elements of a philosophy of sustainability are suggested.

5.                  Conservation

‘Waste not want not; willful waste makes woeful want.’

Benjamin Franklin

The presence of waste indicates an inefficient or incomplete use of resources or energy.  When resources or energy are wasted they are converted from accessible and concentrated states to inaccessible and diffuse states.  Additional effort is then needed to concentrate more resources and energy than would have been needed if more care had been taken initially.  Human systems are inherently wasteful and much of our waste is toxic.

In non-human ecosystems, waste products are generally excreted or exhaled.  The exhalations and substance of one organism become the inhalations and nutrients of another as they are processed through planetary cycles.  Organisms attune themselves to the limits imposed by ecosystems, elements are integrated into a dynamic balanced process, and resources are conserved. 

Conserving energy and resources is hard work.  A conscious effort is needed to carefully use materials and energy.  That effort requires knowledge and skill acquired by understanding how processes work.  Questions such as:  where do energy and material flows originate, how are they transformed, and where do they emanate from, must be answered.  Armed with that knowledge, one can explore less wasteful approaches to accomplish necessary tasks.  Conversation may be achieved through process modifications, material substitutions, and behavior modifications.

When evaluating systems for energy and material conservation, it is perhaps more important to understand why a system exists at all.  Is the activity serving a valuable purpose?  If not, then by definition is the activity not wasting material and energy?  If an activity serves no valuable purpose and it consumes valuable material and energy perhaps the need for that activity should be reconsidered.   

Waste is not only costly from the perspective of having to retrieve additional material and energy to replace what has been lost, but it is also irreverent.  Unnecessary waste shows a lack of respect for ourselves, posterity, and the earth as a whole.  If the premise stated earlier that we are all manifestations of the whole is accepted, then unintended waste of energy and materials is sacrilege and intentional waste, in addition to being ignorant, is a physical expression of mental and spiritual imbalance.  We must accept that materials are finite and that our use of them has consequences for current and future generations.  More importantly, we must make the right choices about why we do what we do and take responsibility for our words and deeds.

The Philosophy of Sustainability: Element 4 - Cooperation

This is Part 4 of a 6-part series wherein elements of a philosophy of sustainability are suggested.

4.                  Cooperation

‘No man is an island, entire of itself;...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.’

            Meditation XVII – John Donne

When we cooperate we work with others toward a common goal.  Cooperation helps us to appreciate the contributions of others and to recognize that we are better at some things than others.  With the help of others, shared goals and objectives can be achieved.

One way that we learn to cooperate is through organized sports.  At an early age, many children are taught that winning in sporting events is not important.  They are told that what is important is how the game is played (i.e., if they individually exhibited good sportsmanship and if they cooperated as a team).  Still, in most sporting events score is kept and there are winners and losers.

Many people believe that competition is a good thing because it brings out the best in people.  Competition pushes us to achieve, it challenges us and forces us to dig deep within to achieve things that we might never be capable of otherwise.

Competition as a means to structure and teach the benefits of cooperative efforts is a good thing.  Unfortunately, the competitive, aggressive, militaristic attitude seems to be much more attractive in our culture than the cooperative, passive, and peaceful.  Some would attribute this to genetic programming - others to the prevalence of male leaders.  Perhaps others would attribute it to the underlying capitalistic structure of our economy – one that rewards accumulation and control of resources with little regard for the losers.  Competition that prevents others from obtaining basic needs is a bad thing.

Competition is not needed to bring out our best efforts.  We all experience challenges; often they are imposed by ourselves, not by others.  Challenges also push us to achieve, but do not require that one group win and the other lose.  If one is not up to a challenge, simply doing the best job possible is acceptable until a decision is made to either improve on the situation or go on to the next challenge.

In a cooperative society – everyone is welcome to participate.  All are appreciated for what they contribute.  Everyone’s unique abilities and experiences are valued and built upon.  Everyone is invited to contribute to the dynamic, vibrant, and diverse song of life.

In a competitive society – only those with the skills and attributes deemed valuable to achieving the immediate objective of the group are valued and sought out.  Others are not needed.  Think of the playground team and the kids who are picked last.  They may be grudgingly accepted, but their gifts and talents are not recognized or appreciated.

Our culture has adhered to a philosophy of domination and control.  We have competed against other species and cultures until they have been obliterated.  We need to appreciate that we have emerged from this world and are dependent on its health for our own well being.  We need to learn as a culture how to cooperate not only with other humans, but with the natural environment itself.

The Philosophy of Sustainability: Element 3 - Need

This is Part 3 of a 6-part series wherein elements of a philosophy of sustainability are suggested.

3.      Need

‘The sage never tries to store things up.
The more he does for others, the more he has.
The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance.’

Tao Te Ching 81 – Lao Tzu

The body has basic physiological needs:  clean air, clean water, healthy food, sleep, shelter and so on.  When those needs are not met, consequences can range from acute discomfort (short-term thirst and hunger pangs), to chronic illness (cancer caused by ingestion of harmful chemicals), to death.   All living things have basic physiological needs.

Satisfaction of physiological needs promotes individual and community health, something we can all agree is good.  When others are in need, compassionate people provide aid.  Whether by physical assistance, emotional support, or spiritual energy, caring people help others.  True, some people are needy by no fault of anyone but themselves (they’ve wasted resources, not planned ahead, etc.)  Others may have had bad luck.  Whatever the reason, if someone is truly in need and one has more than one needs, sharing is the right thing to do.

Accumulating more than is needed can lead to strife and selfishness.  Greed connotes an unnatural hunger.  Greed is an imbalance that causes one to seek after and possess more than what is needed.  A greedy individual has little concern for his fellows while doing whatever he can to have more, have the best, or have it all.  When one hoards all the goodies and others have none, conflict arises.  When we allow greed to control our behavior we take on an unhealthy preoccupation – an obsession.

As Maslow pointed out, once our physiological needs are met and we experience security and love, our needs can be directed toward self-esteem.  We strive to master skills and enjoy the recognition and praise of our peers.  Having satisfied that need, we are prepared to reach our fullest potential – both individually and in cooperation with others.

The Philosophy of Sustainability: Element 2 - Love

This is Part 2 of a 6-part series wherein elements of a philosophy of sustainability are suggested.

2.      Love

‘All you need is love.

All you need is love.

All you need is love, love.

Love is all you need.’

All You Need is Love - Lennon/McCartney

Love is good.  A simple truism perhaps, but if so, why is it not universally applied?  Granted, it is rare for anyone to be able to express love toward all those one encounters.  Harder still is the ability to express love toward those we have never met and shall never meet.  When we feel love toward another we acquire a sense of connectedness and responsibility.  When we feel love toward others we recognize interdependencies and we care about the consequences of our actions toward them.  When we care about those interconnections, we not only express love towards others but also towards ourselves.

We are all interconnected.  We can observe the effects of actions on others in space and time and recognize the potential to impact future generations through our actions today.   Because we are all interconnected, one can never do just one thing.  Our actions and words have innumerable and unforeseen consequences.  As Chief Seattle is believed to have put it:  ‘Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.’

As applied to sustainability, love helps us to take the time needed to consider the implications of our actions toward others.  We care about how our actions will affect our fellow humans as well as animals, plants, and natural systems of Earth.  We recognize that despite such good intentions, it may not be possible to avoid some negative consequences.  Still, we treat the natural environment with the reverence appropriate to the source of our existence and we treat future generations with the respect and consideration we direct toward our loved ones.

While few would dispute that ‘all you need is love,’ there are few saints among us who can live by that mantra.  For those of us who find it too difficult to feel and behave with love toward everyone at all times, perhaps a simpler notion can be embraced – respect.  What if everyone respected the individual rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, for all living things?  What if we all lived in accordance with the medical professional’s creed to first, do no harm?  What if we all lived by the Golden Rule – ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?’  What if all words and deeds were inspired by love?

The Philosophy of Sustainability: Element 1 - Impermanence

This is Part 1 of a 6-part series wherein elements of a philosophy of sustainability are suggested.

Elements of the Philosophy of Sustainability

A search of the Internet will identify hundreds of occurrences of the phrase, “The Philosophy of Sustainability.” All around the world, major corporations, professional and trade organizations, municipal governments, universities, and grassroots organizations use the label “sustainability” to state why they do what they do.  While use of the term is prevalent, very few organizations articulate specific elements of their philosophy of sustainability.  Most simply leave that to the discretion of the reader – perhaps assuming that those attracted to the material will have already formed a notion consistent with the author’s. 

What seems to be missing is a simple set of guiding principles for the philosophy of sustainability.  By considering the questions, “what is real,” “what is good,” and “how do you know” from a perspective consistent with behaviors that balance human needs against those of other living things both now and in the future, six elements of the philosophy of sustainability are offered to aid the reader in formulating a personal philosophy of sustainability.

1.      Impermanence

“To everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)

There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)

And a time for every purpose under Heaven.”

Turn, Turn, Turn – Pete Seeger (after Ecclesiastes)

The universe, from galaxies to subatomic particles, is in a constant state of change.  This is an indisputable fact.  Nothing about our physical reality remains the same from moment to moment.  Some changes are imperceptible while others are dramatic. Regardless of the rate, every physical thing constantly changes at some level.

By observing Nature, we recognize that change follows cycles of creation and destruction.  We also learn that these cycles repeat themselves in a manner akin to a never-ending dance: complex steps that propel the dancers in countless directions yet repeat themselves in recognizable patterns.  Whether a planet orbiting the sun, an element cycling between sea and atmosphere, or an electron spinning within an atom, forces of Nature impose order and direction on the innumerable changes constantly underway.  That this impermanent reality is “good,” is self-evident in that we all depend on its continuation to experience this reality.

Because humans have emerged from this impermanent reality, any human construct will by definition be equally subject to the universal law of change.  Just as ecosystems orchestrate many seemingly discordant elements into stable systems, humans are capable of creating order out of apparent chaos.  Given a clear objective, humans have the ability to focus their efforts and achieve magnificent results.  While the physical reality of the effort will of necessity abide by the law of change, the mental and spiritual realities may transcend that law.

The constant of physical change is generally at odds with human enterprise.  If one hopes to sustain a physical creation – whether a monument or city, maintenance of that structure will be a constant struggle against the elements of Nature.  Such a task, like Sisyphus’ can become futile and hopeless.  If, on the other hand, one has a clear vision to guide the effort, then the physical tasks become more tolerable.

Ideas come and go just like the cycles of nature.  When the time is right, certain ideas resonate with a culture, spread rapidly, and are passed along to future generations.  Not all ideas are “good,” even if they are endorsed by large numbers of people.  As many examples of good ideas gone awry and bad ideas gone worse can be found in human history as good ideas sustained.  From the individual to the group, humans seem intent on establishing a goal and then marching steadfastly in that direction despite evidence that the path is flawed.  Catastrophic consequences are often needed to shake us out of our stupors so that we can see things from a fresh perspective.

While physical reality endlessly changes, ideas can endure and serve as a focal point for human enterprise.  Ideas too, however, deserve to be scrutinized for continued relevance and updated as knowledge is gained.