Top 10 Myths About Sustainability- From Scientific American
If you read nothing else about sustainability you should read this article.
It was a little ironic that immediately following my post about being over “green,” I came upon this article published in Scientific American, “Top 10 Myths about Sustainability.” In four pages author Michael D. Lemonick presents what he terms The Top 10 Myths. By consulting with several experts, including author and Smith & Hawken co-founder Paul Hawkens, he disputes the myths with arguments that are rational, illuminating and honest. Along the way, he de-links the term “green” and sustainability, something that I believe is essential if we are going to get real traction on a governmental and business level.
When a word becomes so popular you begin hearing it everywhere, in all sorts of marginally related or even unrelated contexts, it means one of two things. Either the word has devolved into a meaningless cliche or it has real conceptual heft. “Green” (or, even worse, “going green”) falls squarely into the first category. But “sustainable,” which at first conjures up a similarly vague sense of environmental virtue, actually belongs in the second.
I wish I had put it that way in my last post, but I did get to mention “green” beer. Mr. Lemonick did not get into the virtues of “green” beer, but what he does do is clearly state the obvious myths and then deconstruct them in such as fashion as to clearly define sustainability, explain it’s importance and demonstrate the economic value of pursuing a sustainable strategy. The 10 Myths per the author are:
- Nobody knows what sustainability really means.
- Sustainability is all about the environment.
- “Sustainable is a synonym for “green.”
- It’s all about recycling.
- Sustainability is too expensive.
- Sustainability means lowering our standard of living.
- Consumer choices and grassroots activism, not government intervention, offer the fastest most efficient routes to sustainability.
- New technology is always the answer.
- Sustainability is ultimately a population problem.
- Once you understand the concept, living sustainably is a breeze to figure out.
There is a lot of noise in the media and on the web that reinforces these myths. Misconceptions obscure the value and benefits of sustainability, but Mr. Lemonick addresses each of the myths in a scholarly and measured voice. The result is article that is succinct, eminently readable and clarifies these common misconceptions.
It is becoming clearer that more and more academic, business and governmental thought leaders are seeing sustainability as a necessary path to economic prosperity, social equality and environmental stewardship. It is important the real costs and benefits are explained in a way that allows leaders to make informed decisions, based on real statistical data, accurate financial models and unbiased scientific study.
We live on a planet with limited physical resources but possessing unlimited human potential. If we maximize that potential we can minimize the negative impacts of our activities. If we cannot we will have challenges that dwarf even those we are facing today.
-FR
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