The New Science of Sustainability

by Delvin Solkinson

not missing
the spring rain's blessing...
blades of grass

- issa

The New Science of Sustainability

In a world of rapidly changing climates and a growing global ecological crisis, the need for sustainability education is clearly of rising importance. Sustainability education is about creating active dialogues about how we can preserve the ecological balance by minimizing our pollution and conserving natural resources. Most mainstream school curriculum’s address this important issue to some degree in science and geography classes but fail to give it the attention it merits. Increasingly available are college and university courses dedicated to topics of sustainability, but since only a small percentage of people attend higher education, this is only part of the solution required. The first step is generating a personal awareness about unsustainable practices in our own lives and lifestyles, and then in the local communities in which we live. The next step is helping to inspire this awareness in others through outreach education. Light Science is dedicated to this second step, exploring community dialogues about creating templates and models for illustrating areas where sustainable practices and sustainability education can make a big difference in addressing pressing planetary issues.

_{art by Doktor J : www.doktorj.ca}

As the human population continues to expand at an exponential rate, the amount of energy we need to generate to maintain our lifestyle, particularly in the West, is creating a serious energy crisis. While peak oil creates economic complexities, some car companies are beginning to introduce the fabled electric and biodiesel models into the market. An even better solution can be found in some green cities who are supporting the creation of sustainable public transit and more bike friendly travel routes. With a flurry of recent advertising by the Nuclear power industry many people are not aware of advances in solar energy systems which can provide enough locally generated power without harmful by-products to fuel our basic electrical needs. Sustainability education promotes an active evaluation and mapping of our energy uses, exploring alternative technology and responsibility energy use in order to cut down both on the power needed and create consciousness about how to use non-polluting power sources.

Another important focus area for sustainability education concerns our food supply. Everyone needs food and this makes food production and consumption one of the largest of human industries. In the past century this industry has become controlled by large corporate interests.

These corporations sell mass produced, genetically modified, and chemically fertilized food that is able to undersell local organic growers by a long shot. Often this unsustainably produced food has huge amounts of plastic and styrofoam packaging despite many relatively inexpensive options for biodegradable packaging. Often the food is heavily processed into products full of chemical preservatives. With small scale agriculture on the decline, much of the world is immersed in supporting the unsustainable practices of corporate agriculture and animal husbandry. It is the job of sustainability education to help provide affordable solutions that are accessible to everyone which address this huge drain on our collective resources and major source of global pollution. It would be great if everyone could grow at least some of their own food organically. A balcony, rooftop, community garden or small plot can be the source of a surprising amount of food, but not everyone has the time or motivation to grow their own food. Supporting local organic farming initiatives, refusing to support corporate agriculture and fast food, purchasing vegetables that are in season and avoiding food with unnecessary amounts of disposable packaging are a few ways we can start. Creating local map initiatives promoting local businesses that follow some of these ethics is the next level in educating your community about how to begin the process of sustainability education around food.

As our garbage dumps and land fills overflow with plastics, glass and paper the need for a new kind of waste consciousness grows in relevance. In the West, the rate of our consumption of natural resources far outstrips both the worlds supply of non-renewable resources and the rate at which we are able to replace the Earths renewable resources. This disposable culture sees most people generating huge amounts of waste products without any consideration for the long term impact of their actions. As recycling stations and programs increase, offering people a small scale solution for reducing the amount of waste that travels to the land fill, the general population is becoming more aware of ways to reduce waste. Yet only a percentage of recyclable materials that go to the recycling station are even recycled, some of it ends up back at the landfill! Sustainability education teaches people how to sort and recycle as much of their garbage as they can. Even more importantly, it teaches about precycling: not purchasing heavily packaged goods in the first place and reusing containers whenever possible. It will only be through reducing our consumption and waste that our culture will truly be able to become more sustainable.

Sustainability education represents a lineage of conscious thought and the intentional application of that consciousness by individuals, and eventually by the culture at large. We begin as learners and with experience become teachers, able to create models and templates that can help inspire others to learn and themselves teach about sustainability. Though it must all begin as individual action, eventually by integrating sustainability education into the school system, our culture may realize one of the many paths towards the actualization of a truly sustainable human culture. You can continue your work now, starting by opening up dialogues about sustainable practices with your friends and family.

art by 0mie1Treee : omie1treee.lightscience.ca

The future is contained in the present. Sow a seed for sustainable solutions.

- Delvin Solkinson

Resources

The Sustainability Curriculum : The Challenge for Higher Education - edited by John Blewitt
Beyond Ecophobia : Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education - by David Sobel
Place-Based Education : Connecting Classrooms and Communities - by David Sobel

http://www.secondnature.org/
http://www.esdtoolkit.org/
http://www.seatosky.bc.ca/