OUGD601 - Extended Essay Reading - The Principles of Sustainability by Simon Dresner

Notes and Quotes

pg 1

- it is frowned upon to suggest that you don’t care about the environment – its is socially unacceptable to not care whether your actions are unsustainable

- 1987 United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development – Our Common Future – Brundtland report suggested through sustainable development 

Brundtland report suggested through sustainable development both the environment and economy could be protected

- sustainable means being able to meet the demands of both now and the future

pg 2

- sustainable development for some, focusses on economics whilst for others, focusses on the environment

- environmentalists suggest that this makes sustainable development contradictory and provides justification of damage to the environment

- economists have concerns that sustainable development could lead to reduced growth due to the environmental concern

- environmentalists suggest that sustainable development as a term was needed to make sustainability mainstream – environmentalists suggest that in order to put sustainability on the political agenda ‘combining ‘sustainable’ with ‘development’ were a necessary price to pay’.

- people should want to be sustainable not only for themselves but also because of concern for future generations - people should want to be sustainable not only for themselves but also because of responsibility for future generations

- ‘equity between generations and equity within generations’

pg 3

- originally it was considered by the left and developing countries that environmentalists -  who suggested growth would be limited and focused on the rise in population – were implying that not everyone could be wealthy 

- wealth could not be evenly because of population increase in the poor

- Marx and Engels opposed to Malthus

- Marx and Engels suggested that the idea of natural limits encouraged social disparity and didn’t consider technological improvements

- free markets consider growth and progress to be the solution to sustainability

- tide has turned – for sustainability environmentalists suggest consumption should be reduced in industrialised countries so that the whole world population can continue

- Earth’s resources have value, of which we are draining 

- profit from production of natural resources that have alternatives, should find substitutes.