The next issue of COLORS Magazine will focus on Sustainable Development. We’re collecting the social, economic, and environmental questions you’d like to ask the world. We’ll try to find answers for them.
Ask your questions. Include your name, age, and city. They may appear in COLORS 71.
You’re currently reading “Sustainable Development,” an entry on Colors 71
2.8.07 / 10am
Where can I find a safe and happy place?
London
2.8.07 / 10am
How can we take away suffering to those who don’t deserve it?
London
2.8.07 / 10am
When will we have a cure for all illnesses?
London
2.8.07 / 10am
Why do you think we hate each other?
25, Australia
2.8.07 / 2pm
Why do we have borders? Why are people citizens in their world and unwanted refugees in another? What are we scared of? Why are we scared of seeing our(self) in another person? We are all human, we all have the same goals. Ultimately our goals are to care for ourselves, and bring up the next generation, so the circle can continue. And we can’t do this on our own; we need to do it together.
2.8.07 / 2pm
Oops
Cape Town, 25
2.8.07 / 2pm
oops. Cape Town 25.
2.8.07 / 3pm
Nothing is sustainable.
We spent time just thinking in sustainability, but no one think “what we are trying to mantain sustainable”, thus, a lifestyle will never be sustainable, as everyone it’s diferent.
Buntingford, 25
2.8.07 / 3pm
Maybe the only sustainable thing… is the change.
Zurich, 25
2.8.07 / 5pm
Who’s going to eat the last banana? And who gets to decide that?
Edmonton, 25
2.8.07 / 6pm
So, there’s going to be no such thing as coins and bills in 30 years, right?
2.8.07 / 7pm
If a tree falls in the woods and there’s nobody there to hear it, can I have a dollar?
2.9.07 / 1am
Why all the questions?
2.9.07 / 10am
As we know,the earth is becoming a small village. It’s good and bad.
So who are we if we’re finally mixed up like a perfect cocktail?
or how can we tell the different races if we all speak English,use internet,like the same music and arts,the same food,have the same idea of value. It’s happening somehow. It terrifies me sometimes.
China,
2.9.07 / 11am
The suggestions I know of are
Low water use toilet
Low water use washing machine
Use a dishwasher rather than hand wash (that surprised me)
Plant native plants in your garden so you do not need to use so much water
Take showers not baths
2.9.07 / 2pm
Why do you think you are always right?
2.9.07 / 2pm
Which is more crutial, knowledge or truth?
25, Australia via Japan
2.9.07 / 2pm
What do you want to be when you grow up?
23, Australia
2.9.07 / 2pm
Have you made someone smile today?
23, Australia
2.9.07 / 2pm
Why wont we help our neighbours? Are we racist?
23, Australia
2.9.07 / 2pm
Should we teach others how to help themselves? Or teach ourselves how to help others?
2.9.07 / 2pm
What’s the point in anything, if there will be no one left to enjoy it?
23, Australia
2.9.07 / 2pm
Is the pursuit for world dominance worth all this pain?
USA, 54
2.9.07 / 8pm
why are all people under the age of forty such utter morons?
2.10.07 / 11pm
If we are worried about CO2 being a greenhouse gas, then what about all the CO2 when people drink carbonated drinks and then burp?
2.10.07 / 11pm
If hydrogen is the fuel of the future and the space between planets has lots of hydrogen, how do we get the hydrogen?
2.12.07 / 8am
Why we don’t go out to the streets to demand and protest?
28, Kastoria Greece
2.12.07 / 8am
With all the frequencies and air waves in the air such as cell phones, satellites, GPS systems, two-way radios, CB’s, scanners…etc, what kind of consequences will it have on humans in the long term effect?
2.12.07 / 9am
Why are there no answers?
2.12.07 / 9am
Why are there no answers?
23, Australia
2.12.07 / 9am
The World must turn away from what benefits one as an individual to what benefits us as one people Irrespective of colour,race, position then each indivudual will benefit. 40 Kampala Uganda.
2.12.07 / 12pm
“Sustianable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” – Brundtland Report, 1987
I’ve recently been inspired to really think through the definition of this “thing” called sustainability. Interstingly this set of concepts and ideals have a fluidity and nebulousness about them, leaving the definition open to personal interpretation. Until a few weeks ago, I’ve subscribed solely to the Brundtland definition above. But let’s be honest, unless you’re already sold on the green concept, this stingy, unpoetic sentence probably won’t inspire you to join the revolution or become any hue of green. The following is a snapshot of my ever-changing thoughts about what sustainability is, followed by some thoughts on what sustainability requires and what it offers.
Sustainability is a concept, a goal, an ideal, a movement, a revolution, a business model, a life way, a religion…a plan. It is a plan for the future – an improvement on the status quo – in which our intentions and actions are aligned towards healthy communities and ecosystems.
Sustainability requires a consciousness of how our actions as individuals, communities, organizations, and corporations, effect us, our neighbors, and our natural world. Sustainability requires recognizing unborn generations (try thinking seven generations into the future) and recognizing nature’s limits and respecting them. Sustainability requires partnerships. Sustainability is not a left wing, crunchy granola, tree-hugger issue that divides environmentalists and industry, red and blue, or left and right. On the contrary, it requires working towards a common goal of utilizing a single set of resources (one Earth is all we have) to meet the needs of 6 billion people today and billions more in the future.
Sustainability offers abundance. It offers continued services and products like clean air, clean water, food, fibers, pollination, disease control, climate control and flood control. It offers a mutualistic relationship between mankind and the Earth. Sustainability offers opportunity for thriving, healthy, communities of people who show love and respect for each other and natural resources. In business, sustainability offers reduced costs, increased profit, attracting and retaining the best and brightest talent. Sustainability offers…a future.
Bonus remix on what sustainability is:
A plan imagined by nature, forgotten by man, discovered, denied, debated, adopted, embraced, revered. Revered for its restorative, regenerative, respectful, reliance on the inherent knowledge nature – nature’s effective, efficient ecological intricacies that incubated life. Life, remembered from the beginning of time and imagined until forever, incorporated into the infinite plan for the planet.
2.12.07 / 2pm
Why is it people who are Guardian-reading liberal enough to ‘care’, ‘don’t have enough time’ to take action?
2.12.07 / 4pm
We wouldn´t just accidentaly doosh with draino. Why are we doing what we are doing to our air, land and sea?
2.12.07 / 7pm
Have a nice day and don’t worry for the future. You’re going to die.
2.13.07 / 1am
Information about what individuals can, should do, to promote sustainable development must be presented by the media with the same impetus and creativity that is employed in advertising automobiles, sugar-coated cereal and wrinkle-preventing creams.
2.13.07 / 10am
25 Philly USA
It would be interesting if you explained what the hell that means
2.13.07 / 8pm
think global, act local. take responsibility for your everyday actions. education is key.
2.13.07 / 9pm
A lot of people say that even if we do something here in the UK, for example, what about all the coal mines that are being opened on a weekly basis in China?
Well, that is no excuse. We all need to do anything and everything we can. We have less than five years, if that.
2.13.07 / 9pm
Do they really send the stuff we separate so carefuly to be recycled ? Where does it really end up and who does it ? Why does my neighbor insist on throwing plastic water bottles, organic waste, carton and glass bottles in the regular bin when the recyclings ones are less than one meter away?
2.13.07 / 9pm
Yeah I always wonder if the stuff I lug to the recycling bins (I have no bins near my house) actually gets recycled. My suspicion is given the state those bins are in, it isn’t. The way I see it is I will keep bringing the stuff there because one day it will ALL be recycled, it has to be. And in the meantime I am educating myself, and maybe others?!
London, UK
2.13.07 / 9pm
Is it just a waste of time to ‘lug’ all that stuff if it all goes to the landfill or the incinerator? How do you feel about plastic bags at the shops? Do you take your own bag when you go buy something?
2.13.07 / 9pm
Is better to fly to see something or just armchair travel? How are our needs to see exotic things affecting the environment and the fuel crisis? And, where do all those air ticket taxes really go to?
2.14.07 / 12am
Looking back at life? When did it all start?
2.14.07 / 3am
everyone thinks they alone can do nothing to change the present or future state of our world. they don’t consider that the world exists outside of just themselves and that even mere talking creates enough awareness to possibly motivate one person. this world is lazy, but instead of just bitching about it, people- myself included- need to start DOING something about it.
2.14.07 / 3am
Edmonton 25…and Matt, I GET THE LAST BANANA!
2.15.07 / 2pm
The majority of us are numb. Heavily distracted by irrelevant topics. Sustainability is an ideal, a concept that requires people to care enough about the future to take action.
Do we?
Do enough of us listen?
Do enough of us care?
Make us.
2.18.07 / 5pm
People pretend to never have time, thus end using packaged food, driving everywhere – dating websites.
The fact is, no one looks forward to ageing yet society is growing and ageing.
The question therefore is, how can we slow things down? How can we become characters of age not uglyness?
“I met a twitcher in a wood, I couldn’t hear him for scrabble bikes and passing trains, together we decided in this young but healthy wood was – nothing stops you, not even what you’ve learnt – as the tree arches to sunlight, but it is morally wrong to ignore an understanding – like for like.”
Mattx
2.18.07 / 8pm
Will there be a resurgence of back-to-earth communities as sustainable development becomes more populized?
2.19.07 / 4am
What is sustainability? As a designer of buildings, I hear this popular word being tossed around quite a lot but do we really know what it means to have a sustainable development, sustainable community, sustainable industry and sustainable agriculture? Sustainability is directly related to the quality of life in a community with its economic, social and environmental systems that make up that community and providing a healthy, productive, meaningful life for all community residents present and future. Today, architects are encouraged to design sustainable buildings, while developers are more concerned with the bottom line and the philosphy of “if we build it, they will come.” Buildings, today, produce half of all greenhouse gases and account for one-sixth of the world’s freshwater withdrawals, one-quarter of its wood harvest and two fifths of its material and energy flows.
For instance, in the Middle East, an entire city is being created in what environmental groups are labelling as the most unsustainable development in living memory. Dubai urban development industry is one of the fastest growing in the world with its sights to become the global tourism destination. Developers are building big and they are building fast without having any concern about the overall sustainability of the environment. Thirty years ago, there was nothing in Dubai but a creek and a palace. Today, Sheikh Zayed Road is a single majestic gesture flanked by skyscrapers on either side. If ecotourism is suppose to encourage developing countires to preserve their natural wealth and to promote sustainable growth and to support local businesses and education then how come money thirsty developers are doing nothing to preserve Dubai’s desert and improve the life of its inhabitants? Shouldn’t Duba become an example by developing new models for its city and for the world instead of adopting already failed ones? And shouldn’t these concepts grow from the beauty of its desert?
2.20.07 / 9am
Some like it hot!
Oguz Icsoz
Istanbul
2.21.07 / 3am
Isn’t sustainable development a doomed concept? With the Earth’s population growing rapidly, and the land we occupy not changing size, how can we sustain our own growth? And why do we really need more development? Why? Is it because everyone is inherently entitled to a Wal-Mart in their neighborhood– or does everyone really need every modern convenience that Apple creates? What about Starbucks– even they can’t grow without producing mountains of paper cup waste! Or are we getting healthier because of development? Then why is there a bird flu, or foot and mouth disease– or even the most common cold? It seems like the term sustainable development is just a nice way to convince ourselves that we can continue to feast on and abuse the gifts of Earth, while pretending that we will not be the cause of her imminent death.
2.23.07 / 12am
how can sustainable architecture actually improve our environment?
jessica, 29, australia
2.23.07 / 7pm
Everyone is a stakeholder when it comes to sustainability as are archtiects who have a stake in many aspects of the natural, built, social, cultural and economic realms as part of their regural practice. First, we can think about the big picture, promoting livable, healthy, safe and sustainable communities based ona series of core principles such as designing on a human scale with compact, pedestrian-friendly communities that allow residents to walk to shops, services, cultural resources and jobs which can reduce traffic congestion and benefit people’s health. By encouraging mixed-use developments, preserving urban centers, varying transporation options by giving people the option of walking, biking and using public transit, creating neighborhood identity, conserving landscape and most importantly recognizing that design matters and that design excellence is the foundation of successful and healthy communities will make a difference in sustainablility. Architects and urban planners have a big responsibility in creating environments that will shape not only today but also the future.
Sustainable building is a building that is designed and constructed to the highest environmental standards, (especially in order to minimise the use of energy, water and scarce minerals/timber), that is economic to run over their whole lifetime and are sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of future generations.
A sustainable building is the use of design and contstruction methods and materials that are resource efficient and that will not compromise the health of the environment or the well-being of the building’s occupants, builders and the future generations.
A sustainable building is an integrated approach that encompasses integrated waste management objectives such as building materials efficiency, construction and demolition waste reduction, and maximization of reused and recycled content building and landscaping materials.
Sustainable archtiecture will improve our environment but it will not solve all the problems. The real improvement and challange start with the minds of each and every person and the way they think and feel towards sustainability.
Afterall, Marshall McCluhan said “There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.”
Los Angeles, USA
2.24.07 / 3pm
Is it sustainable if my wealth makes someone else poor? Why do I consume so much when there are others who cannot afford to meet their food needs? I run to not get fat while they starve to death. Is this sustainable? Is this fair?
Should I give up some of my wealth so that others can eat?
How do we find balance between comfort and poverty?
What can I do to help the majority of the world’s population who live in poverty?
Nothing will be sustainable until we answer this . . .
2.24.07 / 5pm
Americans weigh heavier than ever. Is there a link between risk in obesity and urban sprawl?
2.24.07 / 9pm
From thoughts arise desires, from desires arise anger and obsession and this mad rush for material possessions.We will only be able to achieve sustainable development if we are able to control our thoughts.
Why does not the world understand that happiness does not lie outside in the material world but inside in the wonderful timeless space called the mind?
2.25.07 / 7pm
How can I lead a less damaging life if I’m part of an economic world that will move onwards with or without me?
2.26.07 / 3pm
If we’ve polluted the land, the sea and the air beyond repair, is sustainable development still possible? Are we beyond hope?
2.28.07 / 3pm
Can we begin a sustainable lifestyle from our own back yard?
2.28.07 / 3pm
Do we need a new kind of dictatorship to introduce sustainable living and help people follow it?
3.2.07 / 5pm
Here is a typical scenario. You are the the check out line at the supermarket waiting for your goods to be bagged and suddently the cash register asks: “Would you like paper or plastic?” and you are stuck answering.
Do you contribute to the worldwide deforestation by choosing paper, or do you select plastic and resign yourself to living on landfill?
3.2.07 / 8pm
As far as you are good for us?
-
Russia,Solnechnogorsk.
3.3.07 / 3pm
Has our humanity in caring and healing the sick helped the human race leave evolution?
3.5.07 / 8am
At what point will we realise that our greed for endless increase in productivity and profit taking is just NOT sustainable?
This is an acknowgledement the we few who are fortunate enough to live in the so called developed world are sucking the life from the planet.
3.5.07 / 4pm
The global food crisis: What are communities around the world doing to ensure the hungry are fed and local food systems are successful.
3.5.07 / 4pm
The global food crisis: What are communities around the world doing to ensure the hungry are fed and local food systems are successful.
Laura Stradiotto
Sudbury, Canada
age 28
3.6.07 / 8am
I agree with the idea of an international tax for the selling of some kind of weapons. This will brings sources to teachers and school. It will make the planet sefer.
We should see the weapons business as the drugs business. We need a heavy tax on weapons to help us to rebuild some of the lost trust.
3.13.07 / 2pm
How can you make people care about sustainability if they refuse to look at the unpleasant effects of an unsustainable way of life?
3.18.07 / 5pm
Why is it, that everyone wants to save the environment, but no-one is willing to give up non-sustainable practices in their own lives?
3.18.07 / 5pm
What will happen to overpopulated cities when water ends?
3.19.07 / 8pm
Do you think that the way your family lives is sustainable? How could we feed ourselves and our cities in a more sustainable way?
The traditional model of sustainable development requires that we consider economic, social and environmental factors… do you think that sustainability is possible within the current economic system?
Do we live in a world that allows communities interested in sustainability to survive?
What would your family have to change to live in a more sustainable way?
3.19.07 / 8pm
Poughkeepsie, NY, USA
Age 21
3.23.07 / 9am
I went to an exhibition today called ‘the face of human rights’ it posed important questions the world should strive to answer:
• what is the value of a human life?
• why is ½ the planet hungry?
• must a woman’s life in some African countries be so much shorter than in western Europe?
• is it human to live in a cardboard box?
• why should we be allowed to have secrets?
• what are we supposed to believe in?
• is it possible to be free and equal?
6.6.07 / 7am
I assume people who don’t believe we can make this a better world are either: too rich, or just simply negative. In the first case, they should learn compassion and sharing. In the second one, they should learn to fight the good fight: YOU have to be the change you want to see in the world!-Ghandi. Change does not have to be unpleasant; I thought the human race was more creative than that. Where is our creativity?
6.7.07 / 6pm
Hi! nice site!
Porno Tie
Free Newest XXX Video
XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
77 Comments
Jump to comment form | comments rss [?] | trackback uri [?]