2008 Woodie Awards
Questioning Sustainability
T.J. Rakitan
Issue date: 2/16/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 2 next >
I'm not sure how to pronounce its name, but the Talloires Declaration makes me wonder. For starters, what exactly is it? Apparently, it amounts to a pledge by its constituents-any college, university or other institution of higher learning-to encourage sustainability wherever and whenever it should rear its (lovely) head.
Don't get me wrong: I'm just as sustainability-friendly as the next guy-I do my part to throw out as little garbage as possible, recycle as much as possible and make sure I can tell the difference-but I'm curious as to how many of us can cite data that says the thing is effective and being enforced?
Sustainability-conscious intelligentsia at universities like the ones that signed on to the Talloires Declaration comprise a small, first-world elite that has the luxury of being able to pay attention to trends of greater scale than market prices on our scarce resources in the here and now. I would suspect that the words currently running through your mind are very likely along the lines of "Rakitan, you heartless SOB-," but consider: how many readers can, off the top of their heads, rattle off the meaning of and the details behind the Declaration? That said, how many readers support sustainability? There are times when the term seems to have become little more than a catchphrase.
Again, by no means am I insinuating that sustainability is undesirable or unnecessary. I mean, I'll agree with convincing data that tells me about global climate change and I'll listen to well-thought-out arguments that human interaction with the terra madre might be detrimental to the overall health of the planet (notions that "trees are people, too" notwithstanding). However, simple statements of what is wrong or right are cheap-especially when unsupported by evidence.
Looking over on-line campus resources about sustainability, one finds that no data are posted, which might imply that no records are being kept about how much more sustainable we have become since signing on to the Talloires Declaration. Even worse, if it turns out to be the case that no data are being collected, is that we have no measure against which to qualify or quantify our sustainable actions. I have yet to see information on exactly how sustainable we are in terms of money or trees saved.
Don't get me wrong: I'm just as sustainability-friendly as the next guy-I do my part to throw out as little garbage as possible, recycle as much as possible and make sure I can tell the difference-but I'm curious as to how many of us can cite data that says the thing is effective and being enforced?
Sustainability-conscious intelligentsia at universities like the ones that signed on to the Talloires Declaration comprise a small, first-world elite that has the luxury of being able to pay attention to trends of greater scale than market prices on our scarce resources in the here and now. I would suspect that the words currently running through your mind are very likely along the lines of "Rakitan, you heartless SOB-," but consider: how many readers can, off the top of their heads, rattle off the meaning of and the details behind the Declaration? That said, how many readers support sustainability? There are times when the term seems to have become little more than a catchphrase.
Again, by no means am I insinuating that sustainability is undesirable or unnecessary. I mean, I'll agree with convincing data that tells me about global climate change and I'll listen to well-thought-out arguments that human interaction with the terra madre might be detrimental to the overall health of the planet (notions that "trees are people, too" notwithstanding). However, simple statements of what is wrong or right are cheap-especially when unsupported by evidence.
Looking over on-line campus resources about sustainability, one finds that no data are posted, which might imply that no records are being kept about how much more sustainable we have become since signing on to the Talloires Declaration. Even worse, if it turns out to be the case that no data are being collected, is that we have no measure against which to qualify or quantify our sustainable actions. I have yet to see information on exactly how sustainable we are in terms of money or trees saved.
Be the first to comment on this story