Geo-4 UN Environmental Report

This kind of thing has a direct bearing on my thinking and decision-making as I write. Here's the BBC's graphic article on the report, and here's their link to the pdf of the report.

I think we need to revisit the definition of sustainable development. The current one (used in this report and in many other places), is "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

As the timescale to impacts of our past and current unsustainable development becomes shorter and shorter, it is not just future generations that will be unable to meet their needs, but us. Those of us who are alive today will be living with the consequences of our own actions and lack of action within our own lifetimes.

So we should recognise that we need do not need to act to 'save the planet'; the planet and life on it will happily continue when we are gone, albeit with potentially a very different range of plants and animals. We do not need to act to ensure that the needs of future generations can be met. We need to act because we will be living with the consequences in the near future.

So should the definition read "meeting our current needs without compromising our ability to meet our future needs"?

With my glass half empty, I consider that most of our decisions about our own lives are short-term, and that we are unable to act to enhance our future condition. So this change of definition, although more immediate than the first one, will not make any difference. We still drink, smoke and eat too much for our own health; drive too fast and drunk for our own and others' safety; spend more than we can afford and get our homes reposessed; make political and business decisions based on their short-term benefits and popularity.

With my glass half full, I consider that this change of language will bring the issues into close focus for a significantly greater number of people. More action will follow.

If we do not act, the planet, and the rest of life in the universe will do very well without us. In space, no-one will hear any cries of regret.