Hawken's article, "A Declaration of Sustainability," is a long list of things that corporations would need to change in order to create a system of sustainable commerce. This system would help to lower unnecessary consumption and prevent further environmental degradation. It includes objectives such as an 80% reduction in energy consumption, reliance on solar income, and the creation of a self-actuating system opposed to a controlled one. While this system, if successfully implemented, would certainly stall our current rate of environmental degradation, this system is unfortunately completely impossible. Of course some of the objectives could be partially accomplished, the system overall is far to idealistic for our current society's demands and consumption rates.
Hawken says at the beginning of the article that even, "If every company on the planet were to adopt the environmental and societal practices of the best companies ... the world would still be moving towards environmental degradation and collapse." In his article he argues that the system of sustainable commerce is the only option but is this complete overhaul feasible? What aspects of this system do you think are possible and which do you think our current industrial society will never be able to accomplish?
I agree with you that Hawken's suggestions are a bit extreme and I'm not completely sold on all of them. However, I don't think we really have the ability to say what is or is not impossible, besides what is impossible in principle such as a square circle. These same concerns were raised when any major change in society has happened: emancipation, women voting, the industrial revolution, separation of church and state, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am somewhat sympathetic with your concerns about the plausibility of Hawken's plans, I think we must remember that he does portray this as a reinventing of the system, and that because of this we should not be surprised that the outcome will be something very different from todays consumption-based society.
What seems missing in Hawken's analysis is an account for the global aspect of today's world. Is any hope of stopping our gluttonous consumption possible without some international meta-governmental regulator?
I agree with the above poster. Yes, what Hawken calls for would be quite difficult; but if enough people are behind it, it would be feasible to accomplish. What I see as the real problem is changing the opinions of citizens without manipulating them or controlling them to do so. I think that education on the benefits of these ideas is completely necessary, and a plan should be made to convince citizens of it before diving into the process of changing our economy for the better. Additionally, we talked in class about the insistence of other nations on continuing their habits of unsustainable consumption simply because the United States has reaped the benefits of this wastefulness for so long. It may be difficult for us as a nation to cut back on our own consumption, but the only way I see that we can convince others to do so is to set a positive example for them.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Hawken's ideas but how feasible are they. It seems way to hard to actually implement but with the right amount of people it can happen. I think the whole system is possible but leaders have to reach out to the people about this. For example, this kind of thinking should be taught in grade school so children will have an appreciation for the environment. This task will not be easy and will require a lot of work but it can happen. The world is changing everyday and humans need to figure out how to keep the world safe for future generations.
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