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DECONSTRUCTION OF 21st CENTURY SUSTAINABILITY
I. INTRODUCTION
Take that somewhat notoriously impenitent universal addiction to the burning of fossil fuels for starters; add it to a corollary economic “necessity” to accommodate – perhaps adapt to – clearly self-induced devastations to humanity’s ecological [im]balance; divide that by the enthronement of a robust global economy over and above an equally robust global ecology that is pregnant with abrupt, runaway, cataclysmic climate change; minus ecological threats from economic calculations even when both have become inextricably linked in the 21st century; multiply that by the irretrievable depletion of natural resources in conjunction with major alterations to natural ecosystems that have placed humanity on a dedicated path to Eco-Armageddon; now, what do you get? It looks more to me like a generation set to be vilified by posterity if sustainability of the ecological kind remains within the confines of a pastime priority. “It is in any case apparent that we, in our time, are faced with a choice which we must make with full awareness; a choice, namely, between two directions which are presented to us…” (Catharina 1989, p. 74)
II. THE NECESSITY OF ‘ECONOMISM’ FOR SUSTAINABILITY
On the one hand there is the direction, as it was described by Catharina J.M. Halkes in her writings, towards “economism,” which is concerned with the economic pillar of sustainability: “absolutizing the economy” despite the truism that it risks commercializing the obliteration of human existence as we careen toward the great eco-unknown.
Economism, as it were, will make a good start for our construction because therefrom will inspiration be drawn to stabilize ecosystems, facilitate a shift away from fossil fuels to climate-benign renewable, pool investment for energy autonomy, and create a more equitable sharing of Earth’s wealth. Moreover, without an economic outlook there will hardly be alternative incentive(s) capable of initiating imperative voluntary commitments to the ideal of ecological sustainability. It then follows that absolutizing the economy may entail not what it seems at first glance. Rather it breeds the foundation upon which humankind’s adaptation to a “greener” revolution will be rooted.
Because the value of the ecosystem that nature provides for free has been estimated to be almost twice the value of overall economic activities, it is clear that without economism, prices will not reflect the true worth of the Earth and the global commons will be squandered: “we do not protect what we do not value.” Hence establishing efficient global markets for ecosystem services will, on top of their obvious purpose, provide the added benefit of steadily albeit indirectly restoring ecosystems ravaged by relentless emissions of climate-disrupting greenhouse gases (pollutions resulting mainly from the world’s energy economy of carbon-rich fossil fuels).
But it will dawn on us – perhaps after a few more hurricanes – that the Earth will become uninhabitable in our time unless we embrace energy efficiency first, then renewable afterward. Again, economy comes to the rescue as global corporations encourage spin-offs and carve-outs that demonstrate potential to unearth ground-breaking innovations which promote energy efficiency and make renewable energies available in consonance with surging global demand. As time goes by, major global corporations will come not to be judged by profits alone, but by demonstrating a desire to meet obligations of saving the planet through cleaner corporate strategies and production technologies.
I believe an Eco-Revolution is at hand. It will reconfigure the status quo by carving an ecological niche in all that have to do with human progress. Nowhere would it be more felt than in any shifts away from the presently dominant energy economy. There is hardly a country today that provides all of its energy needs by itself, yet from the “globalization of the energy economy,” what we now have is its “localization.” This means every country will now have to figure out an energy strategy that fits its economic aspirations and incorporates its ecological priorities without necessarily having to sacrifice either.
Still that may prove to be inadequate until it is accepted that the sustainability we seek can quite easily be attained via more equitable sharing of the Earth’s wealth which need not, and must not, be communism. It is, instead, placing brakes on the excessiveness that is characteristic of the industrialized West, and just letting that “excess” go round to others who have-not, while dispelling disingenuous expectations that the poor countries limit carbon emissions on the same timetable as the super-affluent who double as super-polluters. We should be able to tell the difference between allowing pollution for a poor country to improve basic human needs, and the rich getting another SUV.
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Writer Profile
Terhemba Aindigh
Terhemba Aindigh is currently with the Nigerian National Youth Service Corps. Having obtained a first degree in International Relations at Covenant University, Nigeria, with a flair for writing professionally, Terhemba enjoys making commentaries on issues that command worldwide relevance.
His essays have earned him an enviable reputation both nationally and internationally. Some of his writings have ensured his active participation in international conferences like the prestigious St. Gallen Symposium, South American Business Forum, and the Model World Trade Organization. He has also been awarded for exceptional writing by the World Bank and the World Federation of United Nations' Associations.
Most recently, Terhemba was announced as one of the 15 winners of an international essay, video and poster competition sponsored by the World Federation of United Nations Associations. This ensured his participation in the Students for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World Seminar, held at the United Nations Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. Consequently, he and the other winners were inspired to birth a global anti-nuclear weapons youth network.
As a founding member of the Students for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World Youth Initiative, Terhemba and his colleagues have taken up the immense responsibility to help in realizing a world free of nuclear weapons.
At present, he is doing what he loves to do best: writing more essays to compete in the likes of the Japanese Foreign Trade Council and Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library essay competitions, amongst others.
His ultimate ambition is to attain the heights of great men like Kofi Annan, who have made no little contribution to ensuring that our world is peaceful and just.
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