This article is the first in a series that looks at the field of sustainability, or what some call sustainability science. It discusses the purpose of the field and how sustainability relates to consumption.
In the past few years, sustainability has been a buzzword that brings to mind environmental issues ranging from irrigated farms in developing countries to the smog hovering over industrialized cities.
But what is sustainability?
According to Julian Agyeman, Tufts' leading researcher in sustainability and an associate professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP), sustainability is "a new political philosophy."
Other academics, however, are using a different definition; they are even calling the field by a different name: sustainability science.
An Oct. 20 article entitled "A New Science Breaks Down Boundaries" published in the "Chronicle of Higher Education" examines the history and future of sustainability science. The article reports that the field, which the National Academy of Sciences recognized as a separate discipline this year, will be the theme of next February's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
In the article, William C. Clark, a Harvard professor working in the field, defines sustainability science as "an emerging field of research dealing with the interactions between natural and social systems, and with how those interactions affect the challenge of sustainability: meeting the needs of present and future generations while substantially reducing poverty and conserving the planet's life-support systems."
Agyeman agrees with the fundamental goal of the field. "It's about satisfying people's needs in the most just manner while living within ecological limits," he said.
Agyeman, however, said that he does not view sustainability as a science. "It's more nuanced than being just a science," he said. "It's the politics of place and how we relate to people in places."
Different members of the Tufts community offered their own definitions of the field.
Junior Alex Bedig, a member of Tufts' Environmental Consciousness Outreach (ECO) group, agrees with Agyeman that there is more to sustainability than science. "For me, sustainability is less of a science as much as it is a standard. It's an idea that can be used to evaluate a thing or a process from the perspective of that thing's or process' impact on its environment, which for most purposes, is Earth and its human population," he said.
However, Agyeman pointed out that sustainability does involve science. "I respect their [researchers who refer to the field as sustainability science] science. We have the science we need to be far more sustainable," he said, providing fuel cells and solar panels as examples of such science. "What we lack is the political will and public attitude," he said.
A joint statement released by the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of London in Nov. 1997 listed other ways in which science is a part of sustainability. In addition to sustainable energy sources, it mentions such methods as environmental technologies, food production technologies and recycling of materials.
For Agyeman, sustainability encompasses entire cultures. He said that questions of resource use and allocation need to consider race, gender and politics, and that such questions apply to developed societies as well as developing ones.
Addressing sustainability in the context of developed countries, Agyeman highlighted excess consumption, especially that of the United States. He explained that the classic American dream is a materialistic one that emphasizes the acquisition of possessions, like big cars and excess food. "We've got to reinvent the American dream," he said.
The role of responsible consumption in the move towards sustainability is not new, having appeared in academic literature related to the field. For example, the same joint statement released in Nov. 1997 said that the two councils "see an urgent need for better understanding of human consumption ... So that effective action may be taken to expedite the transition to a sustainable, desirable life for the world's people in the coming century ... we must tackle population and consumption together."
Bedig also recognized the American lifestyle as one that counteracts sustainability efforts. "It is a well-established truth that the lifestyle enjoyed by Americans is far from sustainable," he said.
Bedig said he constantly tries to incorporate sustainability into his own way of living, but that it is difficult. "Try as I might, no number of bike trips or high-efficiency bulbs is going to make my life completely sustainable as long as I live an American lifestyle," he said.
In addition to excess consumption, Bedig pointed out the advantages of using local food sources to encourage sustainability. "ECO has been stressing the value of locally produced food recently, because obtaining food from local sources cuts down on the resources necessary to transport the food, thus making the whole process more sustainable," Bedig said.
This discussion on consumption and production methods, issues that cross the lines between economics, science and technology, highlights the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability.
For Aygeman, this nature is what drives the field. "I'd like to see [people] stop trying to define it," he said. "The concept holds such a delicious ambiguity, which is, in part, its strength."
