Place and Time - Sustainable Design: The Science of Sustainability and Green Engineering - page 172

Figure 4.6 Maslow's hierarchy
of needs. The lower part of the
hierarchy (i.e., basic needs) must
be satisfied before a person can
advance to the next growth
levels.

Growth Needs

Self-Actualization

Ego Needs

Social Needs

Security Needs

Body Needs

Basic Needs

is to prevent the collapse of global ecosystems. The Brundtland report presumes
that we have a core ethic of intergenerational equity and that future generations
should have an equal opportunity to achieve a high quality of life. The goal is
a sustainable global ecologic and economic system, achieved in part by the wise
use of available resources.
We are creatures that have different needs. Psychologist Abraham Maslow 19
articulated this as a hierarchy of needs consisting of two classes of needs: basic
and growth (see Fig. 4.6). The basic needs must be satisfied before a person can
progress toward higher-level growth needs. Within the basic needs classification,
Maslow separated the most basic physiological needs, such as water, food, and
oxygen, from the need for safety. Therefore, one must first avoid starvation and
thirst, satisfying minimum caloric and water intake, before being concerned about
the quality of the air, food, and water. The latter is the province of environmental
protection. The most basic of needs must be satisfied before we can strive for more
advanced needs. Thus, we need to ensure adequate quantities and certain ranges
of quality of air, water, and food. Providing food requires ranges of soil and water
quality for agriculture. Thus, any person and any culture that is unable to satisfy
these most basic needs cannot be expected to “advance” toward higher-order
values such as free markets and peaceful societies. In fact, the inability to provide
basic needs militates against peace. This means that when basic needs go unmet,
societies are frustrated even if they strive toward freedom and peace; and even
those that begin may enter into vicious cycles wherein any progress is undone
by episodes of scarcity. We generally think of peace and justice as the province
of religion and theology, but green engineers and architects will increasingly be
called upon to “build a better world.”