Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
allowing time to work through the costs and benefits of alternatives. Chang-
ing one thing in a complex system always produces other changes, so no
change is ever universally beneficial; there are always losers as well as win-
ners. In a fair world, those who lose out from a change that benefits the com-
munity as a whole should be compensated by the rest of the community.
That principle was accepted when we decided that those using Sydney
airport should pay a noise levy to compensate those under the flight path. It
is a good general principle.
Finally, moving toward a sustainable future will require new institutions.
Concerted action is frustrated by division of responsibility between different
levels of government, by State and local boundaries that have no social or
ecological logic, and by the silos of established departments and traditional
disciplines. We need new structures that will enable coordinated policies and
actions that integrate environmental goals with our social, economic and
cultural aspirations.
Broader issues
At the international level, there is a growing awareness that a sustainable
future will involve significant change.
Our Common Future
states that the
world's economic and environmental futures are intertwined and should be
seen as complementary, rather than in competition. The UNEP report
GEO-
3
set out some of the principles for change by exploring four possible scenar-
ios. In
Markets First
, globalisation and a liberal trade agenda promote rapid
economic growth, but the cost is increasing environmental damage. In
Secu-
rity First
, the wealthy use force to suppress growing protest against ecological
problems and a widening gap between rich and poor, creating a divided and
violent world. In
Policy First
, governments take decisive action to curb envi-
ronmental excesses, but it proves difficult to bring the material living stand-
ards of the poorer countries up to an acceptable level.
The most hopeful scenario,
Sustainability First
, is based on a shift in
values, allowing us to reach a global consensus on satisfaction of basic needs
for all within the limits of natural systems. Couching the problem in these
terms clearly shows that the present world is a long way from having the
values
needed for the transition to sustainability. We also lack the knowledge
to be confident that we are interacting sustainably with natural systems.
Great changes can be made, in principle, by policy reform to reduce the
resource demands and environmental consequences of our lifestyle. The
problem is that the political will to implement such a strategy is nowhere in
