Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
a lot, and in many cases have done so but, as Andrew Ross (2011) has argued, it
is fast-growing and low-density places like Phoenix in Arizona that major, almost
inconceivable cultural and economic, changes have to occur. Ross sees possibilities
for spaces of hope in the community activism of the indigenous people as evidenced
by the Gila River Indian community's successful campaign against further 'develop-
ment'. Hope needs to be fed by action at many levels and often simultaneously. If
the former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, had not signed the
Executive Order capping greenhouse emissions in 2006, or announced publicly with
former Prime Minister Tony Blair his commitment to environmental action, or given
pro-environmental speeches at the University of Georgetown in April 2007 and to
international bodies like the United Nations on the imperative need to combat climate
change; and if former Vice President Al Gore and the whole Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change had not acted as they did to be jointly awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize, then there would not have been the debate or shift in attitudes that occurred
in the US during 2007. Schwarzenegger argued that courageous goal-setting makes
industries innovative and creative problem-solvers that can address economic and
environmental issues simultaneously and effectively. He argued that sustainability
and the environment needs to be seen as sexy and inspiring. He used his own business
and movie background as a way of directly communicating the message so that it
resonates in the media, appearing on the front cover of
Outside
magazine and
Newsweek
, and among voters in their communities. A field poll released soon after
the governor's speech at the University of Georgetown showed that 81 per cent of
Californian voters said global warming was a very serious or somewhat serious
problem. Only 21 per cent believed the federal government was positively addressing
it. Of course, as commentators have noted, there is a danger in suggesting that
politicians and businesses may not have to make fundamental changes, particularly
if technical solutions like biofuels or hydrogen cells fail to provide the hoped-for
environmental benefits. However, that is what makes sustainability a political act
and not a scientific concept.
In 2007 Forum for the Future conducted a poll of 262 'green movers and shakers'
on sustainable leadership. Over 80 per cent of respondents voted for Al Gore and,
although voters had three votes, the female Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva
garnered just 14 per cent. As Roger East (2007), Editor of Forum's
Green Futures
magazine, noted, the female half of humanity was hugely under-represented in the
poll. He could also have added the people from the Third World and all those who
are not in elite positions in the First. For Vandana Shiva (1993), writing specifically
of the Chipko Movement, it is the unsung heroes, and particularly women, rather
than the well-known charismatic leaders who frequently deserve the credit for initiating
change and debate in contexts far wider than their own; but they rarely receive it.
The publicly applauded achievements of the most visible leaders are often due to
the achievements of the invisible many. The Forum poll, then, certainly articulated
a certain type of leadership and leader, but there are other possibilities, including
the idea that sustainable development does not need leaders, and certainly not
charismatic ones, but simply people who simply do, who guide, who advise, who
nurture, who innovate and who embrace the natural world. Our knowledge has
increased, although will always remain provisional and analytical approaches to both
sustainability and sustainable development have clearly gained depth and sophistica-
tion in the years following
Our Common Future
's publication in 1987. However,
