Sustainable Land Development Today - February 2009 - (Page 4)

SLDT OUR VOICE We Have Met the Environment, and It is Us Many of us remember the quote, “We have met the enemy and he is us,” coined by cartoonist Walt Kelly, creator of the classic comic strip Pogo. Replacing “enemy” with “environment” drives home an idea whose time has certainly come. The environment is not some entity that is apart from humanity. Humanity’s very existence is as much a part of the environment as the earth, air and water. We are intrinsically connected and integrated. In the past, the environmental leg of the three-legged, sustainability stool— balancing the needs of people, planet (environment) and profit—has been treated as discretionary, rather than a necessity. To the vast majority of the general population, any initiatives that can be described as “environmental” were typically passed off as voluntary, nice things to do. Our industry and the modern sustainability movement needs to pick up the pace to hammer home that these “feel good” initiatives are vital for the continuation of the human race. More must be done to continue to change this mindset, which in turn will add credence to the sustainability movement. When we do anything that “threatens” the environment, we are in truth, threatening our existence. With an ever-growing world population, humanity continues to pollute, overuse, and waste our soils, air and water – the three critical pillars of the environment. In the process, humanity is mixing the recipe for its own demise. What we do that adversely affects the “environment,” in actuality affects all of us. We are acting as our own worst enemy. In reality, the Earth’s environment will survive just fine despite what we do to affect it. I recently watched a riveting television documentary broadcast on History (formerly known as The History Channel), “Life after People.” It reminds us of two basic facts. Humanity has taken up little more than a tiny fraction of our planet’s lifespan; and Earth’s natural systems will quite easily heal any and all of our indiscretions over time. So the idea that we are harming the environment is a misnomer. Virtually nothing that humanity creates will stand up to the elements. Even the effect of nuclear waste, which has a half-life of thousands of years, is nothing in the broader sense. Earth is estimated to be four billion years old and likely to last a few billion more. Our society carries forward so many misconceptions, not only on our relationship with the environment, but on the true meaning of sustainability. Ask a hundred people what “sustainability” is, and I’d wager that fewer than five would know that it is a balance between providing for the needs of people while protecting the environment and allowing for economic vitality. The vast majority would say sustainability is environmental protection. By extension, they view the environment as something “out there” and apart from themselves. When making the case for land-development features that protect or integrate into the environment, we need to drive home the point that such features are the path to the future—if humanity is to have one. Be assured, I am not advocating scare tactics. Fear is an effective, but ultimately short-lived selling strategy. What I suggest to every level of our industry, is that if we take a pivotal role in the survival of humanity by using every opportunity to clearly exhibit humanity’s intimate interface within the environment. If you think about it, we are not “apart from” the environment. We are “a part of” the environment. SLDT Rob Kundert, Senior Editor We welcome your feedback Reader responses to articles in Sustainable Land Development Today are encouraged and may be sent via mail or email (Editor@SLDTonline.com), or online through SLDTonline.com. Mailing address: Sustainable Land Development Today, Attention: Editor, 275 East 10th St. Suite 201, Dubuque, IA 52001 4 February 2009 Sustainable Land Development Today http://www.SLDTonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - February 2009

Sustainable Land Development Today - February 2009 Contents Our Voice Modern Flood Disasters Origin of the Sustainability Movement SLDI in Focus Calendar Build Smart Product Innovation Takeoff and Cost Management Industry News Products & Services Advertiser Index Editorial Board SLDT Resources Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - February 2009

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