Thematic Structure:

Questions of Sustainability.

The purpose of this posting is to help prospective workshop leaders understand the goals of the "Sustainability Awakening" workshop track.

Those who note use of the word "sustainable" might be confused by its many applications and wonder if those who are using the word are talking to each other. Are these many uses actually in sympathy with each other? Is your "sustainable" my "sustainable"? Further, looking out beyond energy conservation and putting the brakes on CO2 emissions, where are we going? What will the world look like out there?

In the "Sustainability Awakening" workshop track, our goal is to educate ourselves and to seek answers to the question "What does a sustainable world look like?". To this end, leaders of each workshop are asked first to portray the problem, as understood by him or her, and the solution they propose. Finally, leaders are asked to explore the vision of the world toward which they are reaching, as workshop participants are invited to raise questions about this leader's vision of "sustainability", and discuss its intersection with other visions of sustainability. Hopefully everyone will leave with a better appreciation of their own role in helping to create a sustainable world of the future.

The range of human activities in which sustainable solutions are needed is vast. The range in which sustainable solutions are proposed is large. They are found at every level of ecological and social complexity.

Human And Natural Systems In Degrees Of Complexity

Gaia
International	Examples: United Nations, NATO, Super large Corporations, Al-Quieda, Stock Exchanges,	Eco-sphere
National	Examples: United States, European Union, Crime syndicates, Private militias, Corporations, Catholic Church, Sahara Desert,	Climatic Regions
Super-community	Examples, Vermont, France, Sudan, gangs, criminals, private militias, large businesses, Amazon Rain Forest,	Bio-region
Community	Examples: County and local government, small business, churches, gangs, criminals,	Habitat
Family	Examples: Everyone we know.	Species
The Self

The range of human activities in which environmentally sustainable solutions are needed can be described in terms of natural resources and processes, which can be further defined in terms of the human-driven effects that operate on them, and their consequences for people and the environment.

Natural Resources and Processes

	Operator	Consequences for people	Consequences for natural systems
Air and atmosphere	Pollution, CO2	Global climate chaos, disease	Global climate chaos, damaged habitats
Fresh Water	Diversion, over use, pollution	Desication (loss of water to drink), famine, disease, war due to resource competition.	Altered distribution, changing climates, desertification, rising sea levels
Soils	Erosion, nutrient depletion, contamination	Loss of arable or habitable land, disease	Destroys base for return of natural habitats
Non-human habitats	Expropriation and destruction of for human use	Short term survival, long term climate alteration.	Extinctions, legacy destruction, loss of diversity, decay of ecological fabric.
Forests	Logging, burning	Not available for ecological processes, habitat, use by future generations	Desertification, erosion of soils, loss of water and mineral reservoirs, habitat destruction, LOSS OF SINK FOR CO2.
Oceans	Pollution, over fishing, warming of, changing ocean currents, rising levels of	Loss of food supplies, more dangerous storms, loss of land area.	destruction of aquatic climates, habitats, and species, changing chemistry results in LOSS OF SINK FOR CO2.
Minerals	extraction	Lost for use of future generations; pollution of air, water, and soils; destruction of landscape	Habitat destruction

Finally, the range of human activities in which sustainable solutions are needed, because they have direct environmental impacts, can be identified in every area of social life.

Human Relations

Governance, Law And Police Power
Defense, Security, Cooperation And Peacemaking
Economic Systems and Economic Development
Resource Allocation And Distribution
Energy Production And Distribution
Environment, impacts and repair
Community, membership in and development of
Housing
Transportation
Technology
Disasters and Preparing for Survival

For each of these many ways of thinking about human activities, we can ask "What is sustainable?" Hence, each work shop leader is invited to think outside of the conventions in his/her own field, and try to answer the question "What does a sustainable world look like?", and "How does my interest in sustainability intersect with any other?". If answers to these questions are not easily found, then we know for sure that we are asking these questions is important.