by Bruce T. Milne
Daily Lobo guest columnist
Who are we and what roles do we play in the ongoing transformation to create a sustainable world? Sustainability has the goal of satisfying basic needs for health, food, shelter and transportation without compromising the satisfaction of future generations. It invokes the triple bottom line of environmental protection, social equity and economic vitality. Sustainability is good for the planet, people and profit.
In the U.S., fossil fuel powers the trains, planes, ships and machinery of modern life. These are curious machines, indeed. A vehicle driven 1,000 miles from Albuquerque to Tucson, Ariz., and back in 14 hours is capable of 100 such trips before wear and tear take a toll. Yet, the vehicle's working lifespan is shorter than the life of a flea. The vehicle will have guzzled more than 4,000 gallons of gasoline in its lifetime, equivalent to the energy used by 20 million African elephants over their lifetimes. The modern world is extraordinarily out of whack with nature's design and is simply not sustainable.
Naive approaches to sustainability simply substitute renewable biofuels for dirty coal. The recent shift toward corn-based ethanol raised the price of tortillas in Mexico and necessitated a price cap. Conversions of tropical forests to soybean fields and palm oil plantations accelerate the cataclysmic loss of biodiversity, exacerbate the production of greenhouse gases and ensnarl disadvantaged
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farmworkers.
Smarter solutions are founded on principles of Architecture 2030, the nationally accepted brainchild of New Mexican architect Ed
Mazria. The principles found their way into Gov. Bill Richardson's 2006 Executive Order No. 69 , which called for the reduction of emissions by 1.9 million New Mexicans in the energy, transportation, residential, commercial and agricultural sectors.
Facing global collapse, we may wonder, "Am I being true to the privilege of being alive?" Here, "life" is the sum total of the creativity, perseverance and suffering of our ancestors, stretching back billions of years, and "privilege" reflects the awe and mystery embodied in life itself.
Look around campus and see the emerging sustainability community that answers the question of life with a resounding yes. The new UNM Sustainability Studies Program has been approved and will offer two courses in the fall. This program will lead to a minor degree that complements virtually any undergraduate major - be a green architect, a green economist or even a green historian. Provost Reed Dasenbrock convened the Task Force for Sustainability Policy, which is on track to provide comprehensive campus guidelines. Student organizations such as Sustain are in place, holding film festivals and promoting free trade. The Research Service Learning Program offers experiential learning opportunities in the real world. Monthly green-bag lunches provide a venue for students, staff and faculty to learn about sustainability practices on and off campus.
Dive with the abandon of a skydiver into the sustainability transformation. When your chute opens, you may discover each cord is held by passionate citizens in the sustainability community, and your hands support the parachutes of others in a growing network of folks. We are innovating in the areas of sustainable eco-villages, wind farms, the local food shed, regional carbon markets, progressive municipal and state policies, community and schoolyard farms in the South Valley, and dozens of other projects. The shift from the old to the new American dream is a shift from isolated suburban life to meaningful, thriving relationships that honor life itself.
Bruce T. Milne is the director of the UNM Sustainability
Studies Program.
