“Redefining Sustainable Development”
Opinion: (David Griggs, Director of the Monash Sustainability Institute [MSI], Australia): “Albert Einstein once said that if he had just one hour to find a solution on which his life depended, he would spend the first 55 minutes defining the problem. Once he knew the right question to ask, he could solve the problem in less than five minutes.
“Today, humanity faces such a life-threatening problem: How are we to provide adequate nutrition and a decent quality of life to a global population that is set to surpass nine billion by 2050, without irreparably damaging our planetary life-support system? To find a solution, we must start by clarifying the problem.
“The process of identifying the Sustainable Development Goals, which are intended to enter into force in 2015, has begun in earnest. Last week, representatives from 69 countries met at the UN in New York, and an expert group meets this week. …
“This week, my colleagues and I published a report called Sustainable Development Goals for People and Planet, which outlines what is required. We identified six universal goals for sustainable development: lives and livelihoods, food security, water sustainability, clean energy, healthy ecosystems, and good governance. … Genuine progress in any of the six target areas will require a comprehensive approach, with policies that span the economic, social, and environmental domains.”
My Comment: It seems to me that these people didn’t act like Einstein; otherwise, they would have discovered the cause of the crisis, which has not been uncovered yet. It is in the egoistic nature of man. And it needs to be corrected. Without this, no aspect of the crisis will disappear. The objectives are correct, but there are no solution to them. And a reminder to identify the cause indicates that now, by referring to Einstein, they can ponder about the cause of the problem as long as they want, without rushing to solve it….
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Albert Einstein and Abraham Lincoln must have thought along similar lines as Abraham was recorded as saying “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I would spend six hours sharpening my ax where as Albert says “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
Preparation and maximum input seems to be key to Abe and Alberts approach to life.
Abe also shared that “I am not bound to win but I am bound to be true I am not bound to succeed, but to be true and live by the light that I have.”
Maybe Mr Griggs could add to his report the importance of educate humanity on how to integrate for the purpose of using less resources and become more connected.
The cover of a recent issue of The Economist read: The Sharing Economy. USA TODAY also had a headline that read: America’s new business model: Sharing.
Allow me to throw a little creative catch here and connect a word that sounds like sharing which is caring and the nature of humanity does not share until we feel like caring as this is man’s egotistical nature.