Campus Connection

UW-L is embarking on a sustainability-themed year. The topic will be highlighted in classroom discussions, presentations, films and campus-wide programs. To set the course for the year, it’s important to understand what the word means. Sustainability is not a simple concept. Its implications are broader than the environment. Leaders say we can live more sustainably by acknowledging other aspects of the word, such as sustainability in terms of social justice, economic security and ecological integrity. Four UW-L instructors have helped define sustainability in terms of these three values through a series of articles. Here’s the final story in this series on ecological integrity. For past stories on defining sustainability in terms of economic security and social justice visit the "Sustain UW-L" blog  

Defining sustainability in terms of ecological integrity

“We have one planet. Let’s plan accordingly.” That’s Biology Professor Rob Tyser’s central message when discussing how humans can preserve their environment. To live sustainably from the perspective of ecological integrity, people must consider how their actions today may limit or destroy earth for future generations. To understand the human effect on the environment, we can assess two main factors: the population and the per capita rate of consumption, says Tyser. “Unfortunately, the world human population continues to increase and our consumption of resources also continues to increase,” he explains. “Hence, the environmental impact of humans will continue until population growth stops (or is reduced) and consumption of resources is lowered.” That should be of particular concern to Americans and other wealthy countries, which consume the most. About 20 percent of the earth's wealthiest countries consume about 75 percent of the earth's resources, notes Tyser. The least wealthy countries consume about 1 percent of the resources. A sustainable solution is to adopt a zero percent growth model in terms of population and consumption. A “steady state” view of resource consumption would entail recycling and reusing fixed resources such as metal and generating energy from more sustainable resources such as wind and solar power instead of fossil fuels, explains Tyser. It also involves consuming less by defining “needs versus wants.” He notes that changing the desire of humans to continually grow — whether their property, business, city population, etc. — is key to finding a solution. “Growth is part of our human nature, and unless we act more wisely, this may be a fatal flaw,” he says.