Cities and Nature

Olpadwala and Goldsmith make a number of compelling points in their article "Sustainability of Privilege", especially on the systemic problems present in the social layer of Commoner's 'onion' (attempt at an illustration below). In Commoner's model, ideally, the importance of the natural world should be taken into account by each consecutive layer, thus sustaining the natural core. However, because the relationships are inverted in reality, the social and political layer is self-serving, leading us in the wrong direction with economic goals that create unsustainable technologies and degrade the ecosystem. Negative behaviours such as excess consumption are driven by social norms, which perpetuate environmental damage. The authors write, "no genuine attenuation of environmental damage is possible without corresponding social change", arguing that structural and systemic barriers must be removed in order for localised, grassroots change to take root. Historical precedent shows times when the problems of the present seemed insurmountable, such as the Urban Manure Problem predicted in 1894 or the fear of running out of coal. It’s hard not to see the problems of today as truly insurmountable compared to those of the past, though, considering that our social norm demands consumption at a scale never before seen. In addition to grassroots change in consumption patterns, it is also necessary to solve much larger, macro-level problems, especially concerning energy and emissions. The authors quote the idea that one way to deal with environmental degradation is to convince the rich that it is in their own self interest to change things. How depressing this sounds! I prefer economic approaches that influence human behavior, such as high gas prices and carbon taxes. This is an effective way for the social and political system to better orient the inner layers of Commoner's onion towards nature (though the political will required to implement such policies could itself be seen as an insurmountable problem of the present).