Universal Values and the Three Pillars of Sustainability:

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Universal Values and the Three Pillars of
Sustainability

• Foundations of Sustainability Education

A contribution to the Videoconference on the
Implementation of Global Sustainability
Education By Helmut Burkhardt Ryerson University,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2004-10-13
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Why Sustainability Education?

• Sustainability is important for good reasons
• Sustainability is needed to satisfy universal
  values.
• Sustainability is a complex issue, which
  challenges all branches of human knowledge.
• Foundation of sustainability education are
• Universal values, and the
• The three pillars of sustainability

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Universal Values

• Primary values for all living creatures
• An individuals own life
• The life of ones offspring
•  
• Proof
• creatures who dont value their own life, wont
  live for long
• creatures who do not value procreation are
  doomed for extinction
•  Note
• all other values are instruments supporting the
  primary values

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Examples for the Valuation of Life

• When life is at stake, all other values shrink.
• Shakespeare, Richard III(Act V, Scene IV)
• A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!
• Nichiren Daishonin, 13th Century Buddhist
  "However, life itself is the most precious of all
  treasures. Even the treasures of the entire
  universe cannot equal the value of a single human
  life.
• Albert Schweitzer Any religion or philosophy
  which is not based on a respect for life is not a
  true religion or philosophy.

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The Value of Procreation Competes With the Value
of Life

• ExampleA Japanese mother during the nuclear
  bomb attack on Hiroshima in1945 valued the life
  of her offspring more than her own she covered
  her baby with her own body and died from the
  exposure to the fury of the released energy.
  Rescuers pulled out the baby alive from under the
  mothers body, and today he is a Canadian citizen
  living in Ottawa.

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Beyond the Law of the Jungle

• Early humans discovered the survival potential in
  instrumental values cooperation, justice, etc.
  
• Charles Darwin emphasizes altruism, and
  love-based relations more than individual
  strength for survival in the jungle.
• The most valuable survival instrument is the
  global force of law. We need this enlightened
  law of the jungle in order to survive.

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The Three Pillars of Sustainability

• 1.   Ecological Integrity
• 2.     Societal Integrity
• 3.     Individual Integrity
• All three are needed for short and in the long
  term survival

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Ecological Integrity

• A healthy ecosystem guarantees the vital
  resources clean air, clean water, and healthy
  food.
• Problem Humankinds impact on Planet Earth is
  approaching in magnitude the forces of nature.
• Human population (P), consumption stimulated by
  affluence (A), and Technology (T) determine the
  human impact (I) on the ecosystem I PAT.
  (Paul Ehrlich).
• Solution All three factors must be reduced to
  restore and maintain ecological integrity.

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Societal Integrity

• IssueNational defense mechanisms can no longer
  match todays weapons of mass destruction.
  Conflict resolution by force can cause global
  chaos, and a collapse of civilization. Albert
  Einstein remarked to this situation World War 4
  will be fought with sticks and stones
• SolutionAppropriate political, legal, and
  enforcement structures are needed for justice
  and peace, and to protect functioning societies
  from fatal harm through violence and war.

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Individual Integrity

• Individuals around the world have discovered
  material consumption as a source of pleasure, and
  tend to forget their responsibility as stewards
  of the Earth.
• Individuals with integrity are healthy in body,
  mind, and spirit, accept universal primary
  values, and the instruments of fairness and
  tolerance they recognize their rights as well as
  their duties in relation to the human community,
  and to the web of all life.

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Favourable Cosmic Condition for Our Planet

• Life on Earth is possible due to a great variety
  of farourable cosmic conditions outside of human
  control.
• Solar activity is a cosmic variable the right
  amount of sunshine creates and sustains life on
  planet Earth.
• Asteroid Toutatis A monster big enough to
  extinguish billions of lives were it ever to
  collide with our home. (Agence France-Presse,
  reported on a close encounter the 26th of
  September 2004)

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Framework for Sustainability Education

• Sustainability Education should cover the
  following major areas
• Universal primary values and supporting
  instrumental values
• Three pillars of sustainability ecological,
  societal, and individual integrity
• The planets cosmic condition
• Systemic thinking about complex issues, with
  input from all branches of knowledge humanities,
  environmental, social, biological, and physical
  sciences.