Reflections on Social and Environmental Sustainability - Essay Example

?Reflective Journal Role of activists in achieving social and environmental sustainability Going green or environmental is the “in” thing at the moment. If taken seriously, and not just as a passing fancy, this trend is good for all of us and our one and only planet earth. Among the buzzwords which we hear and read from the media are social and environmental sustainability. Social and environmental sustainability are closely related to each other. The definition of environmental sustainability includes social sustainability as well. “Sustainability implies that an action can be continued indefinitely with little or manageable impact on the environment. This is important because the health of the environment is closely linked with the health of society in general. Sustainable practices ensure that the earth's resources will be available even for future generations to enjoy... Sustainability aims to balance the needs of human societies with the needs of the environment, preserving both for all creatures on earth to make use of and enjoy. Sustainability promotes biodiversity, the preservation of unique ecosystems, the health of the environment, and a high quality of life” (Wise Geek, 2012). Based on such definition, I believe that as members of the human society, we should pursue this two-pronged sustainability, which is both social and environmental, both for the present and future generations, not only for humans, but for all creatures on earth. It is in this endeavour that the activists can play a crucial role. Activists are involved in activism. What is activism? “ Activism is a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary w.com 2012). Activists can promote social and environmental sustainability by several approaches. Some of them are: 1) economic activism ( boycott, divestment, simple living, tax resistance); 2) franchise activism (carried out by autonomous individuals or groups in different localities under the same name; ex. Earth Liberation Front); 3) lobbying (act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies ); 4) media activism (culture jamming, hacktivism, internet activism); 5) nonviolence (ex. Gandhian ahimsa); 6) peace activist/peace movement; 7) political campaigning; 8) propaganda; 9) protest (demonstration, direct action, protest songs, theatre for social change); 9) strike action (work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work ); 10) youth activism (when the youth voice is engaged in community organizing for social change). I agree that activists can contribute significantly to facilitate some changes in different areas including social and environmental sustainability. Activists can focus their vast energy in changing the perspective of the businesses in favour of the environment. Some authors like Shrivastava (1995) and Welford (1997) as quoted in Sandhu (2010, p. 287) blame the current business systems for the environmental predicament. However, there is an increasing awareness among the business organizations regarding the natural environmental issues and they are taking the challenge and responding in an environmentally responsive ways ( Hart, 2007, as quoted in Sandhu, 2010, p. 288). The response of the Timberland CEO is one example of an environmentally responsive way (Swartz, 2010). In Timberland's case, activism was in the form of 65,000 Greenpeace supporters who sent angry e-mails to the CEO, accusing Timberland of supporting slave labour, destroying Amazon rain forests and exacerbating global warming. The e-mail senders pointed out that the Brazillian cattle farmers were illegally cutting trees in the Amazon rain forests, for the pastures of grazing cattle, from which the leathers of bootmakers were obtained. Their message was one of concern, and they were strongly urging the company to work with Greenpeace to find permanent global solution to combat deforestation and climate change (Swartz, 2010, p. 39). Though the Timberland's CEO noted that Greenpeace had its own agenda, he also recognized that Greenpeace was asking legitimate questions which should be properly addressed. Greenpeace understood that every link in the supply chain has an important role in promoting environmental sustainability: from the pasture to the cattle to the slaughterhouse to the meat and leather shop, and on to the shoe and bootmakers, like Nike and Timberland. In the end the activists supporting Greenpeace were victorious in their guerrilla tactics using the angry e-mails. The bootmakers in New Hampshire, both big ( like Nike) and small companies (like Timberland) required their leather suppliers to certify that their leathers were obtained from cattle which graze in pastures which were not from deforested areas. The CEO did not just release a high-level statement agreeing with Greenpeace, in order to assuage the angry activists. Under the CEO's leadership, his company demonstrated sincerity in understanding the system so that they can operate with environmental sustainability as its centrepiece. Not all business stories are like that of the Timberland's. Some cases did not end like a fairy-tale. But this should not prevent us from continuing our own crusade for environmental sustainability. No matter how small, we can harness our resources in our own circle of influence, to achieve something greater than ourselves, and more lasting and more encompassing than our short life on earth- to be part of an activism with a social and environmental conscience. 2. Why it is important to think about career planning in your first year at university Career planning is important. Students are encouraged to start planning even at the high school level. The importance of planning prior to pursuit of any undertaking is highlighted by several famous quotations of different cultures. One familiar quote goes like this: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Such quote is attributed to several authors, one of whom is Sir Winston Churchill, who also said that “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm (John Petrie’s Collection of Winston Churchill Quotes)”. In our life, there are projects and meetings in which we succeeded, partly because of good planning; still there are things which have gone awry despite careful planning, especially in times of accidents and force majeure. Even in the face of some possible odds (divorce, financial disaster, war, life-threatening illnesses, and even death), doing some career planning is vital to one's success in getting a university degree for employment purposes, and for some, for self-actualization. Planning should include several factors like desires or ambitions in life, availability of resources (financial and others), inclination to a particular discipline, family heritage and business, employment opportunities in the country or elsewhere, among others. These factors may be used as a guide to ask some relevant questions to help an individual in the decision-making process. Some questions may run like these: what career or degree should I pursue ? There are general categories of disciplines : music, arts including theatre , soft science, hard science, engineering, medicine, and politics. In what kind of job will I be most happy and fulfilled ? Do I see myself as a commercial endorser/model, writer, reporter, dancer, musician, actor/actress, teacher, accountant, lawyer, businessman/entrepreneur, politician, medical doctor, physical therapist, nurse, caregiver, engineer, scientist, IT, media practitioner, fire fighter, soldier, priest, pastor, development worker, etc. ? Does my desire and image of myself match with my natural inclination and financial resources? If the answer is “No”, what should I do to bridge the gap between what I desire and what seems to be the present reality? Maybe I can ask extra help to improve on my mathematics quotient, for example, in case I dream to be an engineer. Or if I am short on financial resources, maybe I can work part-time or full-time, to earn some amount for college education; or apply for a loan, and find some persons or institutions that would be willing to be my co-maker. Another consideration is the time involved in getting some university degrees. Some courses may take several years to finish: 4, 5, 6 and some may be greater than 8 years. Do I have the luxury of time ? Or I want a short-term degree so that I can get employed in the soonest time possible and get married. Or if I am already married, what degree can I pursue in such a way that my family life will not be sacrificed at all. Do I choose to enrol in the resident mode, or online? Do I need the flexibility to manage my time, especially if I am already working, married and/or taking care of my needy parents and siblings? Or am I physically or mentally challenged ? If so, then my choice of college degree should be compatible with my condition, available resources, family and/or institutional support. If I were in a third world country like the Philippines, a 4-year education in a public university, including board and lodging and other miscellaneous expenses, may cost about USD 16,065 (about 20% of education cost in the USA). After all these considerations, careful and systematic planning will help me see the future in the light of present realities. I will not be discouraged if the odds look insurmountable. I will consider all these seeming obstacles as just challenges to conquer, because I believe that the process of pursuing a university degree, is education in itself. This pursuit may not make me a billionaire along with Carlos Slim Helu, Bill Gates, Waren Buffett, Larry Ellison, the Waltons, Sheldon Adelson whose holdings are valued from USD 54.46 B to 20.52 B (Forbes, 2012). But more importantly, from the planning stage to the most difficult times of actually getting such a university degree, I would have summoned up all my strength, perseverance, wisdom, and gained sufficient experience, thus making me a better person even during the process itself. 3. Relevance of ethics in my future professional life To live as a professional in the future, is to practice one's profession in a seemingly borderless global and technology-based community. How do I stay “grounded” (Somerville, 2009, p. 245) while performing my tasks in my chosen discipline and travelling in different time zones and meeting folks with different strokes, as I pursue my dream in a world of harsh realities? Definitely, I need a guiding light, a map, a compass, not unlike the “ pillar of cloud to guide them on their way, by day, and by night, in a pillar of fire to give them light..(Exodus 13: 21 NIV) ” which guided Moses and the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt. For me, there are various resources which I can use. Each profession, especially those regulated by law, is bound by a code of ethics spelled out in pertinent laws governing such discipline. Virtues like honesty, especially intellectual honesty, and integrity are always found in the code of ethics. Other virtues like respect, creativity and intelligence are somehow indirectly addressed in these codes. However, the other equally important ones – some of which were enumerated by I.A.R. Wylie (1885-1959, quoted in Somerville 2009, p. 199)- justice, toleration and moral courage; and by Somerville (2009): respect for nature, a sense of the sacred, the intellectual joy of reason, hope, awe, wonder, mystery, curiosity, creativity, intuition, trust, love, compassion, kindness, generosity, restraint, and a sense of humour, are not included in the professional's code of ethics. But in general, these are desired qualities shared by humanity. Add to this list the more-than-100-year-old Scout Law which is referenced in the Scout Oath, describing the ideal Boy Scout in 12 points : trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. “Those who live their lives following this code are urged to display the highest moral fibber and to do their best to be good citizens, no matter where they are or what the situation that they are faced with. All levels of scouting are governed by the ideal that is set forth in these two creeds, which is to remain ambitious in your attempts to be a good and contributing citizen ( http://www.ehow.com/about_6633297_scout-code-ethics.html)“. As a future professional, I have my profession's code of ethics to work with, the 12 points enumerated in the Scout Law to remind me what it means to be a good and contributing citizen, and the inspired biblical verses discussed during our Sunday School class: the Golden rule; the fruits of the Spirit- goodness, righteousness and truth ( Ephesians 5: 9;King James version Bible); and, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5: 22-23; King James version Bible). But the list is much longer. Robert Fulghum shared this poem in his 1990 book entitled “ All I really need to know, I learned in kindergarten.” The words inside the parenthesis are my interpretation. All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten. All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sand pile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned: Share everything. (Generosity, hospitality, charity, corporate social responsibility ) Play fair. (Be law-abiding ) Don't hit people. (Love; peace; do not be an agent of destruction; non-violence; revenge is not an option) Put things back where you found them. (Orderliness; being considerate) Clean up your own mess. (Cleanliness, accountability, responsibility, honesty) Don't take things that aren't yours. (Honesty, integrity) Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. (Accountability, maturity, humility) Wash your hands before you eat.(Cleanliness; be healthy) Flush. (Cleanliness, responsibility) Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all – LOOK. One may say that life in the kindergarten is much simpler than in the professional world. The latter is characterized by complexity leading to uncertainty, so they say. But I believe that a kid in the kindergarten class faces equal (if not greater) degrees of complexity and uncertainty, like the counterpart adult in his professional world. In both worlds, there are bullies, competitions, things to do, things to learn, lots of readings (paper and people's minds), rules to follow or to break (sleep when you want to play, and play when you want to sleep), friends and foes, peers and superiors, love and hatred, tears and laughter, rain and sunshine... and list goes on and on. Ethics are always relevant in whatever station in life we may be found : from pre-school all the way to the professional world. We may differ in how we view what is a good life, and how we make decisions in the practical issues of the times: same-sex marriage, divorce, abortion, euthanasia, cloning, stem-cell research, genetically modified organisms (GMO). But in the end, we share the same humanity and mortality. Shared ethics may be a continuing challenge, but this pursuit will help us find hope and meaning in this journey which we call life. Why are we here after all? How do we live a meaningful life ? Perhaps, E. Dickinson (Somerville, 2009, p. 234) had the answer when she wrote: If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. References Biblegateway.com. Available from: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+13%3A21&version=NIV [Accessed 31 May 2012]. Forbes (2012) Real time Billionaires. Available from: http://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/[Accessed 31 May 2012]. Fulghum, R. (1990) All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, Villard Books: New York, 1990, page 6-7. Available from: http://www.kalimunro.com/learned_in_kindergarten.html [Accessed 31 May 2012]. How to write a reflection journal[Internet],The University of Texas at Arlington. Available from: [Accessed 30 May 2012] Ilana Boyum.Scout Code of Ethics. Available from: http://www.ehow.com/about_6633297_scout-code-ethics.html [Accessed 31 May 2012]. John Petrie’s Collection of Winston Churchill Quotes. Available from: http://jpetrie.myweb.uga.edu/bulldog.html [Accessed 31 May 2012]. Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2012) Available from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/activism [Accessed 31 May 2012]. Reflective journals[Internet],Study & Learning Centre RMIT University. Available from: [Accessed 30 May 2012] Somerville, M. A. ( 2009) Past virtues for a future world : holding our humanness on trust In: The ethical imagination: journeys of the human spirit. Chap. 5 pp. 199-246. Montreal; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press; 276 p. Available from: www.unisa.edu.au.[Accessed 30 May 2012]. Study and Learning Center, RMIT (2006) Keeping a Reflective Journal[Internet],The Australian Scholarship in Teaching Project. Available from: [Accessed 30 May 2012] Sukhbir Sandhu Shifting (2010) Paradigms in Corporate Environmentalism: From Poachers to Gamekeepers. Business and Society Review, 115 (3) pp. 285-310; Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA: Blackwell Publishing. Available from: shifting_paradigms_in_corporate_environmentalism.x.pdf [Accessed 30 May 2012]. Swartz, Jeff (2010) Timberland's CEO on standing up to 65,000 angry activists. Harvard business review, 88 (9) pp. 39-43; Available from: timeberland_s_ceo_on_standing_up_to_.pdf [Accessed 30 May 2012]. The King James Bible Red Lettered (1997) Denver, CO 80231-2128, USA: Worldwide Leadership Council, Inc. 898pp. WiseGeek (2012) Available from : http://www.wisegeek.com/in-environmental-terms-what-does-sustainability-mean.htm [Accessed 31 May 2012]. Read More