SUSTAINABILITY The Challenge of Changing
Our Educational Institution
“Our Earth - Our Legacy “
Presented by
John Glass
Director, Materials & Resources Management
Coordinator, WSU Sustainability Initiative
Goals and Objectives
• Historical Perspective: How we got into the environmental,
social and economic predicament that we currently face
• Ecological Footprint - How our personal consumption habits
impact sustainable development
• Governor Locke’s Executive Orders - 02-03, 05-01 on Pollution
Prevention and Sustainability
• Definition of Sustainability and Sustainable Development
• What WSU is currently doing to support environmental, social
and economic sustainability
• WSU Sustainability Initiative - goals and objectives
• Getting involved - What individuals can do to support and
promote sustainable development
What on Earth Are We Doing?
• Earth’s Carrying Capacity - maximum number of
any
specific population that a habitat can support.
 Easter Island – Ecological Disaster
 The Earth is a large island
 Limited natural resources… no place to borrow
 Unable to dump pollution anywhere else
 An array of interconnected global problems created our
current crisis
 Problems are increasing at an exponential rate
 Bottom line – The Earth has a limited carrying capacity!
Easter Island – Ecological Disaster
• Complex Society for 16
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centuries
Forests cut down to support
themselves
Eventually, soil, water and
cultivated food supplies
depleted
Population crashed from
12,000 to 4,000 in a span of
40 years (1680-1722)
Exponential Growth
• Deceptive in that it starts slowly, but quickly accelerates
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 Bottle of bacterium example
Population growth
 By 1650 took 250 years to double the population
 By 2050 global population expected to triple in the 48 least
developed countries, and double in many more nations
 By 2050 population estimates of 8 - 11 billion
Correlation: Population, Wealth and Education
 As poverty goes down, birth rates also decrease because
women have better educational and professional opportunities
as well as access to birth control
 Unacceptable Fact: 20% of world’s population lives in
desperate poverty
• No clean water, inadequate food, shelter or sanitation
Consumption of the Earth’s Resource Base
• Energy is the most basic natural resource
 Daily Calorie Consumption = food, shelter, clothing, and other
human creations (cities, movies, etc.)
• 1 million years ago = 3,000 calories
• 10,000 years ago (early agricultural stage) = 15,000 calories as cities were built
and wealth was accumulated
• Today – Globally = 89,000 calories per day
• Today – United States = 260,000 calories per day
• 9% of
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energy from renewable sources, 91% from nonrenewable
sources
Population has doubled in last 40 years, but land available for
food production has significantly shrunk
Clean water supply is shrinking
 Deforestation, urbanization, and overgrazing causing run off
 By 2025, 67% of the worlds population will face water stress
Pollution
• CO2 emission increased by 31% since 1750 – half coming in the last 50
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years`
Global warming estimates = 2.5ºF to 10.5 ºF in next 100 years
 Ice age was 9 ºF cooler
 Planetary temperature change of extreme magnitude
Results:
 Agriculture will have to move towards the poles
 New dams and irrigation will be required
 Human population will migrate north
 Disruption in food supply
 Tropical climates will replace temperate ones
 Organic matter will decay quicker = more greenhouse gases
 Sea levels will rise threatening planet’s coastal regions
 Economic costs could bankrupt the global economy
The Psychology of Environmental Problems
• Optimism verses Pessimism, or Boomsters verses Doomsters
• Boomsters View:
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Population growth is good = people produce more than consumed
Humans can redesign habitat by inventing technology
Human beings are the “ultimate resource”
As resources are depleted , cost will rise, slowing use and encouraging
alternative technologies to develop
Doomsters View:
 Public opinion polls: increased concern about environmental issues
 The most popular view – even though it makes people feel worse
 Fear and scare tactics
 Variation of agreement on how to solve the problem
Reaction depends on assumptions about the future
The Psychology of Over Consumption
• North Americans biggest users and wasters of the world’s commercial
energy:
 5% of planet’s population use 24% of total commercial supply
 84% of this is wasted
• Americans waste over 40% in completely avoidable actions:
 Inefficient home heating systems, appliances, water heaters, and
automobiles
 Energy efficiency could dramatically increase (quadruple) with current
technology, without lifestyle changes, or new power plants by simply
utilizing super-efficient lighting, motors, appliance and building
components
 Washington residents generate 7.5 lbs of garbage/person/day
 Nationwide 2.5 million non-returnable plastic bottles = every hour
 Nationwide consume directly or indirectly 100 lbs of raw material daily
 We use 30 times the amount of gasoline, 4 times the meat
and 19 times more paper
Biological verses Cultural Carrying Capacity
• Biological carry capacity = maximum number ecosystem can support
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at the lowest possible standard
Cultural carrying capacity = always much less because humans use
more resources than is absolutely necessary
 Basic necessities are culturally different
Conceptualizing cultural carry capacity
 I = P x A x T (I is the impact of any group or nation)
P is the population size
A is the per-capita affluence (as measured by consumption)
T is the technology employed in supplying the consumption
If P doubles, then I will double assuming A and T remain constant
Bottom Line: United States is the world’s most overpopulated nation!
Population must decrease to sustain affluence
If not, affluence will fall, either systematically with
planning, or suddenly through ecological collapse
What in Washington Are We Doing?
The Bad News!
Decline and Disruption in our Natural Systems
• Since 2000, Washington is ranked fifth as the worst state in the
nation in the rate of health-based drinking water violations. At
times, 20% of the population is affected.
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“Factoids: Drinking Water and Ground Water Statistics for 2000-2002”, United States Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, June 2001, May 2002, January 2003.
Decline and Disruption in our Natural Systems
• 65% of the 3,000 square miles of estuaries are in poor or fair
health in Washington, as well as three fifths of the rivers.
“Water Quality of Washington’s Rivers and Streams”, Department of Ecology, 1998 Washington
State Water Quality Assessment, Section 305(b) Report, Publication Number 97-13, August 1997,
based on assessment of 98% of Washington State’s 73,886 miles of rivers and streams, in Washington
State Office of Financial management Environmental Chartbook: A Collection of Indicators on
Washington’s Environment, June 1999.
“Water Quality of Washington’s Estuaries”, Department of Ecology, 1998 Washington
State Water Quality Assessment, Section 305(b) Report, Publication Number 97-13, August 1997,
based on assessment of 100% of Washington State’s 2,942 square miles of estuaries, in Washington
State Office of Financial management Environmental Chartbook: A Collection of Indicators on
Washington’s Environment, June 1999.
Loss of Economic Vitality - Opportunities Unrealized
• In Washington, 8 million tons of
waste was generated during 2004.
This was enough to cover 4 lanes of I-90 from Spokane to Seattle 20
feet deep. Fact – 67% could have been recycled or diverted which
could have created 18,000 new jobs.
Seattle
Washington State Department of Ecology, 2004.
Spokane
Threatened Biodiversity, Habitat, and Icons:
• Cod and Herring catches
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continue to decline.
Rockfish, Butter clams and
Pollock are nearly extinct.
Just 15 years ago, Washingtonians
caught more than 21 million
pounds of Whiting, today they
catch none.
More than one million acres of
farmland and timberland lost in
the past 20 years.
99% of our intact Palouse Prairie
ecosystem is gone.
Robert McClure and Lisa Stiffler, “Our Troubled Sound”, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Special Report,
Seattle, WA, November 16-22, 2002. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/sound/
Social Inequities on the Rise:
• Despite the economic boom of the 1990’s the poorest one-fifth
of Washington families have seen virtually no rise in real income
over the past twenty years.
• Meanwhile, Washington’s richest 20% had their inflationadjusted income increase more than 40%.
Pulling Apart: A State-by-State analysis of Income Trends, Economic Policy Institute/Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities, Washington, DC, April 2002.
• Washington State’s prison spending is up 80% since 1980
• While education spending is only up by 11%.
Gary Gardner, “Prison Populations Exploding”, in Lester R. Brown, Michael Renner, and Brian Halwell,
Vital Signs 2000, Worldwatch Institute, Norton & Co. New York, 2000.
Population Growth and Associated Problems:
• Washington’s population will double between 1998-2050.
This will be equal to adding 29 new Spokane’s or
Tacoma’s.
“Our Changing Nature”, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, 1998.
• In the last 20 years, the population of
Washington state
has increased 43%, the number of vehicles has grown
57%, and miles driven is up 88%.
“ A Summary of Transportation Information for Washington State 2002”, Washington State Department of
Transportation, 2002.
Essential Driving Trend:
Exponential Growth
Which Has Two Possible Outcomes:
1.
Overshoot and
Collapse
Or…
2. Dynamic
Equilibrium
Which is another
word for …
Sustainability
Sustainable Definitions:
Sustainable Development- is development that “meets
the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
World Commission on Environment and Development, aka “The Brundtland Commission,” 1987
“To achieve sustainable development, some things must
grow—jobs, productivity, wages, capital and savings, profits,
information, knowledge, and education—and others—
pollution, waste, and poverty—must not.”
The President’s Council on Sustainable Development
Sustainable Definitions:
“Living and governing for the future demands that we
look at the complex problems of water, energy, growth
management, community and economic development
from a system-wide approach—examining how they are
connected and integrated”
Governor Gary Locke
The Compass Framework
A symbol of direction, orientation, and gathering
N
W
E
S
Created by AtKisson, Inc, February 2003
The Compass is also…
A symbol of Sustainability
Nature
Wellbeing
Created by AtKisson, Inc, February 2003
Economy
Society
Sustainability Indicators
Nature
N
Created by AtKisson, Inc, February 2003
• Environmental Quality
• Environmental Impact
• Resource Use
• Ecology & Habitat
• Scenic Beauty
Economy
• Production & Consumption
• Goods & Services
• Infrastructure (Roads, Traffic,
E
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Created by AtKisson, Inc, February 2003
Public Transport…)
$: Taxes, Budgets, Finances,
Investment
Jobs & Employment
Society
• Governmental Systems
• Educational Systems
• Community Life
• Organizations & Religious
S
Created by AtKisson, Inc, February 2003
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Institutions
Social and Cultural Institutions
Social Conditions
Wellbeing
W
Created by AtKisson, Inc, February 2003
• Individual Health
• Personal Development
• Primary Relationships
• Satisfaction
• Fulfillment of Potential
• Quality of Life
The News isn’t all Bad!
• Washington’s Environmental Legacy
 Washington is ranked fifth best among all states in it’s support
of environmental issues
 Ranked high among all states in recycling rates
 Proactive, responsible actions with Executive Order’s 02-03 and
05-01
 Creation of Office of Sustainable Development in OFM
 Educational workshops on Sustainable Development, Change
Management and Leadership
Where Do We Go From Here?
Washington State University is committed to actively
support the goals and objectives of the Governor’s
Executive Orders 02-03 and 05-01
Governor’s Executive Order 02-03
Each state agency shall establish sustainability objectives
and prepare a biennial sustainability plan to modify its
practices regarding resource consumption; vehicle use;
purchase of goods and services; and facility construction,
operation and maintenance.
Executive Order 02-03 Goals
• Institutionalize sustainability as an agency value;
• Raise employee awareness of sustainable practices;
• Minimize energy and water use;
• Shift to clean energy for both facilities and vehicles;
• Shift to non-toxic, recycled and remanufactured materials in
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purchasing and construction;
Expand markets for environmentally preferred products and services
Reduce or eliminate waste as an inefficient us of resources
Governor’s Executive Order 05-01
1) Agencies incorporate green building practices in all new
construction projects….
2) Buildings over 25,000 gsf will be built and certified to the
LEED Silver Standard
3) Agencies take all reasonable actions to reduce the lifecycle
impacts of paper products
4) Office paper purchased by state agencies must have a
minimum of 30% post consumer recycled content
5) Target a 20% reduction in petroleum use
6) Use professional fleet management and planning practices
WSU Community Members
Get involved by actively supporting the
goals and objectives of the
WSU Sustainability Initiative and
Executive Order #24!
Goals and Objectives
1.
Identify all stakeholders interested in and/or currently
involved in sustainable practices at WSU and establish
an efficient and effective communication process to
increase active participation.
Goals and Objectives
2.
Work with, and through, the WSU University Health
and Safety Committee to move the initiative forward.
a) Develop a Washington State University
Sustainability Policy
b) Advise on marketing, communication, and
promotional strategies
WSU Executive Policy #24
• Washington State University is committed to improve its
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performance in sustainability in all areas of operations ……..
Washington State University will develop appropriate systems
for managing environmental, social, and economic
sustainability programs ……..
Washington State University will continue to support the
present Environmental Management System and its principles
to manage environmental challenges on the Pullman Campus
and extend them to other WSU campuses and locations.
This policy will help Washington State University meet its
responsibility to prepare students, staff, and faculty to
proactively deal with the environmental, social, and economic
challenges facing humanity.
Goals and Objectives
3. Identify, accumulate and categorize a
comprehensive list of sustainable practices
currently used by business entities and academic
departments at WSU.
Goals and Objectives
4.
Plan and coordinate a
campus assessment
project that would track
ten categories and the
indicators of
sustainability for each
category.
Energy
Water
Material
Resources
Dining Services
Transportation
Built
Environment
Ecological
Literacy
Research
Activity
Decision
Making
Land Use
Individually
• Determine your ecological footprint (www.earthday.net)
• Challenge your current behavioral patterns, particularly your
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consumer/consumption habits
Understand the consequences of the decisions you make
Establish an action plan to modify those behavioral patterns –
EarthScore Workbook
Challenge the status quo
Take responsibility for your personal actions
Join organizations that share your values
Lead by example
SUSTAINABILITY
“It’s Our Earth - Our Legacy”