The very concept of "sustainable" implies designing for the long term. 100 years seems like a good start for stating truly sustainable development goals. But why does it immediately occur to us that imagining 100 years ahead is utopian? Since we were born, change only seems to be accelerating. The world population has increased by 440% in the last 100 years. In 1920 there were only 1.8 billion people on earth; it is normal that this has changed a little since then. But in a few years, the population will eventually stabilize. 10 billion in 2050, 10 billion in 2150, so if there is stability in the main disruptive factor, then we can afford to aim for 100 years.
It is not so much humans as their technologies and practices that are disrupting living things, it is true, but these practices can be corrected while if our numbers continue to grow, the improvements will not be enough to compensate for the additional pressure. It is known that the population stabilizes as its level of education increases because the more educated women are, the more the focus shifts from survival to quality of life. Also, education is the most effective action in the medium term, more than any other action since it directly affects the main disruptive factors: our growing numbers and our beliefs, mentalities and ways of doing things.
To change mentalities, the diversity and richness of the jungle or the seas can guide us: we can find everything there, in a balance adapted to local, hyperlocal conditions, right down to the subsoil, ditto in the oceans. The reconnection to ancestral frugal practices, improved by modern techniques, is also an interesting avenue. Since we are also aiming for space, let's include space, the moon and elsewhere.
I invite you to get acquainted with the SDGs and push them as far as you can; the connections to education come naturally. There is so much to learn and rediscover, starting with our relationship with nature, not as a tourist or vacationer but as a living being, participating in the whole.
In 2123, we'll talk again.
Denys Lamontagne - [email protected]
Illustration: DepositPhotos - Vook
