On the 21st February 2012, Graham Allen the Environmental Manager at SMU came into our lecture to talk to us about “Education for sustainable development.” As I did Geography at A level this particularly interested me as I had learnt about sustainability last year at college.
Mr. Allen gave us a quote from Kofi Annan. It read:
"Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract – sustainable development - and turn it into a reality for all the world's people".
Kofi Annan is a diplomat, the “Kofi Annan Foundation works to promote better global governance and strengthen the capacities of people and countries to achieve a fairer, more secure world.” (http://kofiannanfoundation.org/)
Mr. Allen explained that there are 300 definitions of sustainable development. Which quotes are accurate we ask ourselves? The most commonly quote however is from Gro Harlem Bruntland. Bruntland is the Director General of the World Health Organisation. In 1987, he said:
"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
After showing us many quotes from very important people and what they meant to him, Mr. Allen went on to tell us what Universities should be doing to help the environment. To improve he explained we should come together to make target goals and commitment. By doing this we all need responsibilities and effective communication so we can share our learning and knowledge. We should then monitor systems to access and report progress.
As many think the rise in the worlds population is a bad think for pollution there are many benefits of growth:
· More people = More companies = Creates employment
· Better goals = Higher incomes
· Hopefully a decrease in poverty as the world is getting richer
Today The National Assembly for Wales has a duty under section 121 of the government of Wales Act 1988 to promote Sustainable Development in the exercise of its functions, that is, in everything it does. This includes recycling, re-using and reducing! This is something I learnt in my Primary School. By learning this at a young age I understood the environmental problems and wanted to take action. “Action is our only hope.” (Allen)
I thourghly enjoyed Mr. Allens lecture and thought it was very relevant to today's society. It has made me want to do more in order to help the environment to tommorrows generation!
No comments:
Post a Comment