Opposting Views of How to Face Environmental Issues

« ...we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil...The best way to break this addiction is through technology » - US President George W Bush, State of the Union Address, January 2006

I chose this quote because it is very clear about the neoclassical view on how to deal with environmental problems : the solution lies in through economic growth, which will in turn unlock the necessary technology to fight global warming and perumption of natural ressources.

« Once government's objectives were economic growth and social cohesion. Now they are prosperity, fairness and environmental care » - Prime Minister Gordon Brown addressing WWF (19 November 2007)

My second quote, on the contrary, represents the point of view of people with political views ranging more to the left, but also of general ecological thinkers (WWF here). The main goal of the government isn’t economic growth anymore, but to guarantee sustainability of the environment over any other economic pursues. I will try to explain and compare these two radically different point of views on the way to face environmental issues, before trying to decipher which would be the most reliable one, and to what extent both quotes set root in reality.

Sustainable development (SD) is often presented as being the solution which may enable us to reconcile economical, social and ecological dynamics. However, it first and foremost is itself a problem to be solved. The Brundtland report defines it as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ This definition makes SD an essentially normative concept. Pragmatically, what tools do we have to increase the world...