The Geography of Sustainability

In this lecture we learned why green design is important. We focused on what our local environment challenges are, why the failure to live sustainably in America, our global scale challenges, and the geography of sustainability. Sustainability can be defined as keeping human needs within the constraints of nature. An example of this is a small Swiss town high up in the Alps building a damn because of the warming permafrost flooding down from the top of the mountain.
Some problems that we face are air pollution. The Triad is in the top 25 dirtiest air in America because of vehicle transportation. There were 7 code orange days in 2007. Our White Street Landfill has also closed from being overfilled. The urban sprawl is a major problem, this affects our water sources (which has come dangerously low) and causes urban heat island effect.
The five point framework for collapse is labeled as: environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, friendly trade partners, and society's response to environmental problems. The last reason is regarded as the most important factor, and can make or break whether we are able to create a sustainable balance between humans and the earth. There is a direct relationship between a society's belief in the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) and how "green" they are. Our core values are rooted in individualism, growth, and private property rights. This stems from Adam Smith's "Hidden Hand." But this theory does not count in externalities and common pool problems. The more we cling to those, the less we are willing to sacrifice for a more sustainable lifestyle. We are relying too much on science and technology to solve our problems.