The Sustainability Apostle and a Brethren: A conversation

A conversation between an Apostle of Sustainability and a would-be convert:

Apostle: There are several real global problems the world is currently faced with.

Brethren: The world has always faced problems, go on the history lane. By the way what sort of problems are you talking about.

Apostle: Population explosion, food insecurity, environmental degradation, climate change, sustainable and ethical consumption and others. Bro, they’re too many.

Disenchanted pause.

Brethren: I think this whole Sustainable development is a utopian dreamland, unreal reality!

Apostle: How?

Brethren: For example, sustainable use of paper. Is it better to collect old paper polluting the air with trucks and then use strong chemicals and consume energy to purify and make a new (low quality!) paper and then do all this over again until the whole Earth is polluted, OR to plant trees for paper, burn old paper (and get the energy from it) and let those trees to breathe in the CO2 generated by burning the old paper in the same amount required to replace old paper with new?

Apostle: Sighs

Apostle: The world is really complex; life is complex too: don’t expect simple answers to complex problems. The complexity of the world we live in requires us to remain flexible, innovative, and adaptive.

In the construct of sustainability, I do not think we need any Sustainability High Priest to lead this but “True believers” who can confront us with the inconvenient truths of the global problem we are all witnessing today. The problem is real, and the threat is existential. Discrete interventions have failed to address these problems that require systems thinking and a holistic approach that equips us with the knowledge to make the transition towards sustainability.

Apostle: Do you disagree?

Brethren: Abeg (please) change the topic.

Apostle: Abeg make we talk am talk (please let’s discuss the issue further).

Apostle: Do you disagree?