THE NEW ENVIRONMENTALISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Environmentalism is a metaphor for both how we feel about the natural world, and how we feel we ought to behave towards all living and inanimate objects. Because our values are not consistent, so our environmental ideologies are not consonant. We all experience, to a greater or lesser extent, three levels of "greenness" - dry, shallow and deep. The concept of sustainability is enmeshed in this tripartite interpretation of the world. There is no unity of view as to what sustainability means or how it can be applied to different cultures and economies. What may be necessary is a geography-led approach to sustainable development, incorporating land, culture and enlightenment borne of experience and experimentation. In principle, this should be handled through independent non-governmental channels, and separately monitored.