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Is It Time to Shift Our Environmental Thinking? A Perspective on Barriers and Opportunities to Change

Author

Listed:
  • Christine Daigle

    (Philosophy Department, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada)

  • Liette Vasseur

    (UNESCO Chair in Community Sustainability: From Local to Global, Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada)

Abstract

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals. In 2019, the release of the global assessment report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services unfortunately demonstrated that our planet may be in more trouble than expected. The main drivers have been identified for many years and relate to human activities such as over-exploitation of natural resources leading to land degradation, deforestation, ocean and atmospheric pollution, and climate change. Despite international agreements and conventions, we are gradually reaching the planet’s boundaries. In this commentary, we present an analysis of the current worldview, discuss the humanist roots of this view, and the barriers to be able to move forward with the transformative changes that are needed for sustainability. We suggest that for these transformative changes to happen, there is a need to reconnect humans with nature, and we propose that some solutions could be devised in areas like education and social media. Changing our mindsets and worldviews are the most urgent courses of action we must undertake to avoid the inevitable.

Suggested Citation

  • Christine Daigle & Liette Vasseur, 2019. "Is It Time to Shift Our Environmental Thinking? A Perspective on Barriers and Opportunities to Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-8, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:18:p:5010-:d:266907
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jee Hoon Lee & Jacob Wood & Jungsuk Kim, 2021. "Tracing the Trends in Sustainability and Social Media Research Using Topic Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-19, January.
    2. Maximilian Tallgauer & Christoph Schank, 2023. "Rethinking Economics Education for Sustainable Development: A Posthumanist Practice Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-14, June.
    3. Grażyna Bartkowiak & Agnieszka Krugiełka & Paulina Kostrzewa-Demczuk & Ryszard Dachowski & Katarzyna Gałek, 2021. "Styles of Coping with Stress as a Factor Influencing Professional Burnout among Professional Officers of the Polish Army in the Context of Their Age," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Lissy Fehnker & Diane Pearson & Peter Howland, 2022. "Informing Future Land Systems Using Self-Reported Pathways and Barriers to Connections to Nature: A Case Study in Auckland, New Zealand," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, October.
    5. Marta Cholewa-Wiktor, 2021. "The Concept of Sustainable Development in the Curriculum of the Medical Universities in Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 2), pages 72-86.
    6. Sara Gottenhuber & Eric Mulholland, 2020. "Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in Times of Rising Right-Wing Populism in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-14, October.
    7. Grażyna Bartkowiak & Agnieszka Krugiełka & Paulina Kostrzewa-Demczuk & Ryszard Dachowski & Katarzyna Gałek-Bracha, 2022. "Experiencing Stress among Different Professional Groups in the Context of Their Age," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-15, January.

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