UBC Professor William Rees argues that climate change is the largest collective

UBC Professor William Rees argues that climate change is the largest collective threat humankind has ever faced as we are now a global culture. Individual choices to reduce their eco-footprint will not have a huge effect. Sustainability is not about acting alone, but is a collective enterprise so we must make our cities so it is possible for our citizens to live a sustainable life. We are all on the Titanic together.

We have to recognize we are at a juncture of history where we have not choice but to move fast to a very different way of life. The younger generation has got to stand up and be counted. Ashok

We have to recognize we are at a juncture of history where we have not choice but to move fast to a very different way of life. The younger generation has got to stand up and be counted. Ashok Khosla is Chairman of Development Alternatives in New Delhi, India. Previously, Khosla established and headed the Office of Environmental Planning and Coordination in India's national government. Khosla subsequently was Director of INFOTERRA, the global information system of the UN Environment Programme, was a Special Advisor to the Brundtland Commission, and served as an advisor to the United Nations, World Bank and Global Environmental Facility.

Larry O'Connor, lecturer in accounting in the business school of La Trobe University in Australia started out with his inquiry as to how accounting is bringing about changes towards a more

Larry O'Connor, lecturer in accounting in the business school of La Trobe University in Australia started out with his inquiry as to how accounting is bringing about changes towards a more sustainable economy and has come to the conclusion that it isn't. The driver remains idealogy of the free market is set within a certain value set and has been misrepresented as an "agenda of reform," but is really deforming, putting economics at the center spot, making the economic value at the center of all things to include turning Universities into profit centers. As a result, accounting is being used to entrench the status quo rather than to benefit sustainability. 

This video was produced by Ruth Ann Barrett, producer, EarthSayers.tv as part of her participation in Portland State University's Social Sustainability Network. The video was made in June, 2010.

Excerpt of an interview with Guujaaw (Haida): Guujaaw speaks to the importance of the land in meeting the needs of the Haida people, and of having an economy that works with his people's

Excerpt of an interview with Guujaaw (Haida): Guujaaw speaks to the importance of the land in meeting the needs of the Haida people, and of having an economy that works with his people's focus on the multigenerational aspects of life.
This clip is part of a series exploring the meaning of sustainability from the perspectives of indigenous leaders from the bioregion of Salmon Nation. See Native Perspectives on Sustainability project.