I just finished listening to a radio programme which was exploring if the phrase “sustainable development” really has any veracity, as ‘development’ often implies the exponential conversion and ultimate destruction of new resources in a timeframe which is much shorter than the time it took the resources to form.  Hence it cannot, ultimately, be sustainable.  Mention was also made of James Lovelock’s view that we should turn this around, head in the opposite direction and all embark on a programme of ‘sustainable retreat’.

But it occurs to me that, maybe a better way would be for us all to embrace a new strategy of ‘sustainable reconfiguration’.  It would work like this:

• whatWeHave + humanEndeavour = somethingBetter
• somethingBetter – whatWeHave = addedValue
• addedValue = somethingForEveryone + cost(humanEndeavour) + entrepreneurialProfit

So, ‘somethingBetter’ is what we all strive for and ‘humanEndeavour’ keeps us busy and makes everyone happy.

‘entrepreneurialProfit’ gets the movers and shakers out of bed in the morning and some of it flows down to those around them.

No ‘new’ resources are wasted, beyond what can’t be replaced in the timeframe of their development, so it’s a sustainable strategy and the planet is saved.

It may need a little detail adding around the edges of course … I’ll work on that during my next long car journey.