The Faulty Three‐Legged‐Stool Model of Sustainable Development

Solutions to the many environmental problems facing humanity can only be effective if they are based on sound science, that is, on what we believe to be “true” to the best of our knowledge. These “truths” may be improved upon as research provides new insights, and when that occurs we can modify our solutions accordingly. However, natural laws provide the inviolate foundation on which effective solutions rest, and we ignore them at our peril. To build on a foundation of science, we also have to change the way we think. To paraphrase Einstein, we can’t solve today’s problems with the same thought processes that created the problems in the first place. This change has to come about not only in the way we solve problems but also in the way we as a species relate to the biosphere and the other organisms that share the planet with us. We often develop models as metaphors to describe some new understanding of a problem because they organize and simplify our understanding and suggest a seemingly reasonable way of solving it. As a result, the models are often “picked up” and used without the benefit of much consideration. Before long, they can become part of the mythology of the culture. This isn’t necessarily bad. If a model is well thought out and accurate, it can be an effective way to encourage people to recognize faulty concepts, which could help shift their thinking. If the model itself is faulty, however, the fact that it sounds reasonable may do more harm than good. Used repeatedly, it attains the status of fact when, in reality, it is simply another myth. Here we discuss a current model for sustainable development that we believe is based on faulty science and faulty logic. As such, it perpetuates an even older myth that the environment is something apart from humanity, humanity’s economy, and its social well-being. We do not discuss whether sustainable development itself is an oxymoronic concept. We do assume that sustainable development represents a real change in the way humans choose to live so that the viability and subsistence of all living species and their places are ensured.