Speaking about the environment today apparently means speaking about Sustainability. Theoretically, no one can take a stand against Sustainability because there is no definition of it. Neither is there a history of Sustainability. The S-word seems to point to a universal idea, valid anywhere,at any time.
Although the notion of Sustainability appeared for the first time in Germany in the 18th century (as Nachhaltigkeit), in fact Sustainability (and the creative oxymoron ’Sustainable Development’) isa young concept. Developed in the early seventies, it was formalized and officially adopted by the international community in 1987 in the UN report ’Our Common Future’.
Looking back, we see that Western society has always been obsessed by its relationship with the environment, with what is meant to be outside ourselves, or, as some call it, nature. Many ideas preceded the notion of Sustainability and even today there are various trends and original ideas following old ideological traditions. Some of these directly oppose Sustainability.
This timeline, from Amir Djalali with Piet Vollaard is an attempt to historically map the different ideas around the relationship between humans and their environment.
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