What do we mean by sustainability? Is it sufficient for individual industries or enterprises to be sustainable? Can a sustainable planet be quantified or controlled? Is "sustainable growth" possible or desirable?
What can we say about the current situation? Major sustainability problems started with the industrial revolution and all relevant graphs, including population, started to rise exponentially about 200 years ago. As a result of population growth coupled to unconstrained consumerism, our market/growth-driven society is now unsustainable on a massive scale. The use of fossil fuels leading to climate change is clearly a major driver and aggravates related problems e.g. water and food shortages. However, there are so many others that it is impossible to give a comprehensive list (platinum[electronic circuits] and phosphorus [fertiliser] shortages have recently hit the headlines) . However, our use of fresh water (particularly in power production and irrigation), deforestation, our eating habits (over-fishing, over-grazing, intensive farming, consumption of meat) and the fact that most of what the developed world consumes (both food and other commodities) is produced much too far from the point of consumption are at least some of the major issues worthy of mention. What is likely to happen if we continue to get it wrong?
What can / should science do to help? An interesting argument (for an Engineer!) is that it is technology that is capable of helping us out of the mess, not science. If the science does not already exist, it is probably too late for the technology to be developed to make use of it on a sufficiently large scale. We do not have a good track record in developing technology to help the planet! "As technology has heightened human power over nature, modern humans are increasingly alienated from the earth and their fellow creatures" (Northcott) and therefore increasingly unaware of the terrible damage that technology is doing to the environment. Is a sustainable world possible (with the help of science/technology) - use climate change as a basis for this discussion (it is absolutely fundamantal to the problem and it is comparatively well documented). However, climate change is a symptom of a much deeper malaise, we humans have got our relationship with the planet totally wrong (Bookless).
Is there / should there be a distictively Christian position on sustainability? What does the Bible have to offer on the subject? How should Christians relate to the planet / creation in a 21st Century industrial society. Are we totally at the mercy of world governments or is there an imperitive to make a personal response? As Christians, our response should be part of our worship of the creator, not just a matter of ticking boxes
source: http://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/content/musicandevents/whatson/detail/Faith_and_Sustainability_through_Science__a_lecture_by_Professor_Michael_Davies/246.aspx
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