Evolving Values

Value is the starting point of sustainability — and a healthy community is its end result.

In this episode, we explore why real progress isn’t driven by better information or improved practices alone, but by a change in our thought process and what we recognize as valuable.

Sustainability is often framed as environmental protection, but its potential may be much broader: the development of resilient communities and strong institutions that support a better way of life for human beings.

As a central characteristic of a sustainable society, healthy biodiversity would exist within communities and be actively fostered in the natural world.

If we begin to see value differently, what kind of society could emerge?

Transcript

Welcome And The Big Reframe

SPEAKER_00 0:00

My name's Todd Francis. Welcome to It's Sustainability Time. Often we talk about sustainability as if it were something we already understand. It's as if it's just a matter of doing a few things better, like using less, conserving more. So in the last episode I introduced the idea that sustainability might require a new way of

Water Scarcity And Everyday Awareness

SPEAKER_00 0:30

thinking. Now let's look at water. In many places water is abundant. It's as abundant as the air is for some people. You take a sip of water from a bottle or turn on the faucet, and it's just part of the background of your daily life. But in that moment, there is an opportunity to recognize something deeper, which is how essential that resource really is, how fundamental it is to life. And that awareness can stay with you as you go throughout your day. In some places in the world, water is scarce, in others it's not. The fact that water is a fundamental to life is not necessarily about conservation at the moment when you take a sip. It can be about awareness. It's about understanding the value of water beyond the need to satisfy your thirst, beyond the need to conserve. So value can be understood through awareness, and not just only revealed through supply and demand. And when we begin to see value in that way, it changes how we relate to the world around us.

Expanding Value Beyond Money

SPEAKER_00 2:09

So this brings us to the larger idea of sustainability as a whole. Sustainability involves understanding the full value of our resources. All of them. Understand the value of our natural resources. Human well being is a resource. One of the largest resources we have is us. Institutional strength, long term stability, schools, government all contain forms of value. They're all resources. Love is a valuable resource. And these contribute to a functioning society, they are all intertwined. And some of our resources, like clean water, do not have a financial value when it's around you, such as lakes, streams, rivers, whether it be in rural areas, suburbs, or cities. It's incalculable that value. Greater sustainability depends on we humans changing how we think. There are clear benefits to taking a broader view of value that support our lives. As our awareness grows, so does the number of reasons that these resources are essential. So instead of asking only what is the cost, we must begin to ask what is the impact? And that shift, even when subtle, can lead to more intentional decision making, better informed decision making. And there are clear challenges, there are gaps to how value is measured, trade-offs that are difficult to resolve, and a variety of systems that we have developed over time that are not always aligned with long-term outcomes. So it's not easy to redefine value in a consistent and practical way. These are complex problems and they require thoughtful consideration, but it does suggest something very important, which is that part of building a sustainable society is not only identifying what needs to change, but also recognizing and strengthening what is already supporting us. Because sustainability is not building from scratch, it evolves from existing systems, existing structures, and existing forms of value, refined, improved, and better understood over time. Hallelujah.

Sustainability As A Healthy Society

SPEAKER_00 5:22

So in this episode, I want to step back and look at the goal of sustainability not just us at not just as a set of behaviors, but as a vision of what a well-functioning society actually looks like. I want to explore the idea that sustainability might not just be about reducing harm to the environment, but about building a society that is actually healthy, resilient, and capable of supporting itself over time. A society where people have opportunities to grow, where forward-thinking institutions function well in the real world, where communities are stable but adaptable, and where the natural environment is strong and capable of supporting life. So biodiversity in this sense it's not just a goal. It's not the goal of sustainability, it's the result of a society that is functioning properly as an organized system, so that you are reciprocal. Biodiversity supports us, and we in turn must support biodiversity so that we may be supported. And beyond that, of course, is respect and love for our environment, which we are blessed with. So sustainability asks something new, and at the same time it asks an ancient question: can we design a civilization that is meant to last?

Beyond Consumer Choices And Recycling

SPEAKER_00 7:09

But here's where things begin to get a little more complicated. Most of the time when sustainability is discussed in public, it's presented in a much narrower way, more narrow. We're told that sustainability is about modifying our consumer choices, buying different products, using fewer resources, conserving energy and recycling. And all these things, all these actions do matter, but they are only part of the picture. They're actions within our system. The system is not trying to achieve a better environment. The system is trying to achieve a stronger society that lasts. It's about how a civilization functions over time. Say it again. It's about it's about whether the systems we rely on economic, environmental, and social are capable of supporting life in a stable and meaningful way. So at the same time, however, it is important to stay grounded and recognize something very important, which is that many of the things that have a financial value today, they do support us. What's supported and promoted and built by financial institutions and all of its relationships, including government, they're not all bad, some of you, they're not. Food production, infrastructure itself, health care, energy systems, transportation, amongst many others are supported through financial structures, and they bring us real benefits. So a lot of what we've built clearly works in many ways, and it's not accurate to say that everything is misaligned or broken. Our governments, schools, infrastructure, financial markets all carry a variety of sustainable characteristics. So it may be harder than we think to determine what adjustments are actually necessary since real value is more complex than what is captured in financial terms alone.

Gasoline Pricing Versus True Impact

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Take something like gasoline. It has a clear purchase price, we all see it at the pump, we understand what we are paying for, but at the same time that price does not fully capture the broader cost of using gasoline. The price reflects production, distribution, and market demand. All of the things that go into making that resource available. But there's a cost to using gasoline, and it has a range of impacts throughout society that are good and bad. So the true benefit of gasoline must be calculated, the true price of gasoline must include its impact on society. So we have to come to understand that sustainability is not just about changing behavior or adjusting the system that we have built. It also involves developing a clearer understanding of value itself. Understanding not just what things cost but what they contribute, not just what is measurable, but what is meaningful in practical real world terms?

Listener Reflection And Closing

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Beautiful day on the suddy shores of Connecticut, USA For yourselves, what is on your list of sustainable practices that you'd like to see? What is on your list of institutions, practices, places that you feel are sustainable but could be enhanced and improved? But is it about yourself that you like that is sustainable in terms of your attitude? My point is do not wait for the world to become a sustainable place, as it were. Take what is inside of you and be glorified by it, enjoy it. Understand that you have a practical understanding of what it means to be healthy in the context of your larger society. It's a wonderful thing to think of yourself as a sustainable being, achieving some things that are very important, which is a proper awareness of your world. It's a beautiful thing, it's a wonderful thing. So this is Todd Francis. Hope you've enjoyed this episode of It's Sustainability Time. I've had a good time speaking with you. Hope you've enjoyed yourself. It's a beautiful spring day here in Connecticut, USA, right on the shoreline. Hope you're having a great day. Thanks for joining. See you next time.