Sustainability A way of life!

In the wisdom traditions of North America's First Nations people there are many teachings that relate directly to leadership. Two of these are the Twin Trail and the Children's Fire. The Twin Trail reflects a deep understanding of our human psychology, speaking to the primary difference between humans and our animal relatives: the capacity to make moral choices. It was described to me in a challenging encounter I had with my First Nations mentors in 1998. "We would not trust any leader who is not committed to the Twin Trail – the inner trail of self-understanding, self-unfolding, and deepening; the outer trail of having powerful effect in the world. The Twin Trail of leadership is built upon the knowledge that very few humans can survive the accumulation of power without being corrupted by it. Hubris is the greatest challenge of all successful leaders and it grows most powerfully where there is no valuing of the inner trail. The outer trail of having effe...

Cities and Sustainability The world urban population is likely to surge by 72% by 2050; from 3.6 billion in 2011 to 6.3 billion in 2050. It is expected that all of the future population growth will be concentrated around urban areas of less developed regions. Urbanisation is connected to industrialisation, modernisation and sociological practices. Since last hundred years or so people have moved from rural areas to urban to seek quality of life and economic opportunities. People believe that cities offer great opportunity for human life while minimising risks and challenges. Urbanisation has become great challenge of today; it occupies around 2 percent of world’s surface but consumes majority of the resources, it creates environmental, economic and social challenges that are difficult to address and quite complex. In 21 st century, cities have become heart of the planet. Many populated cities are at risks due to climate change. Modern cities are connected through large network o...

Climate Change Policy Response – A Case of China Introduction Global climate change and its adverse effects are a common concern of mankind. Ever since the industrial revolution, human activities, especially the massive consumption of energy and resource by developed countries in the process of industrialisation, have increased the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases, produced conspicuous impacts on the natural ecosystems of the earth, and posed severe challenges to the survival and development of human society (National Development and Reform Commission, 2008) . The ultimate goal of the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change is “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” Such a level should be achieved within a “time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, a...