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258Cairns: Eco-Ethics and Sustainability Ethics‘the maximum number of a species that can be supported indefinitely by a particular habitat, allowingfor seasonal and random changes, without degradation of the environment and without diminishingcarrying capacity in the future’ (Hardin 1977, p. 113).If Earth is regarded as a single ecosystem, major ecological damage in any area affects the entiresystem. Given the dangers of exponential growth on a finite planet, catastrophes are highly probableand possibly irretrievable. Without a sense of community, sustainability will not be achieved. Somehowthe ability of individuals to view themselves as a part of a global community that is dependentupon a global biospheric life support system must be achieved. This is the sine qua non of sustainableuse of the planet.CONCLUSIONSI believe that humankind can continue to persist on Earth for thousands of years, perhaps evenlonger. It seems improbable that the human species can persist indefinitely. At the very least,humankind should accept the responsibility of leaving a habitable planet for posterity. Behavior thatis conducive to sustainability can be learned and passed to future generations. May it be so!Tikopians were living sustainably until Europeans successfully changed parts of the Tikopian culturethat resulted in replacing sustainable practices with unsustainable ones. Humankind should belearning to live sustainably from those who have some aptitude in this area. Some of the Tikopianmethods are repugnant, but so is what unsustainable practices will do to posterity. The Easter Islandtale shows that living sustainably is not inevitable.LITERATURE CITEDBierens de Haan JA (1943) The history of a legend. Ardea 32:11–24Boulding KE (1977) Commons and community: the idea of a public. In: Hardin G, Baden J (eds) Managing thecommons. WH Freeman, San Francisco, CA, pp 280–294Crowe BL (1969) The tragedy of the commons revisited. Science 166:1103–1107Diamond J (1994) Ecological collapses of ancient civilizations: the golden age that never was. Bull Am AcadArts Sci XLVII(5):37–59Ehrlich PR (2000) Human natures. Island Press, Washington, DCFirth R (1983) We, the Tikopia. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, CAFlenley J, Bahn P, Bahn PG (2003) The enigmas of Easter Island: island on the edge. Oxford University Press, UKGazzaniga MS (1985) The social brain. Basic Books, NYHardin G (1968) The tragedy of the commons. Science 162:1243–1248Hardin G (1977) Ethical implications of carrying capacity. In: Hardin G, Baden J (eds) Managing the commons,WH Freeman, San Francisco, CA, pp 112–125Hardin G (1999) The ostrich factor. Oxford University Press, Oxford, EnglandKirsch P (2000) On the road of the winds: an archeological history of the Pacific Islands before Europeancontact. University of California Press, Berkeley, CASeidel P (1998) Invisible walls. Prometheus Books, Amherst, NYWackernagel M, Rees W (1996) Our ecological footprint: reducing human impact on the Earth. The NewCatalyst Press, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia
259Article 30Reproduced from Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics (ESEP) with permission of Inter-ResearchESEP 2003:83–91www.esep.deNumeracy and SustainabilityJohn Cairns, Jr.Department of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.E-mail: jcairns@vt.eduABSTRACT: Sustainable use of the planet is based on the assumption that humankind can maintainconditions suitable for inhabiting the planet indefinitely. No robust evidence supports thisassumption nor rejects it, and adequate evidence on this issue may not be available for centuries.Numeracy is the ability to use or understand numerical techniques of mathematics. Even if adequatenumerical data were available, the important decisions humankind makes regarding sustainableuse of the planet should not be guided by numerical information alone, such as economicnumbers, but by eco- and sustainability ethics, which provide a values framework that indicateshow the numbers should be used and interpreted.KEY WORDS: Sustainability · Numeracy · Eco-ethics · Sustainability ethics · Sustainable developmentThe trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.Paul ValeryINTRODUCTIONSustainable use of the planet is based on the assumption that humankind has the right to alterthe planet so that human life can inhabit Earth indefinitely. In doing so, environmental conditions ofthe planet may be shifted so that they are optimal for one species, but not necessarily for allspecies or even a majority of species now alive. Clearly, humankind does not value all life equally.Sustainability is based on the assumption that acceptable environmental conditions can bemaintained. The assumption has not been validated, nor is it likely to be for centuries, if ever.Numeracy is the ability to use or understand numerical techniques of mathematics (a useful introductionis available in Bartlett 1994). However, the important decisions humankind makes shouldnot be based on numbers, even economic numbers, but rather on eco- and sustainability ethics,which provide a values framework that indicates how the numbers should be used and interpreted.The emphasis on severely limited numbers is a major weakness of the United Nations Commissionon Environment and Development (1987) report, which focused on development (commonly
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