The Five Why’s of Sustainability
Asking these five questions takes us beyond the obvious symptoms to discover the root cause of climate change.
As you walk into the Shard in London (Europe’s tallest building), there is a majestic tree that stretches towards the ceiling. The tree sits in a giant pot isolated from any other tree, and yet the tree knows, implicitly, that it can no longer grow. The tree understands that its existence depends on following the unwritten rules of nature.
Imagine the tree kept on growing simply because it quite liked the idea of being bigger. If it did, the tree’s roots would eventually break through the pot which supports it. The tree would need more nutrients than the soil could provide. In its quest to get bigger, the tree would ultimately die because its limited environment — the pot, filled with a limited supply of soil, and the ceiling of the reception — can only sustain a tree of a certain size.
In nature, the same rules apply. Once a tree reaches maturity it remains in a steady state. This is one where it no longer grows, but maintains a state of dynamic equilibrium. The tree changes with the seasons, sure, but it never exceeds the capacity of the environment that sustains it.
