Within the text, the “sustainability” is best defined as “an environmental buzzword.” It presents the idea that whilst sustainability is defined as “inter – and intra- generational equity in the social, environmental, economic, moral and political spheres of society,“ it ultimately “isolates and ostracizes various populations who cannot afford to be sustainable:” it is “no longer about the salvation of nature, but the prolonging of human life and human social and economic systems, namely capitalism.”
An example given in the text is the BIOX plant in Hamilton: “Hamilton has one of the highest incidents of low income per household in Ontario” The construction of the plant in a residential area puts the residents in a high risk situation, with no means of escape, exposing them to “harsh and potentially harmful chemicals,” for sustainability’s sake: “sustainability is reinvented as technology and as individual choices, it creates a divide in the population along the lines of class.”
In conclusion, the text presents the question “is it right to save the environment, or save the poor?”
The main tendency of capitalism is the commodification of objects, issues, anything that can be integrated into a “systematic cycle of accumulation.” In the text, capitalism is described as being “never ending:” “a diverse web that is constantly expanding and trapping things.” A crisis of capitalism is presented as when the cycle of capitalisation appears to have reached it’s limit, however, “the construction of this crisis only further perpetuates the cycle,” and capitalism is able to renew itself: the depleting oil supplies could be used as an example, however, the prices of oil rises, and expensive alternatives, using the “eco friendly” alternatives are introduced.
Within the text, the reinvention of sustainability is offered as a solution” so that it mirrors its ideological construct of community, morality, equality and prosperity, instead of technology driven innovation:” it states that in order to solve the sustainability problem, we need to stop looking towards capitalism in for a solution for problems. Sustainability, and capitalism, have been presented as concepts that are largely incompatible: one has integrated the other, and in turn, sustainability needs to be re-established.
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