Can We Wait for the Year 3900?
Nicolaus Copernicus was convinced that “we revolve around the Sun like any other planet,” but that was then. Of course, he was not the first one to make this claim, other scholars like Aristarchus of Samos proposed that in the centre of the universe at the Sun. Still, we must give Copernicus credence for giving life to an otherwise dead idea.
When it comes to ancient theories and concepts, it was difficult to doubt the Greek. Everything proposed by the Greek Scholars had to be true. Well, almost everything. There were a few problems with the idea of Earth as the centre, and people did notice. For starters, there were the eclipses. Also, there was the fact that Mars seemed to move backward rather than forwards.
Anyway, let’s move a little further back to Nicolaus Copernicus and heliocentrism. In my opinion (and yours, I hope!) heliocentrism is just like modern-day concept of sustainability, sustainable development and systematic thinking. Yes, this is a topic I very much adore and you should too! Let me show you why.
Sustainability is a thorn in the flesh for some; why wouldn’t it be when it questions some fundamental ancient teachings that we hold so dear. My mind rarely wanders, but when it does, I find myself convinced that if Copernicus were alive today, he’d be ever so disappointed in us. It has been ages since we learned about heliocentrism and yet sustainability seems to be a distant dream. I am often curious; will we ever embrace sustainability?
What is 3900 all about?
The concept of heliocentrism has evolved a great deal, and it sure is intertwined with what we refer to as sustainability today. To understand my doubts with the year 3900, we must first understand the evolution of heliocentrism since the time of Aristarchus.
You may not know this, but the concept of heliocentrism has sustainability written all over it. What’s more? It took just as much time! If you trace heliocentrism from Aristarchus’s proposals in Ca. 310 to Johannes Kepler’s more refined model of the 17th Century, you’d think that the ancient scholars conspired to drag the development of heliocentrism.
For all the work, Copernicus put into it; the heliocentrism theory sure did lag. Many scholars worked to develop this theory, but it was somewhat determined to remain dead. Nicholas Copernicus must have died a miserable man.
Humans did not realise that they were ruining the environment today, yesterday, nor the day before that. Far from it! Let’s discuss sustainability and the fact that we began to realise that we needed sustainability in the late 18th Century and yet…
Are we making progress or merely destroying our a planet?
Numerous studies have been done, and much money has been spent on research. Seminars have been held, and conferences have been attended- for YEARS! For all the time and resources we have put into sustainability, shouldn’t we have achieved even half of our sustainability goals by now?
In 1972, the OECD proposed that polluters of the environment should be liable for any resultant costs. The UN environment programme was developed in 1973. By 1975, there were discussions on endangered species. The green belt movement was established in 1977. In 1982, the UN developed measures for managing the earth’s seas. In 2012, a UN conference held in Rio de Janeiro came up with sustainable development goals. Just last year, Sweden was hit by a wave of wildfires and excessive heat.
If our progress so far is anything to go by, we will need another 1900 years to achieve our so-called sustainable development goals. In short, 3900 is the year (maybe) we will have fully embraced the concept of sustainability. The Year 3900 can be a year with zero poverty, zero hunger, quality education for everyone, everyone is treated equal regardless of gender and race, clean water, clean energy, decent work, sustainable growth for all companies, sustainable cities and last but not the least, peace and justice globally.
And yes, you guessed it! 3900 is a little too far. We need to ACT NOW!
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Gilbert Guaring is an idea peddler, a convert and cohort on Responsible Marketing, Sustainability and Systems Thinking. He is currently the Head of Marketing and Communications at UAP (Urban Art Projects| uapcompany.com) and Founder of Be Extraordinary (be-extraordinary.co); Australia's first marketing focused non-for-profit organization inspiring SMEs in the built environment the value of strategic and responsible marketing.