"Politicians at various levels lack a sustainable development ethos," stated Dr. Ann Dale at the recent installment of the Shannon School of Business's Visiting Scholar Lecture series. Dr. Dale was the second speaker in the series; the lecture series will take place over five years and plans to draw leading business scholars from around the world.
Dr. Dale's current research focuses on sustainable community development, something she defines as a process of reconciling ecological, social and economic imperatives. If this is her operational definition of sustainable community development, to say that politicians lack a sustainable development ethos means that politicians have a low level of ecological literacy and that this has resulted in a "lack of shared meaning". Dr. Dale believes that this lack of shared meaning creates the political grid lock we are witnessing around the issues of the environment and how to solve environmental problems.
Dr. Dale told the audience that the federal and municipal levels of government can have the greatest impact. The federal government would formulate national policies, such as efficiency standards that would bring out country's laws in line with the toughest international standards in existence, while municipal governments could put in place tougher zoning regulations and by-laws.
The crowd that gathered in CBU's Royal Bank Lecture Theatre heard Dr. Dale's desire to have access to clear air, water, food and housing enshrined in our country's Charter. She does not know if it would pass but added, "It would be quite the debate, though."
Her message seemed well received by the audience a combination of people from on and off campus. The diverse audience suggested the importance of her topic and message for our island. Cape Breton has lost population, businesses, jobs and its economy has suffered as a result, these are all characteristics of what Dr. Dale (and other academics) refers to as uneven development. She began her lecture by arguing that places that are unevenly developed and in need of re-development must be careful not to over develop.
The day after her lecture, Dr. Dale was kind enough to sit down with me for a few questions. During our chat, she echoed the message from the previous night's lecture: that Cape Breton is in need of re-development and that we must be careful not to over develop and destroy the island's natural beauty, something she considered to be Cape Breton's biggest asset.
She described the development process that Cape Breton must follow as finding a "delicate balance". One that can draw in the professionals and skilled individuals an area needs to grow and, at the same time, find ways to reconcile the economic with the ecologic.
Dr. Dale was the second lecturer in the school of business's series. So far the lecture series has attracted Dr. Joel Bakan, the best-selling author and award winning documentary film maker behind "The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power", and now Dr. Ann Dale. Dr. Dale's is the Canadian Research Chair in sustainable community development, a Trudeau Fellow (2004), a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, and an award winning author for her 2001 book, "At the Edge: Sustainable Development in the 21st Century."
CBU's ability to draw such academics says a lot about the institution and such an event benefits not only the university, but the larger Cape Breton community as well. When such events take place, it is a chance to bring together students, professors, business people, and community members from a wide range of backgrounds together. When such a diverse group of people share a room and their knowledge with one another, you generate debate and discussion that is rare, invaluable and a true part of what a real university education is about.
Originally published in the Cape Breton Post on Monday, March 31, 2008.
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