Delta State University

SOC/COD 521

Fall 2004

Writing Assignment No. 4

Due:  Monday, October 4

Instructions:  Prepare a two page essay on the topic identified below.  Be sure to develop an explanation or argument in your essay.

Topic:  The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), in a widely cited passage, provides a definition of sustainable development:

            “Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable – to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (p. 8)

Critique this definition.  Under what conditions does it help us determine if our actions are sustainable?  Draw on the case presented in the video “The Hudson Riverkeepers” to illustrate the value of this definition when applied to specific cases.  How might we revise this definition to make it more useful, or more applicable to a wider variety of conditions?