Architecture and Environment : Is Sustainable Development Feasible?

I think the idea of architecture and environment is very compatible, and because we are still student, we can learn how to do it. But is the idea of sustainable development so complex, dependent on so many variables, that it is virtually impossible to achieve? Are the changes in values and political will required to achieve sustainability possible in our society? Are we capable of the cross-disciplinary thinking and communication necessary to make fundamental change happen?

Every two years, Columbia University’s Earth Institute gathers together scientists, economists, policy makers, philosophers, journalists and others to assess the “state of the planet.” John Mutter, deputy director of the Earth Institute and chair of the organizing committee for the March 2006 state of the planet conference will report on responses to the conference theme “Is Sustainable Development Feasible?”

The Earth Institute at Columbia is an interdisciplinary research program “motivated by the belief that science and technological tools already exist, and could be expanded, to greatly improve conditions for the world's poor while preserving the natural systems that support life on Earth.” John Mutter is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at Columbia, and directs the PhD Program in Sustainable Development at the School of International and Public Affairs. His early research focused on undersea geophysics, and his current research focuses on science-based issues of sustainable development: “how scientific advances made in developed countries might be used to elevate the condition of people in developing countries.”
lecture by John Mutter - Source : Archinect