If you have read the post on the discourse of limits and growth (which I hope you did!), you would know that that particular discourse held the idea that the economic growth will bring about damage to the earth because of the overuse of resources above the carrying capacity. However, this particular discourse aims to cast aside the idea that economic growth and environmentalism cannot co-exist. This discourse recognises that the world cannot continue to developing using the current trend of resource usage. However, there is also the recognition that the world still needs to continue developing economically.

With that being said, the discourse of sustainability is a relatively new type of discourse, but even so, it is considered as one of the most prominent and well-known types of discourses. This can be attributed to the events that have led up to the rise of sustainability as an environmental discourse.

Rise of Sustainability as Environmental Discourse

The above infographic shows how the sustainability as a discourse became more prominent as there are powerful governing bodies that engage in this discourse on a global level, so it would be more natural that the discourse becomes more prominent. Furthermore, governments would also tend to be influenced by their discourse in the type of policies that implement.

Linguistic Devices

• Engages in language that places nature as a means for humans to attain our own goals

There is related to the mindset about how we are to use resources in order to gain economic growth but instead for it to be used in a sustainable manner, showing some sort of concern for nature but ultimately still putting the economics first.

• Images and metaphors of hope

In contrast to how the discourse of limits and growth is, where it seems rather apocalyptic, sustainability employs linguistic devices that would instil hope in the participants of the discourse.

“This Commission believes that people can build a future that is more prosperous, more just, more secure. Our report, Our Common Future, is not a prediction of ever increasing environmental decay, poverty, and hardship in an ever more polluted world among ever decreasing resources. We see instead the possibility for a new era of economic growth, one that must be based on policies that sustain and expand the environmental resource base. And we believe such growth to be absolutely essential to relieve the great poverty that is deepening in much of the developing world.”

 

-Our Common Future, Page 11 

The bold words in the quote above shows words that would provide some sort of hope. This is because these words provide the listener that there is indeed a possibility for all these positive changes to be made. This gives people a perceived sense that they are able to control the changes that are happening, which is a large part of the discourse of sustainability!