Abstract:

This paper examines the human emotional and cultural barriers, primarily from the American perspective, to achieving the United Nations list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. The data from select recent studies in the areas of education, sustainability, consumer rational, diversity, and consumer segmentation were evaluated to understand how these areas block us from moving forward in sustainability conversations. This paper argues that we can attack these barriers by re-examining the role and responsibility of higher education institutions. Institutions have not taken the necessary steps to prioritize making sure that the needs of society are balanced against the constraints of the world. This is evident through the way that we think of learning but can be addressed by bridging the gap between education and the workplace, encouraging diversity, and attacking elitism.