Understanding Sustainability (1.4)
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Notes & REsources:Sustainability Notes |
Sustainable Philiosophy
Sustainability philosophy:
"Sustainability is the ability to sustain (keep going) and contains the notion of responsibility towards the next generations and the acknowledgement that we don't inherit, but we borrow." - Building Environmental Performance Open Dialogue (http://www.benperod.com/env/sustainability.htm)
Sustainable development = meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. |
ENVIRONMENT
Natural Capital
Natural Capital: Resources are described as "natural capital." If properly managed, renewable and replenished resources become forms of wealth that produce "natural income" to support the economy.
Examples:
What is Natural Capital? Natural capital is a way to measure the environmental aspects that can be both used and protected. |
Three major Environmental Concerns
Resource DepletionResources are depleted when a large fraction of the resource has been used up. Any nonrenewable resource can be depleted.
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PollutionAn undesired change in air, water, or soil that harms the health, survival, or activities of humans or other organisms
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Loss of BiodiversityBIODIVERSITY: the number and variety of species that live in an area.
Only a fraction of species native to Earth are alive today- extinction. Organisms that share the world with us are natural resources too, they provide us with… Food and oxygen. |
Ecological FOOTPRINTS
An ecological footprint is a way to measure the impact we (or me individually) has on the environment in terms of land and water usage to produce the goods consumed by people and the waste produced.
Articles on reducing your footprint: |
Strengths and weaknesses of Environmental Footprints as a model of sustainability:
Strengths:
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Weaknesses:
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NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA)
1969 US government passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
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Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are prepared BEFORE a development project of an organization, and reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Any project that disrupts the environment requires a EIA.
- New road development, airport/port development, power stations, dams/reservoirs, quarrying, large housing project, etc
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There are positives and negatives for EIAs. Watch the videos and see what you can determine.
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Society
Millennium Assessment Overview (UN Millennium Summit)
Develop 8 goals:
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Tragedy of the commons
Main problem of solving environmental problems is conflict between the short term interests of individuals and the long term welfare of society. Hardin wrote his original essay in 1968, described the idea that individuals will always make decisions based off their own interests/ personal needs regardless of the needs for society. He believed ultimately that humans are naturally selfish therefore the solutions are not always easy.
Assumptions of people's inability to decide to be sustainable on their own indicates that:
Original Essay (1968 by Garrett Hardin) Summary of Tragedy of Commons - Harvard Business School Some today argue that Hardin was just wrong, period, saying that humans have a greater capacity to share and create sustainable usage of various 'common' resources. So who is right? |
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Economy
Environment vs. Economy Debate
Environment vs Economy is a hotly debated topic. Which is more important?
Is the economic development of Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) more important than the environment? Below are some of the arguments on both sides of the aisle.
Some resources to get you started:
The New Yorker: A look at Canada/ US with the Kyoto Policy
Subsidy and our dependence on the environment
Tradable pollution permits
Is the economic development of Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) more important than the environment? Below are some of the arguments on both sides of the aisle.
Some resources to get you started:
The New Yorker: A look at Canada/ US with the Kyoto Policy
Subsidy and our dependence on the environment
Tradable pollution permits
Pro Arguments (for economic development):
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Con Arguments (for the environment):
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