Sustainability is an economic, social, and environmental concept. It is intended to be a means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society and its members are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystem, and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals indefinitely. Sustainability affects every level of organization, from the local neighborhood to the entire Earth. It is sometimes a controversial topic. ==Definition== Put in simpler terms, sustainability is providing for the best for people and the environment both now and in the indefinite future. In the terms of the 1987 Brundtland Report, sustainability is: "''Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.''" This is very much like the "seventh generation" philosophy of the Native American Iroquois, mandating that chiefs always consider the effects of their actions on their descendants through the seventh generation in the future. The original term was "sustainable development," a term adopted by the Agenda 21 program of the United Nations. Some people now object to the term "sustainable development" as an umbrella term since it implies continued development, and insist that it should be reserved only for development activities. "Sustainability", then, is nowadays used as an umbrella term for all of human activity. In economics, sustainable growth consists of increases in real incomes (i.e. inflation-adjusted) or output that could be sustained for long periods of time. ==Concepts and issues== The modern concept of environmental sustainability goes back to the post-World War II period, when a utopian view of technology-driven economic growth gave way to a perception that the quality of the environment was linked closely to economic development. Interest grew sharply during the environmental movements of the 1960s, when popular books such as ''Silent Spring'' by Rachel Carson (1962) and ''The Population Bomb'' by Paul Ehrlich (1968) raised public awareness. There are two related categories of thought on environmental sustainability. In 1968 the Club of Rome, a group of European economists and scientists, was formed. In 1972 they published Limits to Growth. Although discredited by many, it predicted dire consequences because humans were using up the Earth's resources, and it advocated as one solution the abandonment of economic development. Groups sympathetic to the general premise that human society was growing too quickly and/or using up its resources formed, including the Worldwatch Institute in 1975. In a different category, other groups formed to focus less on population growth control and slowing economic development, and more on establishing environmental standards and enforcement. There is also a positive way to view sustainability: though values vary greatly in detail within and between cultures, at the heart of the concept of sustainability there is a fundamental, immutable value set that is best stated as 'parallel care and respect for the ecosystem and for the people within.' From this value set emerges the goal of sustainability: to achieve human and ecosystem well-being together. It follows that the 'result' against which the success of any projector design should be judged is the achievement of, or the contribution to, human and ecosystem well-being together. Seen in this way, the concept of sustainability is much more than environmental protection in another guise. It is a positive concept that has as much to do with achieving well-being for people and ecosystems as it has to do with reducing stress or impacts. Many people have pointed to various practices and philosophies in the world today as being inimical to sustainability. For instance, critics of American society state that the philosophy of infinite economic growth and infinite growth in consumption are completely unsustainable and will cause great harm to human civilization in the future. In recognition that the Earth is finite, there has been a growing awareness that there must be limits to certain kinds of human activity if life on the planet is to survive indefinitely. In order to distinguish which activities are destructive and which are benign or beneficial, various models have been developed. Such models include: life cycle assessment, ecological footprint analysis and The Natural Step. One of the critically important issues in sustainability is that of human overpopulation. A number of studies have suggested that the current population of the Earth, already over six billion, is too many people for our planet to support sustainably. A number of organizations are working to try to reduce population growth, but some fear that it may already be too late. Critics of such efforts, on the other hand, fear that efforts to reduce population growth may lead to human rights violations such as involuntary sterilization and the abandoning of infants to die. Some human-rights watchers report that this is already taking place in China, as a result of its one child per family policy. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, founded in 1995, has formulated the business case for sustainable development and argues that "sustainable development is good for business and business is good for sustainable development". Some organisations which have attempted to incorporate sustainability values into the global economy are International Council on Mining and Metals and the Global Mining Initiative. ==Implementing Agenda 21== The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which was given the Task Manager responsibility for reporting World Progress on implementing four Chapters of Agenda 21 (Land, Forests, Mountains, Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development) by the United Nations, acknowledges: :''Sustainability concerns one of the most fundamental questions for technical cooperation: will the benefits and results achieved through the project be maintained and enhanced by the ultimate end-users and their community, based on their own commitment and resources, after the termination of the external assistance? The question entails a complex analysis of aspects related to this broad concept, including the acceptability and use to be made of project outputs and results by the intended groups targeted their capacity to maintain the results, and the institutional and policy environments to enable them to do so.'' ===Types of sustainability=== The FAO has identified considerations for technical cooperation that affect three types of sustainability: * Institutional sustainability: Can the strengthened institutional structure continue to deliver the results of the technical cooperation to the ultimate end-users? The results may not be sustainable if, for example, the planning unit strengthened by the technical cooperation ceases to have access to top-management or is not provided with adequate resources for the effective performance after the technical cooperation terminated; * Economical and financial sustainability: Can the results of the technical cooperation continue to yield an economic benefit after the technical cooperation is withdrawn? For example, the benefits from the introduction of new crops may not be sustained, if the constraints to marketing the crops are not resolved. Similarly, economic (distinct from financial) sustainability may be at risk, if the end-users continue to depend on heavily-subsidized activities and inputs. * Ecological sustainability: Are the benefits to be generated by the technical cooperation likely to lead to a deterioration in the physical environment (thus indirectly contributing to a fall in production) or well-being of the groups targeted and their society? == See also == *Biosphere *conservation biology *economic growth *energy *energy development *environmental design *future of the car *green building *The Natural Step *overpopulation *organic agriculture *organic horticulture *permaculture *renewable energy *soft energy path *sustainable design *sustainable development *voluntary simplicity ==Bibliography== * ''Food for the Future: Conditions and Contradictions of Sustainability.'' Patricia Allen (Editor) ISBN 0-471-58082-1 Paperback. 344 pages. 1993. == External links == * [http://www.ecifm.rdg.ac.uk/definitions.htm Definitions of Sustainability] - Many views excerpted in a short space. University of Reading (UK). * [http://www.iisd.org/ International Institute for Sustainable Development (Canadian)] * [http://www.insnet.org/ iNSnet] - Portal site for sustainable development. * [http://www.sustainabilitystart.com/ SustainabilityStart] - Links and database on sustainable development. * [http://www.wscsd.org/ World Student Community for Sustainable Development]. * [http://www.sustainability.ca/ Sustainability Now] - Many references on Sustainability - from an engineering perspective. Sustainability
The original article was signed : --John Knouse
: mailto:jaknouse@frognet.net John, thanks for your contribution to Wikipedia. ==Sustainability project poll== I don't know if anybody is watching this page, but if you are, could you please assist me with the following: User:Hawstom I have been wanting to have a working Wikipedia:WikiProject Sustainability or Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy development. We currently have a Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations that is going nowhere. Please answer in poll format (Support or Oppose) the following proposals: User:Hawstom Move Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations to Wikipedia:WikiProject Sustainability. * Support. This seems to be the biggest umbrella and the most acceptable term. User:Hawstom 22:35, Feb 24, 2005 (UTC) * Support. Seems to define the subject best, to the point. --User:DanielCD 14:10, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC) Move Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations to Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy development. * Oppose. See above. User:Hawstom 22:35, Feb 24, 2005 (UTC) * Oppose. doesn't keep global feel of other, seems too specific. --User:DanielCD 14:10, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC) Simplify the Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations page to initially include just Participants, Guestbook, Polls, and List of categories and articles. * Support. User:Hawstom 22:35, Feb 24, 2005 (UTC) * Support. Provided there is enough material here that doesn't go in Wikipedia:WikiProject Sustainability. Oppose if there is more than 80% overlap. --User:DanielCD 14:10, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC) ==Energy development WikiProject== Please add Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy development to your Watchlists and participate in any polls and discussion there. Thanks in advance. We really need some additional input. We are kind of at a standstill on some issues. The Sustainability project is still available for moving, and I agree it is more global and we should work toward it. This is a start. User:Hawstom 05:52, Feb 26, 2005 (UTC) ==Merge with Global Green Charter?== The article seems to represent sustainability as purely a party-political green concept. It is not. I am thinking the article should be merged with Global Green Charter or should have ''Global Green Charter'' in its title. User:Laurel Bush 13:04, 11 May 2005 (UTC). :I've re-read the article with your comments in mind and confess that I don't understand your point. It seems to me that there is a need for a Wikipedia article on Sustainability because it is a term that many readers will be curious about. The ''Global Green Charter'' is one attempt to pursue a program to achieve "sustainability" and there is some overlap between the articles. However, ''Sustainability'' is the broader concept and should remain a discrete article, IMO. How might we retain the article and still address your concerns about its "party-political green" aspects? User:Sunray 17:19, 2005 May 11 (UTC) I take it now that the ''green politics'' box highjacks a more general article. User:Laurel Bush 10:09, 12 May 2005 (UTC). :What do you mean by "highjacks"? User:Sunray 18:33, 2005 May 12 (UTC)
Sustainability is an economic, social, and ecological concept that is somewhat controversial. Sustainability affects every level of organization, from the local neighborhood to the entire globe. Environment economics Waste management Futurology
{| style="margin:0 auto;" class="toccolours" |align=center|''This Sustainability-related article is part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations, an attempt to build a comprehensive presentation of the issues related to energy development on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can choose to edit the article attached to this page, or visit the Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations, where you can join the project and help it bring clarity to the important and wide ranging issues of Sustainable development and Energy development.'' |}
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Sustainability:
Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability-stub
Sustainability_Alliance
Sustainability_and_energy_development_group
Sustainability_stubs
Sustainability
Sustainability is an economic, social, and environmental concept. It is intended to be a means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society and its members are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystem, and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals indefinitely. Sustainability affects every level of organization, from the local neighborhood to the entire Earth. It is sometimes a controversial topic. ==Definition== Put in simpler terms, sustainability is providing for the best for people and the environment both now and in the indefinite future. In the terms of the 1987 Brundtland Report, sustainability is: "''Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.''" This is very much like the "seventh generation" philosophy of the Native American Iroquois, mandating that chiefs always consider the effects of their actions on their descendants through the seventh generation in the future. The original term was "sustainable development," a term adopted by the Agenda 21 program of the United Nations. Some people now object to the term "sustainable development" as an umbrella term since it implies continued development, and insist that it should be reserved only for development activities. "Sustainability", then, is nowadays used as an umbrella term for all of human activity. In economics, sustainable growth consists of increases in real incomes (i.e. inflation-adjusted) or output that could be sustained for long periods of time. ==Concepts and issues== The modern concept of environmental sustainability goes back to the post-World War II period, when a utopian view of technology-driven economic growth gave way to a perception that the quality of the environment was linked closely to economic development. Interest grew sharply during the environmental movements of the 1960s, when popular books such as ''Silent Spring'' by Rachel Carson (1962) and ''The Population Bomb'' by Paul Ehrlich (1968) raised public awareness. There are two related categories of thought on environmental sustainability. In 1968 the Club of Rome, a group of European economists and scientists, was formed. In 1972 they published Limits to Growth. Although discredited by many, it predicted dire consequences because humans were using up the Earth's resources, and it advocated as one solution the abandonment of economic development. Groups sympathetic to the general premise that human society was growing too quickly and/or using up its resources formed, including the Worldwatch Institute in 1975. In a different category, other groups formed to focus less on population growth control and slowing economic development, and more on establishing environmental standards and enforcement. There is also a positive way to view sustainability: though values vary greatly in detail within and between cultures, at the heart of the concept of sustainability there is a fundamental, immutable value set that is best stated as 'parallel care and respect for the ecosystem and for the people within.' From this value set emerges the goal of sustainability: to achieve human and ecosystem well-being together. It follows that the 'result' against which the success of any projector design should be judged is the achievement of, or the contribution to, human and ecosystem well-being together. Seen in this way, the concept of sustainability is much more than environmental protection in another guise. It is a positive concept that has as much to do with achieving well-being for people and ecosystems as it has to do with reducing stress or impacts. Many people have pointed to various practices and philosophies in the world today as being inimical to sustainability. For instance, critics of American society state that the philosophy of infinite economic growth and infinite growth in consumption are completely unsustainable and will cause great harm to human civilization in the future. In recognition that the Earth is finite, there has been a growing awareness that there must be limits to certain kinds of human activity if life on the planet is to survive indefinitely. In order to distinguish which activities are destructive and which are benign or beneficial, various models have been developed. Such models include: life cycle assessment, ecological footprint analysis and The Natural Step. One of the critically important issues in sustainability is that of human overpopulation. A number of studies have suggested that the current population of the Earth, already over six billion, is too many people for our planet to support sustainably. A number of organizations are working to try to reduce population growth, but some fear that it may already be too late. Critics of such efforts, on the other hand, fear that efforts to reduce population growth may lead to human rights violations such as involuntary sterilization and the abandoning of infants to die. Some human-rights watchers report that this is already taking place in China, as a result of its one child per family policy. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, founded in 1995, has formulated the business case for sustainable development and argues that "sustainable development is good for business and business is good for sustainable development". Some organisations which have attempted to incorporate sustainability values into the global economy are International Council on Mining and Metals and the Global Mining Initiative. ==Implementing Agenda 21== The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which was given the Task Manager responsibility for reporting World Progress on implementing four Chapters of Agenda 21 (Land, Forests, Mountains, Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development) by the United Nations, acknowledges: :''Sustainability concerns one of the most fundamental questions for technical cooperation: will the benefits and results achieved through the project be maintained and enhanced by the ultimate end-users and their community, based on their own commitment and resources, after the termination of the external assistance? The question entails a complex analysis of aspects related to this broad concept, including the acceptability and use to be made of project outputs and results by the intended groups targeted their capacity to maintain the results, and the institutional and policy environments to enable them to do so.'' ===Types of sustainability=== The FAO has identified considerations for technical cooperation that affect three types of sustainability: * Institutional sustainability: Can the strengthened institutional structure continue to deliver the results of the technical cooperation to the ultimate end-users? The results may not be sustainable if, for example, the planning unit strengthened by the technical cooperation ceases to have access to top-management or is not provided with adequate resources for the effective performance after the technical cooperation terminated; * Economical and financial sustainability: Can the results of the technical cooperation continue to yield an economic benefit after the technical cooperation is withdrawn? For example, the benefits from the introduction of new crops may not be sustained, if the constraints to marketing the crops are not resolved. Similarly, economic (distinct from financial) sustainability may be at risk, if the end-users continue to depend on heavily-subsidized activities and inputs. * Ecological sustainability: Are the benefits to be generated by the technical cooperation likely to lead to a deterioration in the physical environment (thus indirectly contributing to a fall in production) or well-being of the groups targeted and their society? == See also == *Biosphere *conservation biology *economic growth *energy *energy development *environmental design *future of the car *green building *The Natural Step *overpopulation *organic agriculture *organic horticulture *permaculture *renewable energy *soft energy path *sustainable design *sustainable development *voluntary simplicity ==Bibliography== * ''Food for the Future: Conditions and Contradictions of Sustainability.'' Patricia Allen (Editor) ISBN 0-471-58082-1 Paperback. 344 pages. 1993. == External links == * [http://www.ecifm.rdg.ac.uk/definitions.htm Definitions of Sustainability] - Many views excerpted in a short space. University of Reading (UK). * [http://www.iisd.org/ International Institute for Sustainable Development (Canadian)] * [http://www.insnet.org/ iNSnet] - Portal site for sustainable development. * [http://www.sustainabilitystart.com/ SustainabilityStart] - Links and database on sustainable development. * [http://www.wscsd.org/ World Student Community for Sustainable Development]. * [http://www.sustainability.ca/ Sustainability Now] - Many references on Sustainability - from an engineering perspective. Sustainability
Sustainability
The original article was signed : --John Knouse
: mailto:jaknouse@frognet.net John, thanks for your contribution to Wikipedia. ==Sustainability project poll== I don't know if anybody is watching this page, but if you are, could you please assist me with the following: User:Hawstom I have been wanting to have a working Wikipedia:WikiProject Sustainability or Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy development. We currently have a Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations that is going nowhere. Please answer in poll format (Support or Oppose) the following proposals: User:Hawstom Move Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations to Wikipedia:WikiProject Sustainability. * Support. This seems to be the biggest umbrella and the most acceptable term. User:Hawstom 22:35, Feb 24, 2005 (UTC) * Support. Seems to define the subject best, to the point. --User:DanielCD 14:10, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC) Move Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations to Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy development. * Oppose. See above. User:Hawstom 22:35, Feb 24, 2005 (UTC) * Oppose. doesn't keep global feel of other, seems too specific. --User:DanielCD 14:10, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC) Simplify the Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations page to initially include just Participants, Guestbook, Polls, and List of categories and articles. * Support. User:Hawstom 22:35, Feb 24, 2005 (UTC) * Support. Provided there is enough material here that doesn't go in Wikipedia:WikiProject Sustainability. Oppose if there is more than 80% overlap. --User:DanielCD 14:10, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC) ==Energy development WikiProject== Please add Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy development to your Watchlists and participate in any polls and discussion there. Thanks in advance. We really need some additional input. We are kind of at a standstill on some issues. The Sustainability project is still available for moving, and I agree it is more global and we should work toward it. This is a start. User:Hawstom 05:52, Feb 26, 2005 (UTC) ==Merge with Global Green Charter?== The article seems to represent sustainability as purely a party-political green concept. It is not. I am thinking the article should be merged with Global Green Charter or should have ''Global Green Charter'' in its title. User:Laurel Bush 13:04, 11 May 2005 (UTC). :I've re-read the article with your comments in mind and confess that I don't understand your point. It seems to me that there is a need for a Wikipedia article on Sustainability because it is a term that many readers will be curious about. The ''Global Green Charter'' is one attempt to pursue a program to achieve "sustainability" and there is some overlap between the articles. However, ''Sustainability'' is the broader concept and should remain a discrete article, IMO. How might we retain the article and still address your concerns about its "party-political green" aspects? User:Sunray 17:19, 2005 May 11 (UTC) I take it now that the ''green politics'' box highjacks a more general article. User:Laurel Bush 10:09, 12 May 2005 (UTC). :What do you mean by "highjacks"? User:Sunray 18:33, 2005 May 12 (UTC)
Sustainability
Sustainability is an economic, social, and ecological concept that is somewhat controversial. Sustainability affects every level of organization, from the local neighborhood to the entire globe. Environment economics Waste management Futurology
Sustainability
{| style="margin:0 auto;" class="toccolours" |align=center|''This Sustainability-related article is part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations, an attempt to build a comprehensive presentation of the issues related to energy development on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can choose to edit the article attached to this page, or visit the Wikipedia:WikiProject Energy Related Development by Civilizations, where you can join the project and help it bring clarity to the important and wide ranging issues of Sustainable development and Energy development.'' |}
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
S
SB | SC | SD | SE | SF | SG | SH | SI | SJ | SK | SL | SM | SN | SO | SP | SR | SS | ST | SU | SW | SX | SY | SZ |Words begining with Sustainability:
Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability-stub
Sustainability_Alliance
Sustainability_and_energy_development_group
Sustainability_stubs
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