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The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of this planet.

Sustainability, in general terms, is the ability to maintain balance of a certain process or state in any system. It is now most frequently used in connection with biological and human systems. In an ecological context, sustainability can be defined as the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future.

Sustainability has become a complex term that can be applied to almost every system on Earth, particularly the many different levels of biological organization, such as; wetlands, prairies and forests and is expressed in human organization concepts, such as; eco-municipalities, sustainable cities, and human activities and disciplines, such as; sustainable agriculture, sustainable architecture and renewable energy.

For humans to live sustainably, the Earth's resources must be used at a rate at which they can be replenished. However, there is now clear scientific evidence that humanity is living unsustainably, and that an unprecedented collective effort is needed to return human use of natural resources to within sustainable limits.

Since the 1980s, the idea of sustainable human well-being has become increasingly associated with the integration of economic, social and environmental spheres. In 1989, the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) articulated what has now become a widely accepted definition of sustainability: " the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Definition

Although the definition of sustainable development (above), given by the Brundtland Commission, is frequently quoted, it is not universally accepted and has undergone various interpretations. Definitions of sustainability may be expressed as statements of fact, intent, or value with sustainability treated as either a "journey" or "destination." Where we are now, where we need to be going, and how we are to get there are all open to interpretation and will depend on the particular context under consideration. This difficult mix has been described as a dialogue of values that defies consensual definition. Sustainability has been regarded as both an important but unfocused concept like "liberty" or "justice" and as a feel-good buzzword with little meaning or substance.

The idea of sustainable development is sometimes viewed as an oxymoron because development inevitably depletes and degrades the environment. Consequently some definitions either avoid the word development and use the term sustainability exclusively, or emphasise the environmental component, as in "environmentally sustainable development."

The dimensions of sustainability are often taken to be: environmental, social and economic, known as the "three pillars". These can be depicted as three overlapping circles (or ellipses), to show that they are not mutually exclusive and can be mutually reinforcing. While this model initially improved the standing of environmental concerns, it has since been criticised for not adequately showing that societies and economies are fundamentally reliant on the natural world. According to English environmentalist and author Jonathon Porritt, "The economy is, in the first instance, a subsystem of human society ... which is itself, in the second instance, a subsystem of the totality of life on Earth (the biosphere). And no subsystem can expand beyond the capacity of the total system of which it is a part." For this reason a second diagram shows economy as a component of society, both bounded by, and dependent upon, the environment. As the American World Bank ecological economist Herman Daly famously asked, "what use is a sawmill without a forest?" The concept of living within environmental constraints underpins the IUCN, UNEP and WWF definition of sustainability: "improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems."

The Earth Charter goes beyond defining what sustainability is, and seeks to establish the values and direction needed to achieve it: "We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations."

The next section traces the evolution of thinking about sustainability in human history.

History

Early civilizations

In early human history, although the energy and other resource demands of nomadic hunter-gatherers was small, the use of fire and desire for specific foods may have altered the natural composition of plant and animal communities. Between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, agriculture emerged in various regions of the world. Agrarian communities depended largely on their environment and the creation of a "structure of permanence." Societies outgrowing their local food supply or depleting critical resources either moved on or faced collapse.

Archeological evidence suggests that the first civilizations arose in Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Egypt, both dating from around 3000 BCE. By 1000 BCE, civilizations were also established in India, China, Mexico, Peru and in parts of Europe. Sumer illustrates issues central to the sustainability of human civilization. Sumerian cities practiced intensive, year-round agriculture from ca. 5300 BCE. The surplus of storable food created by this economy allowed the population to settle in one place instead of migrating in search of wild foods and grazing land. It also allowed for a much greater population density. The development of agriculture in Mesopotamia required many labourers to build and maintain its irrigation system. This, in turn, led to political hierarchy, bureaucracy, and religious sanction, along with standing armies to protect the emergent civilization. Intensified agriculture allowed for population increase, but also led to deforestation in upstream areas with resultant flooding and over-irrigation, which raised soil salinity. While there was a shift from the cultivation of wheat to the more salt-tolerant barley, yields still diminished. Eventually, decreasing agricultural production and other factors led to the decline of the civilization. From 2100 BC to 1700 BC, it is estimated that the population was reduced by nearly sixty percent. Civilisations similarly thought to have eventually fallen because of poor management of resources include the Mayans, Anasazi and Easter Islanders, among many others. In contrast, stable communities of shifting cultivators and horticulturists existed in New Guinea and South America, and large agrarian communities in China, India and elsewhere have farmed in the same localities for centuries. Polynesian cultures have maintained stable communities for between 1,000 and 3,000 years on small islands with minimal resources using rahui and kaitiakitanga to control human pressure on the environment.

Emergence of industrial societies

Technological advances over several millennia gave humans increasing control over the environment. But it was the Western industrial revolution of the 17th to 19th centuries that tapped into the vast growth potential of the energy in fossil fuels. Coal was used to power ever more efficient engines and later to generate electricity. Modern sanitation systems and advances in medicine protected large populations from disease. Such conditions led to a human population explosion and unprecedented industrial, technological and scientific growth that has continued to this day, marking the commencement of a period of global human influence known as the Anthropocene. From 1650 to 1850 the global population doubled from around 500 million to 1 billion people.

Concerns about the environmental and social impacts of industry were expressed by some Enlightenment political economists and through the Romantic movement of the 1800s. Overpopulation was discussed in an essay by Thomas Malthus (see Malthusian catastrophe), while John Stuart Mill foresaw the desirability of a "stationary state" economy, thus anticipating concerns of the modern discipline of ecological economics. In the late 19th century Eugenius Warming was the first botanist to study physiological relations between plants and their environment, heralding the scientific discipline of ecology.

Early 20th century

By the 20th century, the industrial revolution had led to an exponential increase in the human consumption of resources. The increase in health, wealth and population was perceived as a simple path of progress. However, in the 1930s economists began developing models of non-renewable resource management (see Hotelling's rule) and the sustainability of welfare in an economy that uses non-renewable resources (Hartwick's rule).

Ecology had now gained general acceptance as a scientific discipline, and many concepts vital to sustainability were being explored. These included: the interconnectedness of all living systems in a single living planetary system, the biosphere; the importance of natural cycles (of water, nutrients and other chemicals, materials, waste); and the passage of energy through trophic levels of living systems.

Mid 20th century: environmentalism

Following the deprivations of the great depression and World War II the developed world entered a new period of escalating growth, a post-1950s "great acceleration ... a surge in the human enterprise that has emphatically stamped humanity as a global geophysical force." A gathering environmental movement pointed out that there were environmental costs associated with the many material benefits that were now being enjoyed. Innovations in technology (including plastics, synthetic chemicals, nuclear energy) and the increasing use of fossil fuels, were transforming society. Modern industrial agriculture—the "Green Revolution" — was based on the development of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides which had devastating consequences for rural wildlife, as documented by American marine biologist, naturalist and environmentalist Rachel Carson in Silent Spring (1962).

In 1956, American geoscientist M. King Hubbert's peak oil theory predicted an inevitable peak of oil production, first in the United States (between 1965 and 1970), then in successive regions of the world - with a global peak expected thereafter. In the 1970s environmentalism's concern with pollution, the population explosion, consumerism and the depletion of finite resources found expression in Small Is Beautiful, by British economist E. F. Schumacher in 1973, and The Limits to Growth published by the global think tank, the Club of Rome, in 1975.

Late 20th century

Template:PeakOil Environmental problems were now becoming global in scale. The 1973 and 1979 energy crises demonstrated the extent to which the global community had become dependent on a nonrenewable resource; President Carter in his State of the Union Address called on Americans to "Conserve energy. Eliminate waste. Make 1980 indeed a year of energy conservation." While the developed world was considering the problems of unchecked development the developing countries, faced with continued poverty and deprivation, regarded development as essential to raise the living standards of their peoples. In 1980 the International Union for Conservation of Nature had published its influential World Conservation Strategy, followed in 1982 by its World Charter for Nature, which drew attention to the decline of the world’s ecosystems.

In 1987 the United Nation's World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission), in its report Our Common Future suggested that development was acceptable, but it must be sustainable development that would meet the needs of the poor while not increasing environmental problems. Humanity’s demand on the planet has more than doubled over the past 45 years as a result of population growth and increasing individual consumption. In 1961 almost all countries in the world had more than enough capacity to meet their own demand; by 2005 the situation had changed radically with many countries able to meet their needs only by importing resources from other nations. A move toward sustainable living by increasing public awareness and adoption of recycling, and renewable energies emerged. The development of renewable sources of energy in the 1970's and 80's, primarily in wind turbines and photovoltaics and increased use of hydroelectricity, presented some of the first sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel and nuclear energy generation, the first large-scale solar and wind power plants appearing during the 1980's and 90's. Also at this time many local and state governments in developed countries began to implement small-scale sustainability policies.

21st century: global awareness

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Through the work of climate scientists in the IPCC there is increasing global awareness of the threat posed by the human-induced enhanced greenhouse effect, produced largely by forest clearing and the burning of fossil fuels. In March 2009 the Copenhagen Climate Council, an international team of leading climate scientists, issued a strongly worded statement: "The climate system is already moving beyond the patterns of natural variability within which our society and economy have developed and thrived. These parameters include global mean surface temperature, sea-level rise, ocean and ice sheet dynamics, ocean acidification, and extreme climatic events. There is a significant risk that many of the trends will accelerate, leading to an increasing risk of abrupt or irreversible climatic shifts."

Ecological economics now seeks to bridge the gap between ecology and traditional neoclassical economics.: it provides an inclusive and ethical economic model for society. A plethora of new concepts to help implement and measure sustainability are becoming more widely accepted including: the Car-free movement, Smart Growth (more sustainable urban environments), Life Cycle Assessment (the Cradle to Cradle analysis of resource use and environmental impact over the life cycle of a product or process), Ecological Footprint Analysis, green building, dematerialization (increased recycling of materials), decarbonisation (removing dependence on fossil fuels) and much more.

The work of Bina Agarwal and Vandana Shiva amongst many others, has brought some of the cultural wisdom of traditional, sustainable agrarian societies into the academic discourse on sustainability, and also blended that with modern scientific principles. In 2009 the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States determined that greenhouse gases "endanger public health and welfare" of the American people by contributing to climate change and causing more heat waves, droughts and flooding, and threatening food and water supplies. Rapidly advancing technologies now provide the means to achieve a transition of economies, energy generation, water and waste management, and food production towards sustainable practices using methods of systems ecology and industrial ecology.

Principles and concepts

Sustainability science and environmental science form the basis for much of the philosophical and analytic framework of sustainability. Quantitative data is collected through sustainability measurement and this data is then used in governance for sustainability.

Scale and context

Sustainability is studied and managed over many scales (levels or frames of reference) of time and space and in many contexts of environmental, social and economic organization. The focus ranges from the total carrying capacity (sustainability) of planet Earth to the sustainability of economic sectors, ecosystems, countries, municipalities, neighbourhoods, home gardens, individual lives, individual goods and services, occupations, lifestyles, behaviour patterns and so on. In short, it can entail the full compass of biological and human activity or any part of it. As Daniel Botkin, author and environmentalist, has stated: "We see a landscape that is always in flux, changing over many scales of time and space."

Global goals

At the global level a number of key goals have been isolated:

Consumption & sustainability
Key concepts Appropriate technology Decarbonisation · Dematerialization Ecocentrism · Ecodesign Ecolabelling · Ethical consumerism I PAT · Industrial ecology Population growth · Radical transparency Simple living  · Sustainable living

• Intergenerational equity - providing future generations with the same environmental potential as presently exists
• Decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation - managing economic growth to be less resource intensive and less polluting
• Integration of all pillars - integrating environmental, social and economic sectors when developing sustainability policies
• Ensuring environmental adaptability and resilience - maintaining and enhancing the adaptive capacity of the environmental system
• Preventing irreversible long-term damage to ecosystems and human health
• Ensuring distributional equity - avoiding unfair or high environmental costs on vulnerable populations
• Accepting global responsibility - assuming responsibility for environmental effects that occur outside areas of jurisdiction
• Education and grassroots involvement - people and communities investigating problems and developing new solutions

Consumption, population, technology, resources

The overall driver of human impact on Earth systems is the consumption of biophysical resources. Human consumption can be divided into three key components: population numbers, levels of consumption (affluence), and impact per unit of resource use (which depends on the technology used). This has been expressed through an equation:

I = P × A × T

Where: I = Environmental impact, P = Population, A = Affluence, T = Technology

Historically, humanity has responded to a demand for more resources by trying to increase supply. Sustainability, instead, applies demand management of all goods and services by promoting reduced consumption, using renewable resources where possible, and encouraging practices that minimise resource intensity while maximising resource productivity. Careful resource management is applied at many scales, but especially at the levels of economic sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and industry as well as to individual goods and services and the consumption patterns of households and individuals.

Population

According to the 2008 Revision of the official United Nations population estimates and projections, the world population is projected to reach 7 billion early in 2012, up from the current 6.9 billion (May 2009), to exceed 9 billion people by 2050. Most of the additional 2.1 billion people will be born in developing countries whose population is projected to rise from 5.6 billion in 2009 to 7.9 billion in 2050. This increase will be distributed among the population aged 15–59 (1.2 billion) and 60 or over (1.1 billion) because the number of children under age 15 in developing countries will decrease. In contrast, the population of the more developed regions is expected to undergo only slight increase from 1.23 billion to 1.28 billion, and this would have declined to 1.15 billion but for a projected net migration from developing to developed countries, which is expected to average 2.4 million persons annually from 2009 to 2050. Long-term estimates of global population suggest a peak at around 2070 of nine to ten billion people, and then a slow decrease to 8.4 billion by 2100.

Emerging economies like those of China and India aspire to the living standards of the Western world as does the non-industrialized world in general. It is the combination of population increase in the developing world and unsustainable consumption levels in the developed world that poses a stark challenge to sustainability.

Direct and indirect environmental impacts

At a fundamental level, human impacts on the Earth are demonstrated through detrimental changes in the global biogeochemical cycles of chemicals that are critical to life, most notably those of water, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus.

• GLOBAL BIOPHYSICAL CYCLES CRITICAL FOR LIFE
• Nitrogen cycle
• Water cycle
• Carbon cycle
• Oxygen cycle
• Phosphorus cycle

Sustainability management is necessary through all phases of impact from the direct human impacts on land, waterbodies and atmosphere to the indirect consumption drivers of these direct impacts.

Measurement

Sustainability measurement
Key concepts and tools Carbon accounting · Ecological footprint Ecological economics Environmental impact assessment Environmental indicator Environmental Performance Index Environmental Sustainability Index Genuine Progress Indicator Happy Planet Index · Input output analysis Life cycle assessment Natural resource economics · Natural step Social accounting · State of the Environment Sustainability reporting · Thermoeconomics Triple bottom line accounting

To survive on planet Earth humans must live within its measurable biophysical constraints. By establishing quantitative measures for sustainability it is possible to set goals, apply management strategies, and measure progress. The Natural Step (TNS) framework developed by Karl-Henrik Robèrt examines sustainability and resource use from its thermodynamic foundations to determine how humans use and apportion natural capital in a way that is sustainable and just. The TNS framework's system conditions of sustainability suggest a means for the scientifically-based measurement of sustainability. Natural capital includes resources from the earth's crust (i.e., minerals, oil), those produced by humans (synthetic substances), and those of the biosphere. Equitable access to natural capital is also a component of sustainability. The energy generated in use of resources—referred to as exergy—can be measured as the embodied energy of a product or service over its life cycle. Its analysis, using methods such as Life Cycle Analysis or Ecological Footprint analysis provide basic indicators of sustainability on various scales.

There is now a vast number of sustainability indicators, metrics, benchmarks, indices, reporting procedures, audits and more. They include environmental, social and economic measures separately or together over many scales and contexts. Environmental factors are integrated with economics through ecological economics, resource economics and thermoeconomics, and social factors through metrics like the Happy Planet Index which measures the well-being of people in the nations of the world while taking into account their environmental impact. Some of the best known and most widely used sustainability measures are listed in the side bar, they include corporate sustainability reporting, Triple Bottom Line accounting, and estimates of the quality of sustainability governance for individual countries using the Environmental Sustainability Index and Environmental Performance Index.

Human sustainability

Is humanity living within the carrying capacity of the planet – are humans living sustainably on planet Earth? The Ecological footprint measures human consumption in terms of the biologically productive land needed to provide the resources, and absorb the wastes of the average global citizen. In 2008 it required 2.7 global hectares per person, 30% more than the natural biological capacity of 2.1 global hectares (assuming no provision for other organisms). The resulting ecological deficit must be met from unsustainable extra sources and these are obtained in three ways: embedded in the goods and services of world trade; taken from the past (e.g. fossil fuels); or borrowed from the future as unsustainable resource usage (e.g. by overexploiting forests and fisheries).

The figure (right) indicates the sustainability of a range of countries in terms of the Ecological Footprint compared to the UN Human Development Index (a measure of standard of living): it shows what is necessary for countries to maintain an acceptable standard of living for their citizens while, at the same time, living at a globally sustainable level. The general trend is for higher standards of living to become less sustainable. As always population growth has a marked influence on levels of consumption and the efficiency of resource use. At present Cuba is the best example in this category. The sustainability goal is to raise the global standard of living without increasing the use of resources beyond globally sustainable levels; that is, to not exceed "one planet" consumption. A wealth of information generated by reports at the national, regional and city scales confirm the global trend towards societies that are becoming less sustainable over time.

Global human impact on biodiversity

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is an international synthesis by over 1000 of the world's leading biological scientists that analyses the state of the Earth’s ecosystems. It concludes that human activity is having a significant and escalating impact on the biodiversity of world ecosystems, reducing both their resilience and biocapacity. The report refers to natural systems as humanity's "life-support system", providing essential "ecosystem services". The assessment measures 24 ecosystem services concluding that only four have shown improvement over the last 50 years, 15 are in serious decline, and five are in a precarious condition.

Environmental dimension

Healthy ecosystems provide vital goods and services to humans and other organisms. There are two major ways of reducing negative human impact and enhancing ecosystem services:

a) Environmental management. This direct approach is based largely on information gained from earth science, environmental science and conservation biology.

However, this is management at the end of a long series of indirect causal factors that are initiated by human consumption, so a second approach is through demand management of human resource use.

b) Management of human consumption of resources, an indirect approach based largely on information gained from economics.

Environmental management

At the global scale and in the broadest sense environmental management involves the oceans, freshwater systems, land and atmosphere, but following the sustainability principle of scale it can be equally applied to any ecosystem from a tropical rainforest to a home garden.

Atmosphere, oceans, freshwater, land, forests, cultivated land

Atmosphere

Natural Resource Management
Atmosphere Acid rain · Aerosols Air pollution · Albedo Climate change · Global dimming Global warming Greenhouse gases Ozone layer · Particulate matter Pollutants · Photochemical smog Urban heat island Volatile organic compounds
Water bodies Coral bleaching · Water desalination Eutrophication · Overfishing Marine pollution Ocean acidification Polar ice · Water crisis Water pollution Water quality · Water resources
Land Agroforestry · Deforestation Desertification · Erosion Forestry · Green revolution Introduced species Invasive species Land use · Organic farming Reafforestation · Revegetation Salinization · Sodification Sustainable agriculture

In March 2009 at a meeting of the Copenhagen Climate Council 2,500 climate experts from 80 countries issued a keynote statement that there is now "no excuse" for failing to act on global warming and that without strong carbon reduction targets "abrupt or irreversible" shifts in climate may occur that "will be very difficult for contemporary societies to cope with". Management of the global atmosphere now involves assessment of all aspects of the carbon cycle to identify opportunities to address human-induced climate change and this has become a major focus of scientific research because of the potential catastrophic effects on biodiversity and human communities (see Energy below).

Other human impacts on the atmosphere include the air pollution in cities, the pollutants including toxic chemicals like nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds and particulate matter that produce photochemical smog and acid rain, and the chlorofluorocarbons that degrade the ozone layer. Anthropogenic particulates such as sulphate aerosols in the atmosphere reduce the direct irradiance and reflectance (albedo) of the Earth's surface. Known as global dimming the decrease is estimated to have been about 4% between 1960 and 1990 although the trend has subsequently reversed. Global dimming may have disturbed the global water cycle by reducing evaporation and rainfall in some areas. It also creates a cooling effect and this may have partially masked the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming.

Oceans

Ocean circulation patterns have a strong influence on climate and weather and, in turn, the food supply of both humans and other organisms. Scientists have warned of the possibility, under the influence of climate change, of a sudden alteration in circulation patterns of ocean currents that could drastically alter the climate in some regions of the globe. Major human environmental impacts occur in the more habitable regions of the ocean fringes – the estuaries, coastline and bays. Ten per cent of the world's population – about 600 million people – live in low-lying areas vulnerable to sea level rise. Trends of concern that require management include: over-fishing (beyond sustainable levels); coral bleaching due to ocean warming and ocean acidification due to increasing levels of dissolved carbon dioxide; and sea level rise due to climate change. Because of their vastness oceans also act as a convenient dumping ground for human waste. Remedial strategies include: more careful waste management, statutory control of overfishing by adoption of sustainable fishing practices and the use of environmentally sensitive and sustainable aquaculture and fish farming, reduction of fossil fuel emissions and restoration of coastal and other marine habitat.

Freshwater

Biodiversity & sustainability
Key concepts/tools/info. Applied ecology · Biodiversity Conservation biology · Ecosystem services Endangered species · Environmental science Extinction · Genetic erosion Habitat fragmentation · Invasive species IUCN · Systems ecology Wildlife conservation World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface . Of this, 97.5% is the salty water of the oceans and only 2.5% freshwater, most of which is locked up in the Antarctic ice sheet. The remaining freshwater is found in lakes, rivers, wetlands, the soil, aquifers and atmosphere. All life depends on the solar-powered global water cycle, the evaporation from oceans and land to form water vapour that later condenses from clouds as rain, which then becomes the renewable part of the freshwater supply. Awareness of the global importance of preserving water for ecosystem services has only recently emerged as, during the 20th century, more than half the world’s wetlands have been lost along with their valuable environmental services. Biodiversity-rich freshwater ecosystems are currently declining faster than marine or land ecosystems making them the world's most vulnerable habitats. Increasing urbanization pollutes clean water supplies and much of the world still does not have access to clean, safe water. In the industrial world demand management has slowed absolute usage rates but increasingly water is being transported over vast distances from water-rich natural areas to population-dense urban areas and energy-hungry desalination is becoming more widely used. Greater emphasis is now being placed on the improved management of blue (harvestable) and green (soil water available for plant use) water, and this applies at all scales of water management.

Land

Loss of biodiversity stems largely from the habitat loss and fragmentation produced by the human appropriation of land for development, forestry and agriculture as natural capital is progressively converted to man-made capital. Land use change is fundamental to the operations of the biosphere because alterations in the relative proportions of land dedicated to urbanisation, agriculture, forest, woodland, grassland and pasture have a marked effect on the global water, carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles and this can impact negatively on both natural and human systems. At the local human scale major sustainability benefits accrue from the pursuit of green cities and sustainable parks and gardens.

Forests

Since the Neolithic Revolution about 47% of the world’s forests have been lost to human use. Present-day forests occupy about a quarter of the world’s ice-free land with about half of these occurring in the tropics In temperate and boreal regions forest area is gradually increasing (with the exception of Siberia), but deforestation in the tropics is of major concern.

Forests moderate the local climate and the global water cycle through their light reflectance (albedo) and evapotranspiration. They also conserve biodiversity, protect water quality, preserve soil and soil quality, provide fuel and pharmaceuticals, and purify the air. These free ecosystem services have no market value and so forest conservation has little appeal when compared with the economic benefits of logging and clearance which, through soil degradation and organic decomposition returns carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 90% of the carbon stored in land vegetation is locked up in trees and that they sequester about 50% more carbon than is present in the atmosphere. Changes in land use currently contribute about 20% of total global carbon emissions (heavily logged Indonesia and Brazil are a major source of emissions). Climate change can be mitigated by sequestering carbon in reafforestation schemes, plantations and timber products. Also wood biomass can be utilized as a renewable carbon-neutral fuel. The FAO has suggested that, over the period 2005–2050, effective use of tree planting could absorb about 10–20% of man-made emissions – so monitoring the condition of the world's forests must be part of a global strategy to mitigate emissions and protect ecosystem services. However, climate change may pre-empt this FAO scenario as a study by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations in 2009 concluded that the stress of a 2.5C (4.5F) temperature rise above pre-industrial levels could result in the release of vast amounts of carbon so the potential of forests to act as carbon "sinks" is "at risk of being lost entirely".

Cultivated land

Feeding more than six billion human bodies takes a heavy toll on the Earth’s resources. This begins with the appropriation of about 38% of the Earth’s land surface and about 20% of its net primary productivity. Added to this are the resource-hungry activities of industrial agribusiness – everything from the crop need for irrigation water, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to the resource costs of food packaging, transport (now a major part of global trade) and retail. Food is essential to life. But the list of environmental costs of food production is a long one: topsoil depletion, erosion and conversion to desert from constant tillage of annual crops; overgrazing; salinization; sodification; waterlogging; high levels of fossil fuel use; reliance on inorganic fertilisers and synthetic organic pesticides; reductions in genetic diversity by the mass use of monocultures; water resource depletion; pollution of waterbodies by run-off and groundwater contamination; social problems including the decline of family farms and weakening of rural communities.

All of these environmental problems associated with industrial agriculture and agribusiness are now being addressed through such movements as sustainable agriculture, organic farming and more sustainable business practices.

Extinctions

Although biodiversity loss can be monitored simply as loss of species, effective conservation demands the protection of species within their natural habitats and ecosystems. Following human migration and population growth, species extinctions have progressively increased to a rate unprecedented since the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event. Known as the Holocene extinction event this current human-induced extinction of species ranks as one of the worlds six mass extinction events. Some scientific estimates indicate that up to half of presently existing species may become extinct by 2100. Current extinction rates are 100 to 1000 times their prehuman levels with more than 10% birds and mammals threatened, about 8% of plants, 5% of fish and more than 20% of freshwater species.

The 2008 IUCN Red List warns that long-term droughts and extreme weather put additional stress on key habitats and, for example, lists 1,226 bird species as threatened with extinction, which is one-in-eight of all bird species. The Red List Index also identifies 44 tree species in Central Asia as under threat of extinction due to over-exploitation and human development and threatening the region's forests which are home to more than 300 wild ancestors of modern domesticated fruit and nut cultivars.

Biological invasions

In many parts of the industrial world land clearing for agriculture has diminished and here the greatest threat to biodiversity, after climate change, has become the destructive effect of invasive species. Increasingly efficient global transport has facilitated the spread of organisms across the planet. The potential danger of this aspect of globalization is starkly illustrated through the spread of human diseases like HIV AIDS, mad cow disease, bird flu and swine flu, but invasive plants and animals are also having a devastating impact on native biodiversity. Non-indigenous organisms can quickly occupy disturbed land and natural areas where, in the absence of their natural predators, they are able to thrive. At the global scale this issue is being addressed through the Global Invasive Species Information Network but there is improved international biosecurity legislation to minimise the transmission of pathogens and invasive organisms. Also, through CITES legislation there is control the trade in rare and threatened species. Increasingly at the local level public awareness programs are alerting communities, gardeners, the nursery industry, collectors, and the pet and aquarium industries, to the harmful effects of potentially invasive species.

Management of human consumption

Direct human impacts on the environment are the result of the indirect underlying driver of these impacts which is human consumption. Impact is reduced by not only consuming less but by also making the full cycle of production, use and disposal of goods and services more sustainable. Consumption of goods and services can be analysed and managed at all scales through the chain of human consumption, starting with the effects of individual lifestyle choices and spending patterns, through to the resource demands of specific goods and services, then the impacts of economic sectors and even national economies. Analysis of individual and collective consumption patterns takes account of total resource use and this is then related to the environmental, social and economic impacts of that resource use in the particular context under investigation. The ideas of embodied resource use (the total resources needed to produce a product or service ), resource intensity (the resources needed for each dollar spent on a good or service), and resource productivity (the amount of good or service produced for a given input of resource) are important aspects of consumption management. At a simple level human consumption can be examined through resouce the demand for the resource building blocks of food, energy, materials and water.

Energy, water, food

Energy

The Sun's energy, stored by plants (primary producers) during photosynthesis, passes through the food chain to other organisms to ultimately power all living processes. Since the industrial revolution the concentrated energy of the Sun stored in fossilized plants as fossil fuels has been a major driver of technology which, in turn, has been the source of both economic and political power. In 2007 climate scientists of the IPCC concluded that there was at least a 90% probability that atmospheric increase in CO₂ was human-induced, mostly as a result of fossil fuel emissions but, to a lesser extent from changes in land use. Stabilize the world’s climate will require high income countries to reduce their emissions by 60-90% over 2006 levels by 2050 which should hold CO₂ levels at 450-650 ppm from current levels of about 380 ppm. Above this level and temperatures could rise by more than 2 °C (36 °F) to produce “catastrophic” climate change. Reduction of current CO₂ levels must be achieved against a background of global population increase and developing countries aspiring to energy-intensive high consumption Western lifestyles.

Reducing greenhouse emissions, referred to as decarbonization, is being tackled at all scales, ranging from tracking the passage of carbon through the carbon cycle to the exploration of renewable energies, developing less carbon-hungry technology and transport systems and attempts by individuals to lead carbon neutral lifestyles by monitoring the fossil fuel use embodied in all the goods and services they use.

Water

Water & sustainability
Key concepts Water desalination · Groundwater Peak water · Virtual water Water resources · Water crisis Water cycle · Water stress Water distribution on Earth

Water security and food security are inextricably linked. In the decade 1951-60 human water withdrawals were four times greater than the previous decade. This rapid increase resulted from scientific and technological developments impacting through the economy - especially the increase in irrigated land, growth in industrial and power sectors, and intensive dam construction on all continents. This altered the water cycle of rivers and lakes, affected their water quality and had a significant impact on the global water cycle. Currently towards 35% of human water use is unsustainable, drawing on diminishing aquifers and reducing the flows of major rivers: this percentage is likely to increase if climate change worsens, populations increase, aquifers become progressively depleted and supplies become polluted and unsanitary. From 1961 to 2001 water demand doubled - agricultural use increased by 75%, industrial use by more than 200%, and domestic use more than 400%. Humans currently use 40-50% of the globally available freshwater in the approximate proportion of 70% for agriculture, 22% for industry, and 8% for domestic purposes and the total volume is progressively increasing.

Water efficiency is being improved on a global scale by increased demand management, improved infrastructure, improved water productivity of agriculture, minimising the water intensity (embodied water) of goods and services, addressing shortages in the non-industrialised world, concentrating food production in areas of high productivity; and planning for climate change. At the local level people are becoming more water-self-sufficient by harvesting rainwater and reducing use of mains water.

Food

Food & sustainability
Key concepts Agroecology · Biodynamic agriculture Community gardening · Ecoagriculture Food miles · Food waste Forest gardening · Fukuoka farming Guerrilla gardening · Local food Low carbon diet · No-till farming Organic agriculture · Organic gardening Permaculture · Urban agriculture Slow food · Sustainable agriculture Urban gardening  · Urban horticulture Vegetarianism

The American Public Health Association (APHA) defines a "sustainable food system" as "one that provides healthy food to meet current food needs while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can also provide food for generations to come with minimal negative impact to the environment. A sustainable food system also encourages local production and distribution infrastructures and makes nutritious food available, accessible, and affordable to all. Further, it is humane and just, protecting farmers and other workers, consumers, and communities." Concerns about the environmental impacts of agribusiness and the stark contrast between the obesity problems of the Western world and the poverty and food insecurity of the developing world have generated a strong movement towards healthy, sustainable eating as a major component of overall ethical consumerism. The environmental effects of different dietary patterns depend on many factors, including the proportion of animal and plant foods consumed and the method of food production. The World Health Organization has published a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health which was endorsed by the May 2004 World Health Assembly. It recommends the Mediterranean diet which is associated with health and longevity and is low in meat, rich in fruits and vegetables, low in added sugar and limited salt, and low in saturated fatty acids; the traditional source of fat in the Mediterranean is olive oil, rich in monounsaturated fat. The healthy rice-based Japanese diet is also high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Both diets are low in meat and saturated fats and high in legumes and other vegetables; they are associated with a low incidence of ailments and low environmental impact.

At the global level the environmental impact of agribusiness is being address through sustainable agriculture and organic farming. At the local level there are various movements working towards local food production, more productive use of urban wastelands and domestic gardens including permaculture, urban horticulture, local food, slow food, and organic gardening.

Materials, toxic substances, waste

As global population and affluence increases, so does the use of materials which has increased in volume, diversity and distance transported. Included here are raw materials, minerals, synthetic chemicals (including hazardous substances), manufactured products, food, living organisms and waste.

Dematerialization and sustainability
Key concepts Waste Management Hierarchy Reduce · Reuse · Recycle Barter · Dematerialization Downcycling Dumpster diving · Ecodesign Ethical consumerism · Freeganism Extended producer responsibility Industrial ecology Industrial metabolism Material flow analysis Product stewardship Simple living · Zero waste
Recyclable materials Plastic · Aluminium · Glass · Paper Textiles · Timber · Scrap · Waste types

Materials

Sustainable use of materials has targeted the idea of dematerialization, converting the linear path of materials (extraction, use, disposal in landfill) to a circular material flow that reuses materials as much as possible, much like the cycling and reuse of waste in nature. This approach is supported by product stewardship and the increasing use of material flow analysis at all levels, especially individual countries and the global economy.

Toxic substances

Synthetic chemical production has escalated following the stimulus it received during the second World War. Chemical production includes everything from herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers to domestic chemicals and hazardous substances. Apart from the build-up of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, chemicals of particular concern include: heavy metals, nuclear waste, chlorofluorocarbons, persistent organic pollutants and all harmful chemicals capable of bioaccumulation. Although most synthetic chemicals are harmless there there needs to be rigorous testing of new chemicals, in all countries, for adverse environmental and health effects. International legislation has been established to deal with the global distribution and management of dangerous goods.

Waste

Every economic activity produces waste. The average human uses 45-85 tonnes of materials each year. To reduce waste industry, business and government are now mimicing nature by turning the waste produced by industrial metabolism into resource. Dematerialization is being encouraged through the ideas of industrial ecology, ecodesign and ecolabelling (see side bar). In addition to the well-established “reduce, reuse and recycle” shoppers are using their purchasing power for ethical consumerism.

Economic dimension

Sustainability interfaces with economics through the social and ecological consequences of economic activity. Sustainability economics represents: "... a broad interpretation of ecological economics where environmental and ecological variables and issues are basic but part of a multidimensional perspective. Social, cultural, health-related and monetary/financial aspects have to be integrated into the analysis." At present the average per capita consumption of people in the developing world is sustainable but population numbers are increasing and individuals are aspiring to high consumption Western lifestyles. The developed world population is only increasing slightly but consumption levels are unsustainable. The challenge for sustainability is to curb and manage Western consumption while raising the standard of living of the developing world without increasing its resource use and environmental impact. This must be done by using strategies and technology that break the link between, on the one hand, economic growth and on the other, environmental damage and resource depletion.

In addressing this issue several key areas have been targeted for economic analysis and reform: the environmental effects of unconstrained economic growth; the consequences of nature being treated as an economic externality; and the possibility of a more ethical economics that takes greater account of the social and environmental consequences of market behaviour.

Decoupling environmental degradation and economic growth

In the second half of the 20th century world population doubled, food production tripled, energy use quadrupled, and overall economic activity quintupled. Historically there has been a close correlation between economic growth and environmental degradation: as communities grow, so the environment declines. This trend is clearly demonstrated on graphs of human population numbers, economic growth, and environmental indicators. Unsustainable economic growth has been starkly compared to the malignant growth of a cancer because it eats away at the Earth's ecosystem services which are its life-support system. There is concern that, unless resource use is checked, modern global civilization will follow the path of ancient civilizations that collapsed through overexploitation of their resource base. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development states that "business cannot succeed in societies that fail" Sustainability studies analyse ways to reduce (decouple) the amount of resource (e.g. water, energy, or materials) needed for the production, consumption and disposal of a unit of good or service whether this be achieved from improved economic management, product design, new technology etc. Ecological economics includes the study of societal metabolism, the throughput of resources that enter and exit the economic system in relation to environmental quality.

Nature as an economic externality

The economic importance of nature is indicated by the use of the expression ecosystem services to highlight the market relevance of an increasingly scarce natural world that can no longer be regarded as both unlimited and free. In general as a commodity or service becomes more scarce the price increases and this acts as a restraint that encourages frugality, technical innovation and alternative products. However, this only applies when the product or service falls within the market system. As ecosystem services are generally treated as economic externalities they are unpriced and therefore overused and degraded, a situation sometimes referred to as the Tragedy of the Commons.

Part of the business of protecting the biological world has been the "internalisation" of these "externalities" using market strategies like ecotaxes and incentives, tradable permits for carbon, water and nitrogen use etc., and an increasing willingness to accept payment for ecosystem services. Green economics encourages alternatives to free market capitalism by supporting a gift economy, local currencies, Local Exchange Trading Systems and other methods (see side bar).

Economic opportunity

By focussing on the triple bottom line, sustainable business practices attempt to integrate ecological concerns with social and economic ones. This approach treats sustainability as a business opportunity. The benefits of waste reduction in industry include savings from disposal costs, fewer environmental penalties, and reduced liability insurance. Energy efficiency can increase profit margins through reducing costs. This approach has led to the formation of organizations like Entrepreneurs for Sustainability in the Greater Cleveland area which are oriented towards small and medium sized enterprises. Ideas of sustainability as a driver of job creation through green collar jobs has gained recent attention.

Social dimension

Society & sustainability
Key concepts Corruption · Crime Environmental law Environmental refugees Environmental security Globalisation · Human capital Megalopolis  · Human migration Peace · Security Social justice Sustainable living Urbanisation · War

Sustainability issues are generally expressed in scientific and environmental terms, but implementing change is a social challenge that entails, among other things, international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. "The relationship between human rights and human development, corporate power and environmental justice, global poverty and citizen action, suggest that responsible global citizenship is an inescapable element of what may at first glance seem to be simply matters of personal consumer and moral choice."

Peace, security, social justice

Social disruptions like war, crime and corruption divert resources from areas of greatest human need, they damage the capacity of societies to plan for the future and generally threaten human well-being and the environment. Broad-based strategies for more sustainable social systems include: improved education and the political empowerment of women, especially in developing countries; greater regard for social justice notably equity between rich and poor both within and between countries; and intergenerational equity. Depletion of natural resources including fresh water increases the likelihood of “resource wars”. This aspect of sustainability has been referred to as environmental security and creates a clear need for global environmental agreements to manage resources such as aquifers and rivers which span political boundaries, and to protect global systems including oceans and the atmosphere.

Human settlements

Local sustainability
Local concepts Barter · Bioregionalism Ecovillage · Eco-municipality Gift economy · Local currency Simple living Rural communities Social accounting Technocracy movement

One approach to sustainable living, exemplified by small-scale urban transition towns and rural ecovillages, seeks to create self-reliant communities based on principles of simple living, which maximise self-sufficiency particularly in food production. These principles, on a broader scale, underpin the concept of a bioregional economy. Other approaches, loosely based around new urbanism, are successfully reducing environmental impacts by altering the built environment to create and preserve sustainable cities which support sustainable transport. Residents in compact urban neighbourhoods drive fewer miles, and have significantly lower environmental impacts across a range of measures, compared with those living in sprawling suburbs.

Ultimately, the degree of human progress towards sustainability will depend on large scale social movements which influence both community choices and the built environment. Eco-municipalities may be one such movement. Eco-municipalities take a systems approach, based on sustainability principles. The eco-municipality movement is participatory, involving community members in a bottom-up approach. In Sweden, more than 70 cities and towns — 25 per cent of all municipalities in the country — have adopted a common set of "Sustainability Principles" and implemented these systematically throughout their municipal operations. There are now twelve eco-municipalities in the United States and the American Planning Association has adopted sustainability objectives based on the same principles.

Human relationship to nature

Sustainability principles

1. Reduce dependence upon fossil fuels,
underground metals, and minerals.
2. Reduce dependence upon synthetic chemicals
and other unnatural substances.
3. Reduce encroachment upon nature.
4. Meet human needs fairly & efficiently.

According to Murray Bookchin, the idea that humans must dominate nature is common in hierarchical societies. Bookchin contends that capitalism and market relationships, if unchecked, have the capacity to reduce the planet to a mere resource to be exploited. Nature is thus treated as a commodity: “The plundering of the human spirit by the market place is paralleled by the plundering of the earth by capital.”

Social ecology, founded by Bookchin, is based on the conviction that nearly all of humanity's present ecological problems originate in deep-seated social problems. Thus ecological problems cannot be understood without understanding society and its irrationalities. Bookchin believed that apart from natural catastrophes, it is economic, ethnic, cultural, and gender conflicts that have produced the most serious ecological dislocations faced by human civilization today.

Deep ecology establishes principles for the well-being of all life on Earth and the richness and diversity of life forms. This is only compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population and the end of human interference with the nonhuman world. To achieve this, deep ecologists advocate policies for basic economic, technological, and ideological structures that will improve the quality of life rather than the standard of living . Those who subscribe to these principles are obliged to make the necessary change happen.

Transition

The earth has a finite capacity to provide resources and to absorb waste, and human demands already exceed that capacity. Current lifestyles in the developed world, to which many people in the developing world also aspire, rely on depleting natural capital and are unsustainable. The United Nations have stated, in the Millennium Declaration, that "current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption must be changed". Yet weight of information and scientific evidence is often insufficient to produce necessary social change, especially if that change entails moving people out of their comfort zones.

There is a wealth of advice available to individuals wishing to reduce their personal impact on the environment through small, cheap and easily achievable steps. But the transition required to reduce global human consumption to within sustainable limits involves much larger changes, at all levels and contexts of society. The United Nations have recognised the central role of education, and have declared a decade of education for sustainable development, 2005-2014, which aims to "challenge us all to adopt new behaviours and practices to secure our future". The Worldwide Fund for Nature proposes a strategy for sustainability that goes beyond education to tackle underlying individualistic and materialistic societal values head-on and strengthen people's connections with the natural world.

See also

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108. Krebs, C.J. (2001). Ecology: the Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance. Sydney: Benjamin Cummings, pp. 560–582. ISBN 0-321-04289-1.
109. World Resources Institute (1998). World Resources 1998–1999. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195214080.
110. Groombridge, B. & Jenkins, M.D. (2002). World Atlas of Biodiversity. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520236684.
111. ^ Food and Agriculture Organisation (2006). "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005: Progress Towards Sustainable Forest Management." Forestry paper 147. Rome: FAO. Retrieved on: 2009-04-17.
112. IPCC (2006). IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Inventories, Vol.4, Agriculture, Forestry, and other Land Uses. Japan: Institute for Global Environment Strategies.
113. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8004517.stm Science and environment, BBC News Retrieved on April-19-2009
114. http://www.iufro.org/news/article/2009/04/17/iufro-press-release/ New Study Warns Damage to Forests from Climate Change Could Cost the Planet Its Major Keeper of Greenhouse Gases. Retrieved on: 2009-04-20.
115. Food and Agriculture Organization (June 2006). "Food and Agriculture Statistics Global Outlook." Rome: FAO Statistics Division. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
116. Imhoff, M.L. et al. (2004). "Global Patterns in Human Consumption of Net Primary Production." Nature 429: 870–873.
117. Tudge, C. (2004). So Shall We Reap. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-141-00950-0.
118. World Business Council for Sustainable Development. This web site has multiple articles on WBCSD contributions to sustainable development. Retrieved on: 2009-04-07.
119. Wilson, E.O. (2002). The Future of Life. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-679-45078-5
120. Leakey, R. & Lewin, R. (1995). The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind. New York: Bantam Dell Publishing Group. ISBN 0-385-46809-1
121. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. pp. 42-47. Washington, DC.: World Resources Institute.
122. Kinver, M. (9 May 2008). "Climate 'accelerating bird loss. BBC News. Retrieved on: 2009-04-17/
123. BBC News (4 March 2009) "Climate 'hitting Europe's birds'." Retrieved on 2009-04-17.
124. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8036785.stm By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News. The wild ancestors of common domestic fruit trees are in danger of becoming extinct, scientists have warned. Retrieved on May-08-09.
125. Randall, R. (2002). A Global Compendium of Weeds. Meredith, Victoria, Australia: R.G. & F.J. Richardson. ISBN 9780958743983.
126. Krebs, C.J., 190-205.
127. Blood, K. (2001). Environmental Weeds. Mt Waverley, Victoria: C.H. Jerram & Associates. ISBN 0957908601. An example of a local guide to invasive plants.
128. IPCC (2007). "Climate Change 2007: the Physical Science Basis. Summary for Policymakers." Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
129. "United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change." Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
130. Goodall, C. (2007). How to Live a Low-carbon Life. London: Earthscan. ISBN 978-1-84407-426-6.
131. "The Carbon Cycle" U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Research. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
132. This is one of many carbon calculators readily accessible on the web. Retrieved on: 2009-04-07.
133. ^ Shiklamov, I. (1998). "World Water Resources. A New Appraisal and Assessment for the 21st century." A Summary of the Monograph World Water Resources prepared in the Framework of the International Hydrological Programme. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
134. Clarke, R. & King, J. (2006). Atlas of Water. London: Earthscan, pp. 22-23. ISBN 978-1-88407-133-3
135. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. Washington, DC.: World Resources Institute, pp. 51-53.
136. Hoekstra, A.Y. & Chapagain, A.K. (2007). "The Water Footprints of Nations: Water Use by People as a Function of their Consumption Pattern." Water Resource Management 21(1): 35-48.
137. Feenstra, G. (2002). "Creating Space for Sustainable Food Systems: Lessons from the Field". Agriculture and Human Values. 19 (2): 99–106. doi:10.1023/A:1016095421310.
138. Harmon AH, Gerald BL (2007). "Position of the American Dietetic Association: Food and Nutrition Professionals Can Implement Practices to Conserve Natural Resources and Support Ecological Sustainabiility" (PDF). Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 107 (6): 1033–43. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2007.05.138. PMID 17571455. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
139. "Toward a Healthy, Sustainable Food System (Policy Number: 200712)". American Public Health Association. 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
140. Mason, J. & Singer, P. (2006). The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter. London: Random House. ISBN 157954889X
141. McMichael AJ, Powles JW, Butler CD, Uauy R (2007 Sep 12). "Food, Livestock Production, Energy, Climate change, and Health" (PDF). Lancet. 370: 1253. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61256-2. PMID 17868818. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link) Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
142. Baroni L, Cenci L, Tettamanti M, Berati M. (2007 Feb). "Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Various Dietary Patterns Combined with Different Food Production Systems" (PDF). Eur J Clin Nutr. 61 (2): 279–86. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602522. PMID 17035955. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link) Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
143. H. Steinfeld, P. Gerber, T. Wassenaar, V. Castel, M. Rosales, C. de Haan, "Livestock's Long Shadow - Environmental Issues and Options", 2006, 390 pp. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
144. Heitschmidt RK, Vermeire LT, Grings EE. (2004). "Is Rangeland Agriculture Sustainable?". Journal of Animal Science. 82 (E–Suppl): E138–146. PMID 15471792.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
145. World Health Organisation (2004). "Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health." WHO. Copy of the strategy andorsed by the World Health Assembly.
146. Newman, L. (2002). "Permaculture: Designing for a Sustainable Future." Sustainability Case Study, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Perth. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.
147. Cross, R. & Spencer, R., 113-127.
148. ^ Bournay, E. et al. (2006). Vital waste graphics 2. The Basel Convention, UNEP, GRID-Arendal. ISBN 82 7701 042 7
149. e-digest environment statistics
150. Product Stewardship Council (US). Retrieved on: 2009-04-05.
151. Emden, H.F. van & Peakall, D.B. (1996). Beyond Silent Spring. Berkeley: Springer. ISBN 9780412728105.
152. Hassall, K.A. (1990). The Biochemistry and Uses of Pesticides. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0333497899.
153. <Database on Pesticides Consumption. Statistics for pesticide use around the world. Retrieved on: 2009-3-10.
154. Fuad-Luke, A. (2006). The Eco-design Handbook. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-28521-3.
155. Brower, M. & Leon, W. (1999). The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0 609 80281 X.
156. Daly, H. & Cobb, J. (1989). For the Common good. Redirecting the Economy toward Community, the Environment and a Sustainable Future. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-80704-703-1.
157. Soederbaum, P. (2008). Understanding Sustainability Economics. London: Earthscan. ISBN 978-1-84407-627-7.
158. Ruffing, K. (2007). "Indicators to Measure Decoupling of Environmental Pressure from Economic Growth." In: Hak, T. et al. 2007. Sustainability Indicators, SCOPE 67. London: Island Press, pp. 211-222. ISBN 978-1-59726-131-9.
159. Hawken, P, Lovins, A.B. & L.H. (1999). Natural Capitalism: Creating the next Industrial Revolution. Snowmass, USA: Rocky Mountain Institute. ISBN 0-31635-300-0.
160. National Research Council. (1999). Our Common Journey. Washington: National Academic Press. ISBN 10: 1856497399.
161. Adams, W.M & Jeanrenaud, S.J. (2008). [http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/transition_to_sustainability__en__pdf_1.pdf Transition to Sustainability: Towards a Humane and Diverse World. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, p. 15. ISBN 978-2-8317-1072-3. Retrieved on 2009-03-10
162. Abbey, E. (1968). Desert Solitaire. New York: Ballantine Books, Random House. ISBN 0-345-32649-0. Actual quote from novel is: growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell
163. Diamond, J. (1997). Guns, Germs and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-06131-0.
164. Diamond, J. (2005). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking Books. ISBN 1-586-63863-7.
165. World Business Council for Sustainable Development 10 messages Accessdate=2009-04-06
166. Daly H. (1996). Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-4709-0.
167. Cutler J. Cleveland, "Biophysical economics", Encyclopedia of Earth, Last updated: September 14, 2006. Retrieved on: 2009-03-17.
168. see Introduction to Ecological Economics. Retrieved on: 2009-03-17.
169. ^ Hardin, G. (December 13, 1968). "The Tragedy of the Commons." Science 162(3859), 1243-1248. Retrieved on: 2009-03-17.
170. Nemetz, P.N. (2003). "Basic Concepts of Sustainable Development for Business Students." Journal of International Business Education 1(1).
171. Scott Cato, M. (2009). Green Economics. London: Earthscan, pp. 142-150.
172. Jackson, T. & Clift, R. (2008). "Where's the Profit in lndustrial Ecology?", Journal of Industrial Ecology 2(1): 3-5. Retrieved on: 2009-03-17.
173. Zhexembayeva, N. (May 2007). "Becoming Sustainable: Tools and Resources for Successful Organizational Transformation." Case Western University, Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit. 3(2). Retrieved 2009-03-17.
174. Leo Hickman, "The future of work is green", The Guardian, Feb. 12th, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
175. Agenda 21 "Declaration of the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development." Retrieved on: 2009-03-16.
176. ^ Blewitt, J. (2008). Understanding Sustainable Development. London: Earthscan, p. 96. ISBN 978-1-84407-459-9
177. Cohen, J.E. (2006). Human Population: The Next Half Century. In Kennedy, D. (ed.) State of the Planet 2006-2007. London: AAAS, Island Press, pp.13-21. ISSN 1559-1158.
178. "Water and Political Conflicts" from United Nations Environment Programme 2008 "Vital Water Graphics" Retrieved on: 2009-03-16.
179. Billon, P. (ed.) (2005) The Geopolitics of Resource Wars Retrieved on: 2009-04-05.
180. Kobtzeff, O. (2000). “Environmental Security and Civil Society”. In Gardner, H. (ed.) Central and South-central Europe in Transition. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, pp. 219-296.
181. Sale, K. (2006). Economics of Scale vs. the Scale of Economics: Towards Basic Principles of a Bioregional Economy. Vermont Commons. Retrieved on: 2009-03-30
182. Ewing, R "Growing Cooler - the Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change". Retrieved on: 2009-03-16.
183. LaColla, T. "It’s Easy to be Green! Eco-Municipalities: Here to Stay". theplanningcommission.org. Retrieved on: 2009-03-16.
184. ^ James, S. (2003). "Eco-municipalities: Sweden and the United States: A Systems Approach to Creating Communities". Retrieved on: 2009-03-16.
185. Bookchin, M. (2004). Post Scarcity Anarchism. Oakland: AK Press, pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-1904859062.
186. Bookchin, M. (2007). Social Ecology and Communalism. Oakland: AK Press, p. 19. ISBN 978-1904859499.
187. Devall, W. and G. Sessions (1985). Deep Ecology: Living As If Nature Mattered. Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, p. 70. ISBN 978-0879052478.
188. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC. pp. 1-85.
189. Sachs, J Are Malthus's Predicted 1798 Food Shortages Coming True? September 2008. Retrieved on: 2009-04-06.
190. Millennium Declaration of the United Nations Retrieved on: 2009-04-06.
191. Macy, J. & Young Brown, M. (1998). Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconect Our Lives, Our World. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers, pp. 25-37. ISBN 0-86571-391-X.
192. Gore, A (2006) Ten things to do Retrieved on: 2009/04/06.
193. Stockholm Environment Institute Great Transitions Retrieved on: 2009-04-12.
194. United Nations Environment Programme (2009) United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Retrieved on: 2009/04/09.
195. WWF. (April, 2008). "Weathercocks and Signposts: The Environment Movement at a Crossroads". Summary also available here. Retrieved on: 2009-03-13.

Further reading

Books

• Atkinson, G., Dietz, S. & Neumayer, E. (2007). Handbook of Sustainable Development. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. ISBN 978-1-84376-577-6.
• Benyus, J. (1997). Biomimicry: Innovations Inspired by Nature. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 0060533226.
• Blackburn, W.R. (2007). The Sustainability Handbook. London: Earthscan. ISBN 978-1-844-07495-2.
• Bookchin, M. (2005). The Ecology of Freedom: the Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy. Oakland, CA.: AK Press. ISBN 9781904859260.
• Brundtland, G.H. (ed.), (1987). Our Common Future: The World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 019282080X.
• Costanza, R., Graumlich, L.J. & Steffen, W. (eds), (2007). Sustainability or Collapse? An Integrated History and Future of People on Earth. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-03366-4.
• Cothran, H. (ed.). (2003). Global Resources: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven Press. ISBN 1565106733.
• Daly H. (1996). Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-4709-0
• Daly H. and J. Cobb. (1989). For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-4705-8 Review Retrieved on: 2009-03-12.
• Dodds, W.K. (2008). Humanity’s Footprint: Momentum, Impact, and our Global Environment. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13967-0 .
• Hargroves, K. & Smith, M. (eds.) (2005). The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century. London: Earthscan/James&James.ISBN 1-84407-121-9. (See the books online companion at ) Retrieved on: 2009-03-12.
• McDonough, W. & Braungart, M. (2002). Cradle to Cradle. New York: North Point Press. ISBN 0-8654-75873.
• Norton, B. (2005). Sustainability, A Philosophy of Adaptive Ecosystem Management. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226595214.
• Richardson, B.J. and Wood, S. (eds) (2006). Environmental Law for Sustainability: a Reader. Oxford: Hart Publishing. ISBN 9781841135441.
• Robèrt, K-H. (2002). The Natural Step Story: Seeding a Quiet Revolution. Gabriola Island, BC.: New Society Publishers. ISBN 978-0865714533.
• Speth, J.G. (2008). The Bridge at the edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability. Devon, PA.: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300151152.
• Steffen, A. (2006). Worldchanging: A User's Guide to the 21st Century. New York: Abrams. ISBN 9780810930957.

Articles

• Adams, W. M. and Jeanrenaud, S. J. (2008). Transition to Sustainability: Towards a Humane and Diverse World. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 108 pp. ISBN 978-2-8317-1072-3. Retrieved on: 2009-03-12.
• Bartlett, A. (1998). Reflections on Sustainability, Population Growth, and the Environment—Revisited revised version (January 1998) paper first published in Population & Environment 16(1): 5-35. Retrieved on: 2009-03-12.
• Marks, N., Simms, A., Thompson, S., and Abdallah, S. (2006). The (Un)happy Planet Index. London: New Economics Foundation. Retrieved on: 2009-03-12.
• Raskin, P., Banuri, T., Gallopin, G., Gutman, P., Hammond, A., Kates, R., and Swart, R. (2002). "Great Transition: The Promise and Lure of the Times Ahead". Boston: Tellus Institute. Retrieved on: 2009-03-12.
• Rolando, L. (2008). "Children and Youth in Sustainable Development". HUGS Movement, New York. Retrieved on: 2009-03-12.

External links

• Template:Dmoz
• Microdocs: Elements of sustainability
• Roadmap for a Sustainable Earth, an on-line book by Hiroshi Komiyama and Steven Kraines
• Learning for sustainability web site
• International Federation of Accountants Sustainability Framework
• Sustainable Food Guidelines published by Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming (UK)
• IHOPE, Integrated History and future Of People on Earth, an academic transdisciplinary research program investigating the integration of human history and Earth system changes
• IGBP, The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, a research program that provides scientific knowledge to improve the sustainability of the living Earth by studying the interactions between biological, chemical and physical processes and interactions with human systems and collaborates with other programmes to develop and impart the understanding necessary to respond to global change

v t e Environmental technology
General	Appropriate technology Clean technology Climate smart agriculture Environmental design Environmental impact assessment Eco-innovation Ecotechnology Electric vehicle Energy recycling Environmental Design Environmental impact assessment Environmental impact design Green building Green vehicle Environmentally healthy community design Public interest design Sustainability Sustainability science Sustainable (agriculture architecture design development food systems industries procurement refurbishment technology transport)
Pollution	Air pollution (control dispersion modeling) Industrial ecology Solid waste treatment Waste management Water (agricultural wastewater treatment industrial wastewater treatment sewage treatment waste-water treatment technologies water purification)
Sustainable energy	Efficient energy use Electrification Energy development Energy recovery Fuel (alternative fuel biofuel carbon-neutral fuel hydrogen technologies) List of energy storage projects Renewable energy commercialization transition Sustainable lighting Transportation (electric vehicle hybrid vehicle)
Conservation	Building (green insulation natural sustainable architecture New Urbanism New Classical) Conservation biology Ecoforestry Efficient energy use Energy conservation Energy recovery Energy recycling Environmental movement Environmental remediation Glass in green buildings Green computing Heat recovery ventilation High-performance buildings Land rehabilitation Nature conservation Permaculture Recycling Water heat recycling

v t e Electricity delivery
Concepts	Automatic generation control Backfeeding Base load Demand factor Droop speed control Electric power Electric power quality Electrical fault Energy demand management Energy return on investment Grid code Grid energy storage Grid strength Home energy storage Load-following Merit order Nameplate capacity Peak demand Power factor Power-flow study Repowering Utility frequency Variability Vehicle-to-grid
Sources	Non-renewable Fossil fuel power station Coal Natural gas Oil shale Petroleum Nuclear Renewable Biofuel Biogas Biomass Geothermal Hydro Marine Current Osmotic Thermal Tidal Wave Solar Sustainable biofuel Wind
Generation	AC power Cogeneration Combined cycle Cooling tower Induction generator Micro CHP Microgeneration Rankine cycle Three-phase electric power Virtual power plant
Transmission and distribution	Demand response Distributed generation Dynamic demand Electric power distribution Electric power system Electric power transmission Electrical busbar system Electrical grid Electrical substation Electricity retailing High-voltage direct current High-voltage shore connection Interconnector Load management Mains electricity by country Overhead power line Power station Pumped hydro Single-wire earth return Smart grid Super grid Transformer Transmission system operator (TSO) Transmission tower Utility pole
Failure modes	Black start Brownout Cascading failure Power outage Rolling blackout
Protective devices	Arc-fault circuit interrupter Circuit breaker Earth-leakage Sulfur hexafluoride Generator interlock kit Numerical relay Power system protection Protective relay Residual-current device (GFI)
Economics and policies	Availability factor Capacity factor Carbon offsets and credits Cost of electricity by source Energy subsidies Environmental tax Feed-in tariff Fossil fuel phase-out Load factor Net metering Pigouvian tax Renewable Energy Certificates Renewable energy commercialization Renewable Energy Payments Spark/Dark/Quark/Bark spread
Statistics and production	Electric energy consumption List of electricity sectors
Category

v t e Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy	Geothermal energy Geothermal gradient Geothermal heating Geothermal power
By country	Armenia Australia Canada Chile China Denmark El Salvador Ethiopia Germany Hungary Iceland Indonesia Italy Japan Kenya Lebanon Lithuania Mexico New Zealand Philippines Portugal Romania Russia Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom United States
Technologies	Aquaculture Binary cycle Desalination District heating Enhanced geothermal system Hot dry rock
Energy concepts	Base load Capacity factor Energy return on investment Energy storage Energy subsidy
Category Portals: Energy Renewable energy

v t e Marine energy
Wave power	List of wave power stations List of wave power projects Australia New Zealand United States Scotland
Tidal power	List of tidal power stations Tidal barrage Tidal stream generator Development of tidal stream generators
Other	List of offshore wind farms Marine current power Ocean thermal energy conversion Offshore construction Osmotic power
Energy portal Renewable energy portal Oceans portal Category

v t e Peak oil
Core issues	Fossil fuel phase-out Hubbert peak theory Predicting the timing of peak oil
Results/responses	1970s energy crisis 2000s energy crisis Global energy crisis (2021–present) Energy crisis Export Land Model Food vs. fuel Hirsch report Oil and gas reserves and resource quantification Permaculture Pickens Plan Price of oil Renewable energy commercialization Rimini protocol Simmons–Tierney bet Simple living Swing producer
People	Albert Allen Bartlett Colin J. Campbell Kenneth S. Deffeyes David Goodstein John Michael Greer Richard Heinberg M. King Hubbert James Howard Kunstler Jean Laherrère Jeremy Leggett Dale Allen Pfeiffer Richard Rainwater Michael Ruppert Matthew Simmons
Books	The Limits to Growth Beyond Oil The End of Oil The Long Emergency Out of Gas The Party's Over Power Down Twilight in the Desert
Documentary films	A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash Collapse Crude The End of Suburbia Escape from Suburbia Fuel GasHole The Oil Factor PetroApocalypse Now? The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire
Organizations	Energy Watch Group International Energy Agency International Renewable Energy Agency Oil Depletion Analysis Centre The Oil Drum OPEC Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries Post Carbon Institute REN21 Transition town
Other peaks	Car Coal Copper Food Gas Gold Minerals Phosphorus Soil Water Wheat Wood

Template:RecyclingByRegion Template:RecyclingByMaterial

v t e Solar energy
Index Outline Timeline
Concepts	The Sun Solar irradiance
Solar power	Thermal Passive solar building design Solar air conditioning Solar chimney Solar pond Solar water heating Thermal mass Photovoltaics and related topics Concentrator photovoltaics Floating solar Nanocrystal solar cell Organic solar cell Photovoltaic array (and systems) Photovoltaic effect Photovoltaic module (solar panel) Photovoltaic power station Solar cell Concentrated Concentrator photovoltaics Heliostat Parabolic trough Solar power tower Solar tracker Experimental and proposed Solar chemical and artificial photosynthesis Solar-pumped laser Solar updraft tower Thermoelectric generator Space-related Magnetic sail Solar sail Solar thermal rocket Space-based solar power By country Albania Armenia Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada China Czech Republic Denmark Georgia Germany Greece India Israel Italy Japan Kosovo Lithuania Mexico Morocco Myanmar Netherlands New Zealand Pakistan Portugal Romania Saudi Arabia Somalia South Africa Spain Thailand Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom United States Yemen Legal Solar Shade Control Act
Distribution and uses	Storage Grid energy storage Phase-change material Thermal energy storage seasonal Adoption Cost by source Feed-in tariff Financial incentives for photovoltaics Net metering Applications Electric aircraft Electric boat Solar balloon Solar vehicle Solar water heating
Applications	Agriculture and horticulture Agrivoltaic Greenhouse Polytunnel Row cover Solar-powered pump Building Building-integrated photovoltaics Passive solar building design Urban heat island Lighting Daylighting Hybrid solar lighting Light tube Solar lamp Solar Tuki Process heat Salt evaporation pond Solar furnace Solar pond Cooking Solar cooker Disinfection Soil solarization Solar water disinfection Desalination Desalination Solar still Water heating Solar combisystem Solar controller Solar water heating
See also	Photovoltaics Solar power by country
Category Commons

v t e Environmental technology
General	Appropriate technology Clean technology Climate smart agriculture Environmental design Environmental impact assessment Eco-innovation Ecotechnology Electric vehicle Energy recycling Environmental Design Environmental impact assessment Environmental impact design Green building Green vehicle Environmentally healthy community design Public interest design Sustainability Sustainability science Sustainable (agriculture architecture design development food systems industries procurement refurbishment technology transport)
Pollution	Air pollution (control dispersion modeling) Industrial ecology Solid waste treatment Waste management Water (agricultural wastewater treatment industrial wastewater treatment sewage treatment waste-water treatment technologies water purification)
Sustainable energy	Efficient energy use Electrification Energy development Energy recovery Fuel (alternative fuel biofuel carbon-neutral fuel hydrogen technologies) List of energy storage projects Renewable energy commercialization transition Sustainable lighting Transportation (electric vehicle hybrid vehicle)
Conservation	Building (green insulation natural sustainable architecture New Urbanism New Classical) Conservation biology Ecoforestry Efficient energy use Energy conservation Energy recovery Energy recycling Environmental movement Environmental remediation Glass in green buildings Green computing Heat recovery ventilation High-performance buildings Land rehabilitation Nature conservation Permaculture Recycling Water heat recycling

v t e Biosolids, waste, and waste management
Major types	Agricultural wastewater Biodegradable waste Biomedical waste Brown waste Chemical waste Construction waste Demolition waste Electronic waste by country Food waste Green waste Hazardous waste Heat waste Industrial waste Industrial wastewater Litter Marine debris Mining waste Municipal solid waste Open defecation Packaging waste Post-consumer waste Radioactive waste Scrap metal Sewage Sharps waste Surface runoff Toxic waste
Processes	Anaerobic digestion Balefill Biodegradation Composting Durable good Ecological design Garden waste dumping Illegal dumping Incineration Landfill Landfill mining Mechanical biological treatment Mechanical sorting Photodegradation Reclaimed lumber Recycling appliance recycling battery recycling bottle recycling fluorescent lamp recycling land recycling plastic recycling textile recycling timber recycling tire recycling water heat recycling water recycling shower Repurposing Resource recovery Reusable packaging Right to repair Sewage treatment Urban mining Waste collection Waste sorting Waste trade Waste treatment Waste-to-energy
Countries	Afghanistan Albania Armenia Australia Belgium Bangladesh Brazil Bosnia and Herzegovina Egypt Georgia Hong Kong India Israel Japan Kazakhstan New Zealand Russia South Korea Sri Lanka Switzerland Syria Tanzania Taiwan Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States
Agreements	Bamako Convention Basel Convention EU directives batteries Recycling framework incineration landfills RoHS vehicles waste water WEEE London Convention Oslo Convention OSPAR Convention
Occupations	Sanitation worker Street sweeper Waste collector Waste picker
Other topics	Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future China's waste import ban Cleaner production Downcycling Eco-industrial park Extended producer responsibility High-level radioactive waste management History of waste management Landfill fire Sewage regulation and administration Toxic colonialism Upcycling Waste hierarchy Waste legislation Waste minimisation Zero waste
Environment portal  Category: Waste Index Journals Lists Organizations

• Sustainability
• Environmental terminology