Weak Versus Strong Sustainability

Weak Versus Strong Sustainability

Author: Eric Neumayer

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1849805431

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This third edition of an enduring and popular book has been fully updated and revised, exploring the two opposing paradigms of sustainability in an insightful and accessible way. Eric Neumayer contends that central to the debate on sustainable development is the question of whether natural capital can be substituted by other forms of capital. Proponents of weak sustainability maintain that such substitutability is possible, whilst followers of strong sustainability regard natural capital as non-substitutable. The author examines the availability of natural resources for the production of consumption goods and the environmental consequences of economic growth. He identifies the critical forms of natural capital in need of preservation given risk, uncertainty and ignorance about the future and opportunity costs of preservation. He goes on to provide a critical discussion of measures of sustainability. Indicators of weak sustainability such as Genuine Savings and the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare also known as the Genuine Progress Indicator are analysed, as are indicators of strong sustainability, including ecological footprints, material flows and sustainability gaps. This book will prove essential reading for students, scholars and policymakers with an interest in ecological and environmental economics and sustainable development.


Strongly Sustainable Societies

Strongly Sustainable Societies

Author: Karl Johan Bonnedahl

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-09-27

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 1351173626

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The response of the international community to the pressing socio-ecological problems has been framed around the concept of ‘sustainable development’. The ecological pressure, however, has continued to rise and mainstream sustainability discourse has proven to be problematic. It contains an instrumental view of the world, a strong focus on technological solutions, and the premise that natural and human-made ‘capitals’ are substitutable. This trajectory, which is referred to as ‘weak sustainability’, reproduces inequalities, denies intrinsic values in nature, and jeopardises the wellbeing of humans as well as other beings. Based on the assumptions of strong sustainability, this edited book presents practical and theoretical alternatives to today’s unsustainable societies. It investigates and advances pathways for humanity that are ecologically realistic, ethically inclusive, and receptive to the task’s magnitude and urgency. The book challenges the traditional anthropocentric ethos and ontology, economic growth-dogma, and programmes of ecological modernisation. It discusses options with examples on different levels of analysis, from the individual to the global, addressing the economic system, key sectors of society, alternative lifestyles, and experiences of local communities. Examining key topics including human–nature relations and wealth and justice, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental and development studies, ecological economics, environmental governance and policy, sustainable business, and sustainability science.


Growing a Better America

Growing a Better America

Author: Chuck Leavell

Publisher:

Published: 2011-03

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9780615434582

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Chuck and his co-writer, J. Marshall Craig have spent the better part of the last two years working on this important read. The theme here is "smart growth", and how we can deal with the pressures of America's growth pains that are already causing us concern. With a current population of some 310 million in the US and expected to reach 400 million by the year 2040, NOW is the time for us to think long and hard about how we are going to handle our growth going forward. Chuck has identified and exposed some great growth models in this book, and goes into subjects such as transportation, energy issues, home building and renovation, community design and much, much more. One chapter is dedicated to musicians, actors and other artists that are making a positive difference for our environment. An informative and fun read, it is sure to capture the attention of our country.


Transitioning to Strong Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals

Transitioning to Strong Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals

Author: Georg Von Schnurbein

Publisher:

Published: 2020-12

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 9783038978824

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Transitioning to Strong Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals is an edited volume dedicated to current developments regarding SDG 17 "Partnerships for the Goals". This goal contains preconditions and systemic issues that will facilitate the success of the SDGs in general. Thus, the volume covers conditions, structures, and means to strengthen the SDGs from both the theoretical and practical perspective. Transitioning to Strong Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals has three main focal points: Theoretical approaches to sustainable partnerships, including public-private partnerships. Different structural aspects for sustainable partnerships, including financial deals with philanthropic initiatives and new financing models as well as new technologies to meet the logistical challenges of development aid. Systemic issues, especially institutional coherence, multi-stakeholder approaches, and challenges of statistics for development.


Valuation for Sustainable Development

Valuation for Sustainable Development

Author: Sylvie Faucheux

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13:

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This important new book develops an ecological-economics perspective on sustainability at the regional, national and international level. It explores prospects for sustainable development using methods firmly grounded in empirical reality, as well as emphasizing scientific, economic and socio-political concerns. This approach is based on the construction of non-monetary indicators for sustainability, and the application of cost-effectiveness analyses to identify robust alternatives for the achievement of specified policy norms. In calculating the requirements for sustainability the contributors attach importance to multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA) methods of analysis to evaluate the key components of sustainability and help assess the sustainability of aregional or national economic development trajectory. Case studies of water pollutants in the Bretagne region in France and greenhouse gas reduction in Europe are used to investigate resource allocation from this perspective. The contributors utilize the M3ED model - a structural economy-environment simulation model which gives a multi-sectoral representation of a national economy's production, final consumption and environmental pressures - to explore feasible economic futures. It is applied to scenarios in France to demonstrate ways that prospects for sustainability can be investigated at a national level. The contributors compare and contrast these models with the aims of more typical neoclassical modelling in their search for the most effective approaches to defining operational measures for sustainability. This book will be of great interest to academics in the field of ecological and environmental economics and to policymakers and planners in government and industry.


Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals

Author: Pia Katila

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-12-12

Total Pages: 653

ISBN-13: 1108486991

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A global assessment of potential and anticipated impacts of efforts to achieve the SDGs on forests and related socio-economic systems. This title is available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.


Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Author: Walter Leal Filho

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2021-06-02

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783319959597

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The problems related to the process of industrialisation such as biodiversity depletion, climate change and a worsening of health and living conditions, especially but not only in developing countries, intensify. Therefore, there is an increasing need to search for integrated solutions to make development more sustainable. The United Nations has acknowledged the problem and approved the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. On 1st January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda officially came into force. These goals cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals comprehensively addresses the SDGs in an integrated way. The Encyclopedia encompasses 17 volumes, each one devoted to one of the 17 SDGs. This volume addresses SDG 16, namely "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels" and contains the description of a range of terms, which allows a better understanding and fosters knowledge. Concretely, the defined targets are: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all Significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decisionmaking at all levels Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance Provide legal identity for all, including birth registration Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development Editorial Board Alexandra Aragão, Julinda Beqiraj, Dênis Antônio da Cunha, Renata Welinski da Silva Seabra, Golda A. Edwin, Thomas Kaydor, Tehmina Khan, Amanda Lange Salvia, Paula Lopes, Petra Schneider, Pinar Gökçin Özuyar


Only One Earth

Only One Earth

Author: Felix Dodds

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-06-25

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1136261907

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Forty years after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, the goal of sustainable development continues via the Rio+20 conference in 2012. This book will enable a broad readership to understand what has been achieved in the past forty years and what hasn’t. It shows the continuing threat of our present way of living to the planet. It looks to the challenges that we face twenty years from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, "The Earth Summit," in Rio, in particular in the areas of economics and governance and the role of stakeholders. It puts forward a set of recommendations that the international community must address now and in the the future. It reminds us of the planetary boundaries we must all live within and and what needs to be addressed in the next twenty years for democracy, equity and fairness to survive. Finally it proposes through the survival agenda a bare minimum of what needs to be done, arguing for a series of absolute minimum policy changes we need to move forward.


Sustainability

Sustainability

Author: Tom Theis

Publisher:

Published: 2018-01-23

Total Pages: 644

ISBN-13: 9781680921533

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With "Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation," first and second-year college students are introduced to this expanding new field, comprehensively exploring the essential concepts from every branch of knowldege - including engineering and the applied arts, natural and social sciences, and the humanities. As sustainability is a multi-disciplinary area of study, the text is the product of multiple authors drawn from the diverse faculty of the University of Illinois: each chapter is written by a recognized expert in the field.


Global Sustainable Communities Handbook

Global Sustainable Communities Handbook

Author: Woodrow W. Clark II

Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann

Published: 2014-02-10

Total Pages: 609

ISBN-13: 0123979293

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Global Sustainable Communities Handbook is a guide for understanding and complying with the various international codes, methods, and legal hurtles surrounding the creation of sustainable communities all over the world. The book provides an introduction to sustainable development, technology and infrastructure outlines, codes, standards, and guidelines written by experts from across the globe. - Includes methods for the green use of natural resources in built communities - Clearly explains the most cutting edge green technologies - Provides a common approach to building green communities - Covers green practices from architecture to construction