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1.
Terrascope is a freshman learning community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in which teams of students
work to find solutions to large ‘unsolvable’ problems and to communicate about those problems with a wide variety of audiences
in multiple formats. The program strongly promotes students’ autonomy in focusing and structuring their work, and student
projects culminate in public presentations, both to general audiences and to panels of technical specialists. Students who
have completed the program tend to show strong engagement with environmental and sustainability issues, as well as the skills
and experience to work intensively on such issues within multidisciplinary teams. Here, we present the program as a case study,
with some discussion of the factors that are key to its operation.
相似文献
Ari W. EpsteinEmail: |
2.
William Ascher 《Sustainability Science》2007,2(2):141-149
The policy sciences, in offering the most comprehensive approach to policy analysis and the sociopolitical processes that
shape policy outcomes, is particularly appropriate for guiding the analysis required to promote sustainability. This article
presents the main components of the policy sciences framework and demonstrates its potency in the crucial task of deepening
the problem definitions required to select and enact policies to promote sustainability. As such, it provides background for
the policy sciences articles of this special feature.
相似文献
William AscherEmail: |
3.
Culture as trigger for sustainability transition in the water domain: the case of the Spanish water policy and the Ebro river basin 总被引:2,自引:2,他引:0
There is a mounting body of literature dealing generally with the dynamics of transitions of human systems towards sustainability
and specifically with the different stages and processes of transitions. However, the question of why transition processes
occur in the first place remains largely unexplained. This paper explores the concept of transition triggers, such as culture
or material resource scarcity, and provides a theoretical framework to explain the emergence of a transition and its relation
to recent developments in Spanish water policy. We adapt the general framework provided by current transition theory and gather
empirical evidence and insights from processes occurring within the Spanish policy context and the Ebro river basin in particular.
Our results show that the sole existence of biophysical limits to water use or development cannot explain the start of a possible
sustainability transition in this domain in Spain. Changes in the existing water policies in the direction of sustainability
were not ignited by people directly affected by water scarcities but by a coalition of sensitive agents, mostly from academia,
NGOs and local constituencies, who managed to articulate new identities, integrate multiple sources of policy relevant knowledge,
and develop new values under the umbrella of the new water culture movement.
相似文献
Akgun IlhanEmail: |
4.
Bhaskar Nath 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2008,10(4):471-486
Most environmental professionals and decision-makers, and certainly the public at large, hold the view that the integrity
of earth’s natural environment will be conserved for posterity and sustainable development achieved if all the nations rigorously
enforced their environmental and emission standards. It is argued in this paper that this view, sincerely held by many as
an “axiomatic truth,” is mistaken and misplaced. This is because as a biogeochemical entity the Earth has limited self-regenerative
capacity (SRC) to cope with anthropogenic pollution, and all kinds of environmental problems ensue when that limit is exceeded.
Indeed, mounting environmental problems now occurring on all fronts amply testify to the fact that the limit has already been
exceeded. They also provide necessary and sufficient proof that environmental and emission standards have been woefully inadequate
for protecting earth’s natural environment and life-support systems. It is argued that true global environmental sustainability
will be achieved, paving the way to true global sustainable development, if and only if global environmental and emission
standards are set so that global anthropogenic pollution does not exceed the limit of earth’s natural SRC to cope with such
pollution. These and related issues are discussed in this paper. A simple mathematical model using basic mathematics is also
presented to explain how the phenomenon of “positive feedback” works in some of the environmental problems to exacerbate environmental
degradation and progressively to erode nature’s SRC.
相似文献
Bhaskar NathEmail: |
5.
6.
Modern urban life is characterized by the consumption of materials and energy, which are imported from all over the world
and discharge waste that in many cases has a negative impact on ecosystems far from the cities in which they consumed. Indeed,
cities cannot survive without worldwide hinterlands for resources and emissions sequestration. The ecological footprint (EF)
concept provides valuable insights into the human appropriation of resources relative to earth’s carrying capacity, and therefore
it enables us to compare human demands with nature’s supply and provides an indicator of human ecological sustainability.
An attempt was made to calculate the EF of Ra’anana, Israel as a case study, to compare the EF-value with the expected for
ecological sustainability and to emphasize the dependence on overseas ecosystems. Ra’anana, a town of 67,300 inhabitants in
the year 2002, is considered a ‘dormitory town’ with a high quality of life. The EF was calculated using mainly the component
method. The calculated EF for Ra’anana is 4.0 ha/resident which means that the required hinterland, located all over the world,
is nearly 180 times the size of the town. The town’s EF is twice the value expected for sustainability on a global scale.
We draw several scenarios in order to reduce the EF. On a national basis as well as with the town case study, electric energy,
food and waste can be reduced and in turn would have a dramatic impact on the EF.
相似文献
Meidad KissingerEmail: |
7.
Himayatullah Khan Ehsan Inamullah Khadija Shams 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2009,11(2):375-392
This study explores the interlinkages among population, environment and poverty and presents empirical evidence in a developing
country like Pakistan. It gives alternative views on population environment linkages. It explains poverty trap, market based
harmony, and dual effect of poverty on the basis of a link between population growth and natural resource degradation. In
addition, the paper also highlights social and political instability through population-poverty-environment spiral. It also
presents empirical evidence on population-environment-poverty nexus in Pakistan. It also compares environmental sustainability
index and human development index for selected Asian countries. The paper also gives scores for different components of environmental
sustainability index for Pakistan and compares these with India. The paper concludes that the causal relationship between
poverty and environment works in both directions, often through changes in GDP and population. Population stress does not
have any significant direct effect on all aspects of environmental status in Pakistan.
相似文献
Himayatullah KhanEmail: |
8.
Research core and framework of sustainability science 总被引:8,自引:6,他引:2
Yuya Kajikawa 《Sustainability Science》2008,3(2):215-239
This paper reviews recent achievements in sustainability science and discusses the research core and framework of sustainability
science. We analyze and organize papers published in three selected core journals of sustainability science: Sustainability Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, and Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy. Papers are organized into three categories: sustainability and its definition, domain-oriented research, and a research
framework for sustainability science. First, we provide a short history and define the basic characteristics of sustainability;
then we review current efforts in the following research domains: climate, biodiversity, agriculture, fishery, forestry, energy
and resources, water, economic development, health, and lifestyle. Finally, we propose a research framework for sustainability
science that includes the following components: goal setting, indicator setting, indicator measurement, causal chain analysis,
forecasting, backcasting, and problem–solution chain analysis. We emphasize the importance of this last component for improving
situations and attaining goals. 相似文献
9.
Akimasa Sumi 《Sustainability Science》2007,2(1):67-76
Environmental issues and the future sustainability of society are among the greatest concerns facing society today. How to
formulate a pathway toward a sustainable society is a critical question. Several issues associated with this question are
presented and discussed. First, a structuring of the issues is presented. The environment can be said to consist of three
systems—the natural, social, and human—and their interactions; environmental problems may therefore be defined in terms of
perturbations of the interactions among the three systems. A sustainable society can be realized by restoring these interactions.
Next, the characteristics of the issues are discussed. Because environmental issues relate to the future, forecasts of the
future are essential. Because it is impossible to predict the future with complete accuracy, however, we should develop a
method of using information about the future with allowance for error. It should be noted that error characteristics differ
according to their time-scale. Third, the relationship between environmental issues and society is discussed. To take collective
action on these issues we need society-wide consensus, which requires a reliable and objective platform. Here, more attention
must be paid to the distribution of knowledge across society, because scientific knowledge in a modern society tends to be
monopolized by research organizations. The role of the media is therefore important. Another important factor is the commitment
of the general public; user-friendly ways of galvanizing such commitment should be developed.
相似文献
Akimasa SumiEmail: |
10.
Anindita Sarkar Sucharita Sen Animesh Kumar 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2009,11(4):751-763
There is a general contention among scholars that first, wheat–paddy cropping pattern is largely responsible for declining
ground water table in Punjab and secondly, that the wheat–paddy cropping system is becoming unsustainable over time as the
yield levels of these two major crops are stagnating. However, the existing evidences do not throw adequate insight into the
stage of groundwater depletion during which the wheat–paddy cycle becomes unsustainable. The paper strengthens the existing
empirical base of sustainability status of this cropping cycle in Punjab. A comparison of irrigation systems in terms of both
trends in yield and stability for wheat and paddy has been attempted to arrive at a holistic appraisal of sustainability aspects
of crop specialization in Punjab. It is observed that the canal dependent irrigation system has performed better as compared
to the overexploited groundwater irrigation system in terms of most of the parameters used in the study.
相似文献
Animesh KumarEmail: |
11.
12.
Refining the ecological footprint 总被引:8,自引:0,他引:8
Ecological footprint measures how much of the biosphere’s annual regenerative capacity is required to renew the natural resources
used by a defined population in a given year. Ecological footprint analysis (EFA) compares the footprint with biocapacity.
When a population’s footprint is greater than biocapacity it is reported to be engaging in ecological overshoot. Recent estimates
show that humanity’s footprint exceeds Earth’s biocapacity by 23%. Despite increasing popularity of EFA, definitional, theoretical,
and methodological issues hinder more widespread scientific acceptance and use in policy settings. Of particular concern is
how EFA is defined and what it actually measures, exclusion of open oceans and less productive lands from biocapacity accounts,
failure to allocate space for other species, use of agricultural productivity potential as the basis for equivalence factors
(EQF), how the global carbon budget is allocated, and failure to capture unsustainable use of aquatic or terrestrial ecosystems.
This article clarifies the definition of EFA and proposes several methodological and theoretical refinements. Our new approach
includes the entire surface of the Earth in biocapacity, allocates space for other species, changes the basis of EQF to net
primary productivity (NPP), reallocates the carbon budget, and reports carbon sequestration biocapacity. We apply the new
approach to footprint accounts for 138 countries and compare our results with output from the standard model. We find humanity’s
global footprint and ecological overshoot to be substantially greater, and suggest the new approach is an important step toward
making EFA a more accurate and meaningful sustainability assessment tool.
相似文献
Jason VenetoulisEmail: |
13.
Wilfred Nyangena 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2008,10(6):745-767
Soil erosion is a major environmental problem and threat to rural development in Kenya. Numerous attempts to address the problem
have apparently had little success. There are however some districts that have been very successful, notably Machakos. In
this study we search for the factors that determine successful development in soil conservation such as social capital, human
capital and market integration. One of our main results is that social capital measures are significant determinants of investment
in soil conservation. A better understanding of the relevant mechanisms is essential for developing policies targeting improvement
in natural resource management.
相似文献
Wilfred NyangenaEmail: |
14.
Laura K. Schmitt 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2009,11(1):19-42
Soil erosion in many parts of the developing world poses a threat to rural livelihoods, to the sustainbility of the agricultural
sector, and to the environment. Most erosion prediction models are mechanistic and unsuited to quantify the severity of soil
erosion in a data-limited developing world context. The model developed in this paper for Negros Island, in the central Philippines,
is based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, but contains important innovations such as the movement of eroded soil
over the landscape, simulating deposition on lower slopes and in waterways. It also includes a term describing farmer strategies
to reduce soil erosion, which are typically ignored in erosion prediction models. A two-sample t-test found that model-predicted sediment loading values were not significantly different from field-measured sediment loading
values when corrected for watershed size (P = 0.857). The model predicts an annual loss of 2.7 million cubic meters of sediment to waterways such that by 2050 more than
416,000 ha of agricultural land will be rendered unproductive due to erosion. Farmer behavior conserves soil, but on the steepest
slopes soil conservation practices are not adequate to prevent erosion. Of two proposed strategies to control soil erosion
in the rural Philippines, the model suggests that a complete switch to tree crops would conserve more soil than universal
terrace adoption. However, even under these conservation scenarios, erosion threatens the areal extent of upland agriculture
on Negros, and hence the sustainability of the island’s food supply.
相似文献
Laura K. SchmittEmail: |
15.
This report summarizes the results of two studies of electricity supply for Europe (EU), the Middle East (ME) and North Africa
(NA) up to the year 2050. It shows that a transition to competitive, secure and sustainable supply of electricity and water
is possible using renewable energy sources, efficiency gains and fossil fuel backup for balancing power. A strong cooperation
between the EU and MENA for the market introduction of renewable energy and the interconnection of the electricity grids by
high-voltage direct-current transmission are keys to the success and survival of the whole region. However, the necessary
measures will take at least two decades to become effective. Therefore, adequate policy and economic frameworks for their
realization must be introduced immediately. The importance of sustainable energy for the security of freshwater supplies in
MENA is also described.
相似文献
Hans Müller-SteinhagenEmail: |
16.
Motivation of Japanese companies to take environmental action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions: an econometric analysis 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
To analyze the motivations of Japanese companies to take environmental actions to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,
we used FY2006 research data and questioned Japanese industries regarding their reduction of GHG emissions. Empirical investigations
revealed that voluntary targets set by industry organizations, government requirements, and advance responses to possible
future regulations can positively influence environmental actions for GHG emission reduction; however, cost reductions and
corporate social responsibility fulfillment cannot.
相似文献
Seiji IkkataiEmail: |
17.
Brad Allenby Cynthia Folsom Murphy David Allen Cliff Davidson 《Sustainability Science》2009,4(1):7-15
Sustainable engineering is a conceptual and practical challenge to all engineering disciplines. Although the profession has
experience with environmental dimensions of engineering activities that in some cases are quite deep, extending the existing
body of practice to sustainable engineering by including social and cultural domains is a significant and non-trivial challenge.
Nonetheless, progress is being made, as a recent study undertaken by the Center for Sustainable Engineering in the United
States demonstrates.
相似文献
Brad AllenbyEmail: |
18.
Jung Wk Kim 《Sustainability Science》2006,1(1):107-114
The East Asian economy has been growing fast in recent years, and environmental stresses are building up rapidly. Transboundary air pollution, water shortages, drinking water contamination, freshwater and marine pollution, deforestation, climatic disasters, and other environmental problems are becoming serious threats to the well-being of people in this densely populated region. The ESI (environmental sustainability index) reported by the World Economic Forum in 2005 is a good indicator of the environmental status of the region; most East Asian countries ranked at the bottom. East Asia is not moving toward a sustainable society, and the environment will not sustain the current rate of economic development for long. The traditional culture of East Asia used to be sustainable, so we can learn much from our traditions. Land use should be planned from an ecological point of view so as to best preserve the land’s productivity and stability. There should be definite goals as to where and how much to preserve the three important ecological bases: forests, coastal wetlands and agricultural farms. The forest is the base for the terrestrial ecosystem, including flood control, water resources, and climate; the coastal wetland is the base for the marine ecosystem; farmland is the base for producing food. Within these defined goals, limits should be set on how much land can be utilized for activities like urban development, manufacturing, and recreation. Limits on the pollution load resulting from such activities should be set so as not to irreversibly damage the environment. Economic development should be planned to allow the use of energy and resources only after satisfying these constraints.
相似文献
Jung Wk KimEmail: Phone: +82-2-8805653Fax: +82-2-8876905 |
19.
Working toward sustainable community is a complex task for communities especially given the ambiguous nature of implementing
the concept of sustainable development. However, by working to understand the nature of community capital, administrators
can begin to move beyond bottom line thinking toward a more comprehensive and collective view of community. This paper presents
a theoretical framework that helps municipal decision makers begin collecting information they need to help them build sustainable
and resilient communities.
相似文献
Edith G. CallaghanEmail: |
20.
This paper is a response to a recent special issue of Regional Environmental Change, “Quantifying vulnerability to drought from different disciplinary perspectives” (vol. 8, number 4, 2008). In this paper,
we examine some of the challenges facing efforts to understand vulnerability to drought through quantification as they are
manifest in some of the articles in this special issue.
相似文献
Edward R. CarrEmail: |