sustainability unit 1
sustainable coffee
shade grown: - Different types and heights of tree are utilized to create an environment that is ecologically diverse and responsible - Can imitate a native forest (habitat for wildlife) - Reduces soil erosion, which improves soil quality - Leaves and foliage that fall from surrounding trees provide nutrients to the growing coffee, which can often replace the need for fertilizers - Trees can help keep carbon out of the atmosphere sun grown: - Removes the natural protective barrier of trees - Greater number of chemical pesticides are used to prevent pests and disease - Crops are planted at a higher density- Further stresses the surrounding ecosystem and increases and incentivizes deforestation - Used thanks to increased consumer demand - Much larger output of coffee - Pesticides can seep into soil and affect local watersheds - Produce triple the nitrates of shade farms, which can impact the way the plants are able to intake water Issues with organic and fair trade certification - expensive - makes growers jump through hoops and can stifle innovation - Fails to address the root of poverty issues (health, education, infrastructure, entrepreneurial activity, and governance)
sustainability audits
•Compilation of a detailed inventory of resources used and waste generated for a selected unit of production and consumption, such as a household or university. -can focus on a particular resource -raise awareness or analyze -compare audits over time
bioregionalism
•Living a life grounded in the ecology, economy, and culture of a particular place, committed to making choices that enhance it. •bioregion = An area that shares similar topography, plant and animal life, and human culture. -defined along watershed, not political boundaries -Ideally self-sufficient in terms of food, products, and services- more sustainable impact
global to local scale
•To be effective, sustainability issues need to be addressed at all levels from local to global. -Individual actions and values -Community actions and values -City/county laws and policies -State laws and policies -Federal laws and policies -International cooperation
Earth Charter
- An international declaration of fundamental values and principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. - Its text was approved at a meeting of the independent Earth Charter Commission in 2000.
issues that must be addressed to achieve sustainability
- Climate change, pollution, energy, production and consumption, water, waster and recycling, food and agriculture, green buildings, ecosystems and biodiversity, livable cities, population growth, economic development, equity and justice. - All of these issues have environmental, social, and economic aspects.
triple bottom line
- Environment (planet) - Society (people) - Economy (prosperity)
motivations for sustainability
- Fear of global catastrophe can be a motivator, but it is a depressing and negative one that is more likely to produce apathy and a feeling of helplessness than a proactive approach. - Developing/sharing a vision of what we want in a beautiful and sustainable world is the kind of positive motivation that encourages the participation and hard work needed to succeed.
Brundtland Commission
- Formally known as the World Commission on Envrionment and Development, it was set up by the United Nations in 1983 to rally the nations of the world to work together to pursue the goals of sustainable development. - Our Common Future (aka the Brundtland Report): Released in 1987, it coined and defined the term "sustainable development," acknowledging the need for a blending of environmental, social, and economic goals for the betterment of humanity and the natural world.
Social sustainability
- How fast we're using resources - How fast we can substitute resources - Population control
UN Millennium Declaration development goals
- in 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted the Millennium Declaration, which set out eight development goals to be achieved by 2015, each with specific progress indicators to measure success.
Sustainability vs environmentalism
- sustainability has more of a focus on social and economic issues with an emphasis on equity. - environmentalism: focused on trying to correct the problems of the past (what NOT to do) - Sustainability: focused on the future and creating a better world for humans and nature alike. (what TO do)
five axioms and social sustainability
1. any society that continues to use critical resources unsustainably will collapse. 2. population growth and/or growth in the rates of consumption of resources cannot be sustained. 3. to be sustainable, the use of renewable resources must proceed at a rate that is less than or equal to the rate of natural replenishment. 4. to be sustainable, the use of nonrenewable resources must proceed at a rate that is declining, and the rate of decline must be greater than or equal to the rate of depletion. 5. sustainability requires that substances introduced into the environment from human activities be minimized and rendered harmless to biosphere functions.
ecological footprint
A measure of the per capita impact of people living in a nation as represented by the area of biologically productive land required to support their lifestyle and standard of living.
IPAT equation
Impact = population x affluence x technology -Developed countries like US have smaller population, but higher affluence than large population developing countries like India -Modest population country can still have a big impact if it has high consumption or polluting/resource-intensive technology -A large population country with growing rates of consumption (China) can have a huge impact
UN Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
On January 1, 2016, the UN set forth a new group of 17 even more ambitious sustainable development goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030, including: - Zero poverty - Zero hunger - Good health - Gender equality - Reduced inequalities - Sustainable cities - Clean water and sanitation - Climate action - Unpolluted oceans and land Progress: - Significant decrease in percentage of population below the international poverty line globally, in sub-saharan African, and in South Asia. - Decrease in new cases of HIV per 1,000 people - Significant decrease in under-five mortality (under-five deaths per 1,000 live births)
cost-benefit analysis
Steps: -Define the project. -Identify all relevant costs and benefits. -Assign a value to all included costs and benefits.* -Select and apply a discount rate for changes in value over the life of the project. -Assess the economic viability of the project. Is cost minus benefit a positive number? -Make a recommendation.
anthropocene
The time period that started when humans began significantly impacting the earth What might mark its beginning: - European colonization of the Americas - Industrial Revolution - The Great Acceleration - Nuclear Bomb Proposal
Environmental impact
human population size and consumption play large roles
environmentalism
o A political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment - Through changes to environmentally harmful human activities - Through the adoption of forms of political, economic, and social organization that are thought to be necessary for, or at least conducive to, the benign treatment of the environment by humans - And through a reassessment of humanity's relationship with nature.
sustainable development
o Brundtland Commission: "sustainable development... meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." o IUCN/UNEP/WWF: Sustainable development means "improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems." Sustainable development is the pathway to sustainability.
Definitions of Sustainability
o David Schaller: "Achieving the ecological balance which allows economic prosperity and social equity to be achieved across generations." o Robert Gilman: "Sustainability is equity over time... think of it as extending the Golden Rule through time. Do unto future generations as you would have them do unto you." o Alan Atkisson: "Sustainability is an ideal end-state. Like democracy, it is a lofty goal whose perfect realization eludes us." o Dr. Kelly: "Sustainability requires bringing our society and economy into equilibrium with the environment so that we can meet our present needs without impairing the ability of future generations to meet their needs."
development
o Usually synonymous with economic development, which is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, or local community are improved.
Club of Rome
o a global political think tank composed of former heads of state, high-ranking officials, UN bureaucrats, scientists, economists, and business leaders. - The book got people thinking, worrying, and arguing about how not just human population growth but also how our insatiable resource use and economic growth would play out over time on a finite Earth. - The concept of sustainability thus entered mainstream consciousness for the first time.
Limits to Growth
o an important 1972 book put out by the Club of Rome reporting the results of modeling the interactions between exponential growth of human society and the finite resources of the Earth. - Warned that overshoot and collapse of the global system was possible in the 21st century. - Advocated changes to establish a stabilized, more steady-state world.
