What comes to mind when you think of the word SUSTAINABILITY?
What Is Sustainability?
The endurance of a system or process over a long period of time.
The Story of Easter Island. Small Island 2,000 miles off the coast of South America Mild climate and volcanic origins make its soil fertile.
Jared Diamond 1995
Dense Forests covered the island before early Polynesians inhabited it in about 800AD
Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggeveen 1722 Discovered the island and saw that it was a grassland without a single tree or bush over ten feet high Native animals included nothing larger than insects, not even a single species of native bat, land bird, land snail, or lizard. For domestic animals, they had only chickens.
What happened to Easter Island?
Tragedy of the Commons
The Basic Concept If a natural resource is held in common for use by all, then eventually that resource will be overused, polluted and destroyed. This concept can be, but is not always, motived by greed.
What are the “commons”? These are common resources that are owned by no one or a group of people who all have equal access too it. The resource must be available for use. For example, Iron in earth's core is held in common, but it is inaccessible, and it will not be destroyed Examples?
What is the Tragedy? The use of a common resource is beneficial for the individual but detrimental to the group as a whole. In seeking their own personal gain, the members of the group actually ultimately hurt themselves.
For Example:
The Colorado River Colorado Utah Arizona Nevada California Mexico
The Ocean
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Earth’s Atmosphere (air)
Sustainable Economics
High-Throughput Economy This type of economy attempts to boost economic growth by increasing the flow of matter and energy resources through the economic system to produce more goods and services. Example: “The story of Stuff”
High-Throughput Economy
Economic Development Most economic development is focused on improving human well-being by increasing material throughput. To have economic growth we must also have economic development
Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development The goal is to use political and economic systems to encourage environmentally sustainable forms of economic improvement. Aim to discourage environmentally harmful and unsustainable forms of economic growth.
Social Science Principles of Sustainability 1) Full-Cost Pricing (economics) examples? 2) Win-Win solutions (political science) examples? 3) A Responsibility to Future Generations (ethics) examples?
Low-Throughput Economy A system based on energy flow and matter recycling that works with nature to reduce excessive throughput and unnecessary waste of matter and energy.
Low-Throughput (low waste) Economy
How to become low-throughput? 1)Reduce, Reuse and Recycle 2)Don’t use renewable resources faster than the environment can replenish them 3)Use matter and energy more efficiently
How to become low-throughput? 4) Pollution prevention 5) Waste Reduction 6) Relocalization of energy and food
How to live sustainably?
Mono Lake - 700,000 years old - 66 square miles in size (it used to be 3,960 square miles!)
Mono Lake - It is naturally salty and alkaline because it has no outlet. - The only way water leaves is via evaporation.
Mono Lake In 1941 Los Angeles was growing and needed more water! They began diverting water from Mono Lake’s tributary streams 350 miles south.
Mono Lake The size of Mono Lake halved, while its salinity doubled.
Tufa (pronounced "toofah“) Tufa are made from calcium carbonate (combined to form limestone) which makes its way into the lake from underground springs.
Davis Gaines Appalled by what he saw, David Gaines formed the Mono Lake Committee in The committee grew to 20,000 members within 5 years.
Mono Lake Committee It has been a voice for Mono Lake, researching, negotiating, litigating, and lobbying for Mono Lake's protection. Due to the Committee's successful lobbying, Los Angles has received money for projects that more than replaces the water that is now flowing back into Mono Lake.