Linkages of Sustainability (Strungmann Forum Reports) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0262013584 ISBN 13: 9780262013581

Publisher: MIT Press, 2010

Synopsis

Experts discuss the multiple components of sustainability, the constraints imposed by their linkages, and the necessity of taking a comprehensive view.

Humanity faces immense hurdles as it struggles to define the path toward a sustainable future. The multiple components of sustainability, all of which demand attention, make understanding the very concept of sustainability itself a challenge. Information about whether global agriculture can be made sustainable, for example, or calculations of the global need for water are useless unless we understand how these issues connect to each other and to other components of sustainability. In this book, experts engage in an extended dialogue concerning these linkages, arguing for a comprehensive view of sustainability. They emphasize the constraints imposed by the relationships among the components―for example, how the need for clean, easily accessible water intersects with the need for the energy required to provide it―and distinguish those constraints that may pose severe limitations on humanity's future from those of less concern. The book also highlights areas for future research and debate.

Linkages of Sustainability urges a transformation in the way we view sustainability―a transformation that is necessary if we are to plan responsibly for a more sustainable world.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas E. Graedel is Clifton R. Musser Professor of Industrial Ecology, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Professor of Geology and Geophysics, and Director of the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale University. He is the author of Streamlined Life-Cycle Assessment and lead author or coauthor of a number of other books.

Review

This book brings together two emerging themes in sustainability science: the notion that there may be a 'safe operating space for humanity' and the idea that sustainability issues are inter-related with one another. For instance bio-energy production has potential impacts on food prices and biodiversity. An eminent group of researchers asks: what are the limits on mineral water and energy use at different scales and how are these limits linked to each other? They argue that creating a pathway to sustainability in the use of resources requires attention to linkages between their stocks and flows and how people are influencing these. This book is a novel and comprehensive survey of global sustainability issues which I highly recommend.

―Frans Berkhout, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) VU University Amsterdam

About this edition

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0262013584
• ISBN 13: 9780262013581
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 532
• Editor: Graedel Thomas E, Voet Ester Van Der