Sustainability Science The Emerging Paradigm and the Urban Environme
A new paradigm for ‘use-inspired’ research, informed decision making and development of science-based policy is emerging at the very heart of the global sustainability transition. Sustainability science attempts to unravel the complexities of the co
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Michael P. Weinstein
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R. Eugene Turner
Editors
Sustainability Science The Emerging Paradigm and the Urban Environment
Editors Michael P. Weinstein PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies Montclair State University Montclair, NJ, USA
R. Eugene Turner Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA, USA
ISBN 978-1-4614-3187-9 e-ISBN 978-1-4614-3188-6 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-3188-6 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012937794 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Photo by Mike Peters/Montclair State University
This book is dedicated to Robert W. Kates, a pioneer in Sustainability Science who inspired a generation of systems thinkers.
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Preface
Balancing human needs with the ability of ecosystems to provide the goods and services that we all depend on is a fundamental formula for the global sustainability transition (Fig. 1). Equilibrium can be attained either by increasing these goods and services or by reducing our consumption of them, or in today’s world, both! Furthermore, demographic shifts and new patterns of settlement have placed unprecedented pressures on human well-being, ecosystem functions, and the interactions between them. Society has yet to adequately address the challenges of diminishing resources, i.e., by facing challenges that make sustainability more feasible technologically, and simultaneously more difficult politically and economically. First, there has been a dramatic growth in per capita domestic product in many regions of the globe and an increased ability to meet human needs. Second, despite recent successes in decreasing harmful consumption per unit value of product, worldwide consumption of energy and other natural resources in industrialized nations continues to accelerate (Kates and Parris 2003; Brown et al. 2011). Authorities worldwide have called for the prioritization of uses in order to minimize conflicts, protect resources, and ensure that all uses are compatible with sustainability goals. The public interest is addressed through recommendations to balance long- and short-term strategies with greater decentralization of governance t
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