Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 1
A conceptual framework for industrial ecology.
opment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” It embeds within it
a number of values, including redistribution of wealth within and among
human generations, a need to aggressively restrict population growth, and
equal rights for women. It is also anthropocentric: that is, it defines sustain-
ability in terms of the primacy of humans over other forms of life, a posi-
tion accepted widely but not universally.
It is also a very ambiguous concept. Most important, there are many pos-
sible global systems which would be sustainable over some finite time
period. For example, an alternative sustainable world might be one where
elites barricade themselves and continue to enjoy a materials-and-energy-
intensive high quality of life, while sustainability over time is maintained by
low levels of biodiversity and mortality rates among the poor. Sustainable
development is not only one of many futures; it may not be the most prob-
able (indeed, cynics would argue that modern trends, such as increasing
income disparity within and among nation states, are away from, not
toward, it). Less fundamentally, existing data cannot prove or disprove the
