Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Sustainable development, which must now supplant this previously
dominant paradigm, does not accord economic growth overriding priority.
It seeks a better balance and integration of social, environmental and eco-
nomic goals and objectives to produce a high, equitable and lasting quality
of life. Sustainable development acknowledges the dynamic relationship
between the goals of improving well-being and ensuring that improvements
are compatible with a healthy natural environment.
A sustainable future global society is technically possible, economically
feasible and socially desirable, but we need the political will to manage the
transition. Our science gives us better understanding than ever before of the
natural world and our impacts on it. Technology gives us unprecedented
capacity to change the world to meet our needs and suit our desires. Humanity
requires us to use that scientific understanding and technological capacity to
develop as a sustainable society. That is a moral responsibility to future gener-
ations as well as to the other species with which we share the planet.
Recommendations
1
Water
1.1
That Federal and State Governments, as a matter of priority, each
develop a discussion paper on optimal use of our limited water
supply.
1.2
That State Governments immediately establish a transparent
framework for monitoring the short and long-term social and
environmental impact of water reform.
1.3
That the Murray-Darling Commission establish firm targets and
timelines for the return of environmental flows to the Murray-
Darling River system and for other rivers from which water has
been over-extracted. The relevant States should then implement a
program.
1.4
That State Governments set and implement strong mandatory
standards for the efficiency of showerheads, taps and other water-
using equipment.
2
Human health and well-being
2.1
That universities recognise the complexity of our social and
environmental systems and then apply systems science, within an
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