Demystifying sustainability : towards real solutions / Haydn Washington.

By:

Washington, Haydn, 1955-

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: London ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2015Description: xix, 222 pages : illustrations ; 23 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9781138812697
1138812692

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

338.927 WAS

Contents:

Introduction: Sustainability \' seeking clarity in the mist1. The \' old\' sustainability: A story of listening and harmony 2. The 1960s to the present: Key conferences and statements 3. Rise of the \' new\' sustainability \' the weak and the strong 4. Economic sustainability \' Coming to grips with endless growth 5. Ecological sustainability \' essential but overlooked 6. Social sustainability \' Utopian dream or practical path to change? 7. Overpopulation and overconsumption 8. Worldview and ethics in \'sustainability\' 9. An unsustainable denial 10. Appropriate technology for sustainability 11. Solutions for sustainability

Summary: What is sustainability? Much has been said about the terms \' sustainability\' and \' sustainable development\' over the last few decades, but they have become buried under academic jargon. This book is one of the first that aims to demystify sustainability so that the layperson can understand the key issues, questions and values involved. Accessible and engaging, the book examines the \' old\' sustainability of the past and looks to the future, considering how economic, ecological and social sustainability should be defined if we are.

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Standard Loan	Thurles Library Main Collection	338.927 WAS (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		39002100628016

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

What is sustainability? Much has been said about the terms 'sustainability' and 'sustainable development' over the last few decades, but they have become buried under academic jargon. This book is one of the first that aims to demystify sustainability so that the layperson can understand the key issues, questions and values involved.

Accessible and engaging, the book examines the 'old' sustainability of the past and looks to the future, considering how economic, ecological and social sustainability should be defined if we are to solve the entwined environmental, economic and social crises. It considers if meaningful sustainability is the same as a 'sustainable development' based on endless growth, examining the difficult but central issues of overpopulation and overconsumption that drive un sustainability. The book also explores the central role played by society's worldview and ethics, along with humanity's most dangerous characteristic - denial . Finally, it looks to the future, discussing the 'appropriate' technology needed for sustainability, and suggesting nine key solutions.

This book provides a much-needed comprehensive discussion of what sustainability means for students, policy makers and all those interested in a sustainable future.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

What is sustainability? Much has been said about the terms \' sustainability\' and \' sustainable development\' over the last few decades, but they have become buried under academic jargon. This book is one of the first that aims to demystify sustainability so that the layperson can understand the key issues, questions and values involved. Accessible and engaging, the book examines the \' old\' sustainability of the past and looks to the future, considering how economic, ecological and social sustainability should be defined if we are.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

List of figures (p. xiii)
Foreword (p. xiv)
Acknowledgments (p. xx)
Introduction: sustainability - seeking clarity in the mist (p. 1)
1 The 'old' sustainability: a story of listening and harmony (p. 6)
A history of caring (p. 8)
Modernism and the decline of harmony (p. 11)
The revolt against modernism (p. 12)
Conclusion (p. 14)
2 The 1960s to the present: key conferences and statements (p. 17)
The fabulous 1960s and 1970s (p. 17)
Key conferences and reports (p. 20)
3 Rise of the 'new' sustainability - the weak and the strong (p. 29)
Destination or journey? (p. 29)
Is 'sustainable development' a code for sustainable growth? (p. 30)
Does 'sustainable development' equal sustainability? (p. 33)
Sustainability - the 'weak', the 'strong' and the 'strongest' (p. 38)
Conclusion (p. 42)
4 Economic sustainability: coming to grips with endless growth (p. 47)
The underlying assumptions of neoclassical economics (p. 51)
The steady state economy (p. 54)
Degrowth and the circular economy (p. 55)
Endless growth and 'growthmania' (p. 56)
Reductionism, economic modelling and the 'fallacy of misplaced concreteness' (p. 58)
'Resources are infinite', techno-centrism and substitution (p. 59)
The ethics of economics (p. 60)
The 'green' economy (p. 61)
What should economic sustainability mean? (p. 62)
5 Ecological sustainability - essential but overlooked (p. 71)
Do we have a problem? (p. 72)
Human dependence on Nature (p. 73)
Theory and the 'balance of Nature' (p. 79)
What should ecological sustainability mean? (p. 86)
6 Social sustainability - utopian dream or practical path to change? (p. 94)
Introduction (p. 94)
Utopia (p. 95)
What is fair? Equity and equality (p. 96)
What is just - and for whom? (p. 99)
Social cohesion and capital - keeping it 'together' to act (p. 100)
Democracy (p. 101)
Governance (p. 101)
War and conflict (p. 104)
The practicality of social sustainability (p. 104)
What should social sustainability be? (p. 106)
7 Overpopulation and overconsumption (p. 114)
Overpopulation (p. 114)
Dealing with consumerism and overconsumption (p. 119)
Dematerialising our economy (p. 122)
Beyond 'triple bottom line', 'eco-efficiency' and the 'small and easy' approach (p. 125)
Alternatives to the consumer society (p. 129)
Dealing with the heresy of more (p. 129)
8 Worldview and ethics in 'sustainability' (p. 136)
Worldview, ethics, values and ideologies (p. 137)
Anthropocentrism (p. 141)
Anthropocentrism in 'sustainable development' (p. 143)
Ideologies - modernism (p. 144)
Intrinsic value and the revolt against modernism (p. 144)
Deep ecology (p. 145)
Ideologies - postmodernism (p. 146)
Questioning reality and 'Nature scepticism' (p. 147)
A sense of wonder (p. 149)
Anti-spirituality in Western culture (p. 151)
How do we bridge the great divide? (p. 151)
9 An unsustainable denial (p. 159)
Believing in stupid things (p. 160)
Scepticism vs denial (p. 161)
Denial is common (p. 161)
The history of denial (p. 163)
Ideological basis for denial (p. 166)
Psychological types of denial (p. 167)
Ways we let denial prosper (p. 170)
Conclusion (p. 172)
10 Appropriate technology for sustainability (p. 177)
Appropriate technology (p. 177)
Renewable energy technologies (p. 180)
Inappropriate technologies (p. 184)
Conclusion (p. 187)
11 Solutions for sustainability (p. 191)
Can we know what future generations will want? (p. 191)
Solutions - pluralism vs specificity (p. 192)
Dcmystification - what meaningful sustainability cannot be (p. 193)
What sustainability should be? (p. 195)
Is it too late? Optimism, pessimism and realism (p. 196)
Solutions (p. 199)
1 Worldview, ethics, values and ideologies (p. 199)
2 Redesigning ourselves to enable change (p. 200)
3 Population (p. 201)
4 Consumerism and the growth economy (p. 202)
5 Solving climate change (p. 202)
6 Appropriate technology: a renewable future (p. 203)
7 Reducing poverty and inequality (p. 204)
8 Education and communication (p. 205)
9 The politics of it all! (p. 207)
The 'Great Work' (p. 208)
Can we demystify 'sustainability'? (p. 208)
Index (p. 215)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Haydn Washington is an environmental scientist and writer of 40 years' experience. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales, Australia.