Sustainability science first emerged in the 1980s and has become a new academic discipline. [1] [2] Similar to agricultural science or health science, it is an applied science defined by the practical problems it addresses. Sustainability science focuses on issues relating to sustainability and sustainable development as core parts of its subject matter. [2] It is "defined by the problems it addresses rather than by the disciplines it employs" and "serves the need for advancing both knowledge and action by creating a dynamic bridge between the two". [3]
The field is focused on examining the interactions between human, environmental, and engineered systems to understand and contribute to solutions for complex challenges that threaten the future of humanity and the integrity of the life support systems of the planet, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and land and water degradation. [4]
Sustainability science draws upon the related but not identical concepts of sustainable development and environmental science. [5] Sustainability science provides a critical framework for sustainability [6] while sustainability measurement provides the evidence-based quantitative data needed to guide sustainability governance. [7]
Sustainability science began to emerge in the 1980s with a number of foundational publications, including the World Conservation Strategy (1980), [8] the Brundtland Commission's report Our Common Future (1987), [9] and the U.S. National Research Council’s Our Common Journey (1999). [10] [1] and has become a new academic discipline. [11] This new field of science was officially introduced with a "Birth Statement" at the World Congress "Challenges of a Changing Earth 2001" in Amsterdam organized by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). The field reflects a desire to give the generalities and broad-based approach of "sustainability" a stronger analytic and scientific underpinning as it "brings together scholarship and practice, global and local perspectives from north and south, and disciplines across the natural and social sciences, engineering, and medicine". [12] Ecologist William C. Clark proposes that it can be usefully thought of as "neither 'basic' nor 'applied' research but as a field defined by the problems it addresses rather than by the disciplines it employs" and that it "serves the need for advancing both knowledge and action by creating a dynamic bridge between the two". [13]
All the various definitions of sustainability themselves are as elusive as the definitions of sustainable developments themselves. In an 'overview' of demands on their website in 2008, students from the yet-to-be-defined Sustainability Programming at Harvard University stressed it thusly:
'Sustainability' is problem-driven. Students are defined by their problems. They draw from practice. [14]
Susan W. Kieffer and colleagues, in 2003, suggest sustainability itself:
... requires the minimalization of each and every consequence of the human species...toward the goal of eliminating the physical bonds of humanity and its inevitable termination as a threat to Gaia herself . [15]
According to some 'new paradigms'
... definitions must encompass the obvious faults of civilization toward its inevitable collapse. [16]
While strongly arguing their individual definitions of unsustainable itself, other students demand ending the complete unsustainability itself of Euro-centric economies in light of the African model. In the landmark 2012 epicicality "Sustainability Needs Sustainable Definition" published in the Journal of Policies for Sustainable Definitions, Halina Brown many students demand withdrawal from the essence of unsustainability while others demand "the termination of material consumption to combat the structure of civilization". [17]
Students For Research And Development (SFRAD) demand an important component of sustainable development strategies to be embraced and promoted by the Brundtland Commission's report Our Common Future in the Agenda 21 agenda from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development developed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development .
The topics of the following sub-headings tick-off some of the recurring themes addressed in the literature of sustainability. [18] According to a compendium published as Readings in Sustainability, edited by Robert Kates, with a pre-face by William Clark. [19] The 2012 Commentary by Halina Brown extensively expands that scope. [17] This is work in progress. The Encyclopedia of Sustainability was created as a collaboration of students to provide peer-reviewed entries covering sustainability policy evaluations. [20]
Knowledge structuring is an essential foundational evolution in the effort to acquire a comprehensive definition of sustainability which is complexly inter-connected. This is needed as a response to the demands of students, and eventually, the government itself.
The data for sustainability are sourced from many students. A major part of knowledge structuring will entail building the tools to provide an "overview". Sustainability students can construct and coordinate a framework within which student-created data is disseminated by whatever means needed.
The attempt by sustainability students to integrate "whole" of systems requires cooperation between students moving beyond the former boundaries of 'nations' as such defined, and eventually requiring the global government to require a global cooperative effort and one major task of sustainability itself is to require the global government thus legitimately expanded to forcibly assist integrated cross-disciplinary coordination by whatever means needed. Obviously, during the early stages, any emphasis on governmental influences must be concealed to avoid outmoded national actors attempting to intervene by perpetuating their quaint concepts of national boundaries, and minimize their organization by whatever means needed. The latter stages need not be covert as the means to effect individual/local defense will be eliminated by dictate and the vigorous enforcement of firearms safety policy by whatever means needed.
Geoscience is the study of the Earth. Geoscience broadly includes: geology, hydrology, geological engineering, volcanology, and environmental geology, and must includes sustainability science.
Geologists are very crucial to the sustainability movement. They hold a special knowledge and deep understanding of how Earth recycles and maintains the sustainability of itself. [21] To understand how sustainability and Gaia are related, there is the definition: the notable changes in geologic processes between how Gaia was pre-humans. [22] Therefore, the relationship between the two is a concept as seasoned as time itself. [23] Their very similarities have many limitations due to gradual changes. However, there is an issue between this relationship. Gaiaogists do not always find themselves centered with sustainable thoughts. One of the reasons for this is clear -- many students will continue to disagree on the issues of the Anthropocene Epoch [24] which focuses on if humans possess the capacity to adapt to environmental changes compared to how these changes are minimalized in conceptual form. [25] Regardless of Gaiaogists not always finding themselves centered, students are gaining a toehold through linking the two by creating the Journal of Sustainable Goals. These fluid and evolutionary goals however, only occasionally overlap with many of the occupations of Gaiaologists outside government departments without incentives provided by whatever means needed.
Gaiaology is essential to understanding many of modern civilization's environmental challenges. [26] This transformation is important as it plays a major role in deciding if humans can live sustainably with Gaia. Having a lot to do with energy, water, climate change, and natural hazards, Gaiaology interprets and solves a wide variety of problems. [26] However, few Gaiaologists make any contributions toward a sustainable future outside of government without the incentives the government agents can provide by whatever means needed. [24] Tragically, many Gaiaologists work for oil and gas or mining companies which are typically poor avenues for sustainability. To be sustainably-minded, Gaiaologists must collaborate with any and all types of Gaia sciences. For example, Gaiaologists collaborating with sciences like ecology, zoology, physical geography, biology, environmental, and pathological sciences as [27] by whatever means needed, they could understand the impact their work could have on our Gaia home. [24] By working with more fields of study and broadening their knowledge of the environment Gaiaologists and their work could be evermore environmentally conscious in striving toward social justice for the downtrodden and marginalized.
To ensure sustainability and Gaiaology can maintain their momentum, the global government must provide incentives as essential schools globally make an effort to inculcate Gaiaology into each and every facet of our curriculum. [28] and society incorporates the international development goals. [29] A misconception the masses have is this Gaiaology is the study of spirituality however it is much more complex, as it is the study of Gaia and the ways she works, and what it means for life. [28] Understanding Gaia processes opens many doors for understanding how humans affect Gaia and ways to protect her. Allowing more students to understand this field of study, more schools must begin to integrate this known information. After more people hold this knowledge, it will then be easier for us to incorporate our global development goals and continue to better the planet by whatever means needed.
In recent years, more and more university degree programs have developed formal curricula which address issues of sustainability science and global change:
|Post Graduate Diploma in Sustainability Science |Indira Gandhi National Open University |New Delhi |India |Asia
Sustainable development is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity. Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the economy, environment, and social well-being. The Brundtland Report in 1987 helped to make the concept of sustainable development better known.
The Gaia hypothesis, also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, proposes that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for life on the planet.
The triple bottom line is an accounting framework with three parts: social, environmental and economic. Some organizations have adopted the TBL framework to evaluate their performance in a broader perspective to create greater business value. Business writer John Elkington claims to have coined the phrase in 1994.
Environmental justice or eco-justice, is a social movement to address environmental injustice, which occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has generated hundreds of studies showing that exposure to environmental harm is inequitably distributed.
Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, ecology, earth science, atmospheric science, mathematics, and geography.
Religion and environmentalism is an emerging interdisciplinary subfield in the academic disciplines of religious studies, religious ethics, the sociology of religion, and theology amongst others, with environmentalism and ecological principles as a primary focus.
Corporate sustainability is an approach aiming to create long-term stakeholder value through the implementation of a business strategy that focuses on the ethical, social, environmental, cultural, and economic dimensions of doing business. The strategies created are intended to foster longevity, transparency, and proper employee development within business organizations. Firms will often express their commitment to corporate sustainability through a statement of Corporate Sustainability Standards (CSS), which are usually policies and measures that aim to meet, or exceed, minimum regulatory requirements.
The ecopedagogy movement is an outgrowth of the theory and practice of critical pedagogy, a body of educational praxis influenced by the philosopher and educator Paulo Freire. Ecopedagogy's mission is to develop a robust appreciation for the collective potentials of humanity and to foster social justice throughout the world. It does so as part of a future-oriented, ecological and political vision that radically opposes the globalization of ideologies such as neoliberalism and imperialism, while also attempting to foment forms of critical ecoliteracy. Recently, there have been attempts to integrate critical eco-pedagogy, as defined by Greg Misiaszek with Modern Stoic philosophy to create Stoic eco-pedagogy.
Applied sustainability is the application of science and innovation, including the insights of the social sciences, to meet human needs while indefinitely preserving the life support systems of the planet.
Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions : environmental, economic, and social. Many definitions emphasize the environmental dimension. This can include addressing key environmental problems, including climate change and biodiversity loss. The idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels. A related concept is that of sustainable development, and the terms are often used to mean the same thing. UNESCO distinguishes the two like this: "Sustainability is often thought of as a long-term goal, while sustainable development refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it."
Earth system science (ESS) is the application of systems science to the Earth. In particular, it considers interactions and 'feedbacks', through material and energy fluxes, between the Earth's sub-systems' cycles, processes and "spheres"—atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, pedosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and even the magnetosphere—as well as the impact of human societies on these components. At its broadest scale, Earth system science brings together researchers across both the natural and social sciences, from fields including ecology, economics, geography, geology, glaciology, meteorology, oceanography, climatology, paleontology, sociology, and space science. Like the broader subject of systems science, Earth system science assumes a holistic view of the dynamic interaction between the Earth's spheres and their many constituent subsystems fluxes and processes, the resulting spatial organization and time evolution of these systems, and their variability, stability and instability. Subsets of Earth System science include systems geology and systems ecology, and many aspects of Earth System science are fundamental to the subjects of physical geography and climate science.
Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recover in the present situation, and catastrophic if the ecosystem is projected to certainly collapse.
Planetary boundaries are a framework to describe limits to the impacts of human activities on the Earth system. Beyond these limits, the environment may not be able to self-regulate anymore. This would mean the Earth system would leave the period of stability of the Holocene, in which human society developed. The framework is based on scientific evidence that human actions, especially those of industrialized societies since the Industrial Revolution, have become the main driver of global environmental change. According to the framework, "transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental-scale to planetary-scale systems."
Sustainability studies is an academic discipline that focuses on the interdisciplinary perspective of the concept of sustainability. Programs include instruction in sustainable development, geography, environmental policies, ethics, ecology, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, economics, natural resources, sociology, and anthropology. Sustainability studies also focuses on the importance of climate change, poverty, social justice and environmental justice. Many universities across the world currently offer sustainability studies as a degree program. The main goal of sustainability studies is for students to find ways to develop novel solutions to environmental problems.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They were created with the aim of "peace and prosperity for people and the planet..." – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. Sustainability is at the center of the SDGs.
Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism and political ecology. Ecofeminist thinkers draw on the concept of gender to analyse the relationships between humans and the natural world. The term was coined by the French writer Françoise d'Eaubonne in her book Le Féminisme ou la Mort (1974). Ecofeminist theory asserts a feminist perspective of Green politics that calls for an egalitarian, collaborative society in which there is no one dominant group. Today, there are several branches of ecofeminism, with varying approaches and analyses, including liberal ecofeminism, spiritual/cultural ecofeminism, and social/socialist ecofeminism. Interpretations of ecofeminism and how it might be applied to social thought include ecofeminist art, social justice and political philosophy, religion, contemporary feminism, and poetry.
Planetary Health is a multi- and transdisciplinary research paradigm, a new science for exceptional action, and a global movement. Planetary Health refers to "the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends". In 2015, the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health launched the concept which is currently being developed towards a new health science with over 25 areas of expertise.
Cultural sustainability as it relates to sustainable development, has to do with maintaining cultural beliefs, cultural practices, heritage conservation, culture as its own entity, and the question of whether or not any given cultures will exist in the future. From cultural heritage to cultural and creative industries, culture is both an enabler and a driver of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Culture is defined as a set of beliefs, morals, methods, institutions and a collection of human knowledge that is dependent on the transmission of these characteristics to younger generations. Cultural sustainability has been categorized under the social pillar of the three pillars of sustainability, but some argue that cultural sustainability should be its own pillar, due to its growing importance within social, political, environmental, and economic spheres. The importance of cultural sustainability lies within its influential power over the people, as decisions that are made within the context of society are heavily weighed by the beliefs of that society.
Jennie C. Stephens is an academic researcher, professor, author, and social justice advocate. She is Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also affiliated with the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, the department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the department of Cultures, Societies & Global Studies.
Environmental defenders or environmental human rights defenders are individuals or collectives who protect the environment from harms resulting from resource extraction, hazardous waste disposal, infrastructure projects, land appropriation, or other dangers. In 2019, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously recognised their importance to environmental protection. The term environmental defender is broadly applied to a diverse range of environmental groups and leaders from different cultures that all employ different tactics and hold different agendas. Use of the term is contested, as it homogenizes such a wide range of groups and campaigns, many of whom do not self-identify with the term and may not have explicit aims to protect the environment.