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A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO SUB-NATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY
Citation:
HOPTON, M., H. CABEZAS, D. Campbell, B. Frakes, A. GARMESTANI, MATTHEW T. HEBERLING, A. Karunanithi, D. White, AND M. Zanowick. A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO SUB-NATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY. Presented at International Sustainability Conference, Basel, SWITZERLAND, August 21 - 22, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
The USEPA is investigating sustainability metrics from an economic and environmental perspective to determine their applicability at a sub-national level. Metrics are derived from Ecological Footprint, Emergy Analysis, Net Regional Product, and Fisher Information. We chose several metrics because we suspect that no single metric will provide sufficient information for planners. Our goal is to devise a methodology that can be used to monitor the overall stability of the state of a system through time and can be applied to systems of various sizes. Moreover, we want the methodology to be available to any group interested in monitoring the state of their particular system. Thus, we selected data that are readily available and often at little or no cost. Data were collected from existing data sources for a twenty-year period and each of the metrics was calculated for the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado, USA. When possible, data were collected at the county level for this seven county region or scaled to the region using state or national level datasets. *We will present preliminary results for each metric and demonstrate the importance of using multiple metrics to examine the sustainability of a system and to identify aspects of the system that are not sustainable. Such information will enable planners to move towards more sustainable states for their regions.
