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Sustainability and Alternative Futures
Citation:
Jordan, Steve. Sustainability and Alternative Futures. Presented at Pensacola Section of American Chemical Society, March 25, 2013.
Impact/Purpose:
Abstract for speech to Pensacola Section of ACS
Description:
The goal of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 is “. . .to create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations.” This statement was reinforced by an Executive Order in 2009 (“. . . an integrated strategy towards sustainability in the Federal Government . . .”)and adopted as a working definition of sustainability by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences. The concept is that the welfare of future generations will depend on balancing the three pillars (or dimensions) of sustainability: environment, economy, and society. I will illustrate with examples of sustainable and non-sustainable development in various sectors of the economy, followed by an exploration of what failure to achieve sustainability might look like in a future world.