Sustainability: All That Matters

Author: Chris Goodall
Publisher: John Murray
ISBN: 1444174428
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 147

Book Description
Building a sustainable society is perhaps the greatest test that the world has ever faced. Prosperity has been created by ruthless and ill-disciplined mining of the world's resources, compounded by a cavalier disregard for the implications of pollution from industrial and agricultural processes. Today's generation has borrowed from the future by grabbing prosperity now and imposing the cost on the next generation. In this startling and informative book, which will appeal to both students and general readers, award-winning writer Chris Goodall provides a coherent new explanation of what sustainability actually is. Goodall then goes onto explore nine key sustainability challenges, applying the theory of sustainability to look at food, travel, clothing, electricity, heating and cooling, paper and cardboard, construction, consumer electronics, and air travel.

Sustainability Matters

Author: Noel Keough
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781773852485
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
Calgary, Alberta is a culturally diverse urban metropolis. Sprawling and car-dependent, fast-growing and affluent, it is dominated by the fossil fuel industry. For 30 years, Calgary has struggled to turn sustainability rhetoric into reality. Sustainability Matters is the story of Calgary's setbacks and successes on the path toward sustainability. Chronicling two decades of public conversations, political debate, urban policy and planning, and scholarly discovery, it is both a fascinating case study and an accessible introduction to the theory and practice of urban sustainability. A clear-eyed view of the struggles of turning knowledge into action, this book illuminates the places where theory and reality converge and presents an approach to municipal development, planning, and governance that takes seriously the urgent need to address climate change and injustice. Addressing a wide variety of topics and themes, including energy, diversity, economic development, and ecological health, Sustainability Matters is both a critique of current practice and a vision for the future that uses the city of Calgary as a microcosm to address issues faced by cities around the world. This is essential reading not only for every Calgarian working for a vibrant and sustainable future, but for all those interested in in the future of cities in a post-carbon world.

Sustainability

Author: Heather M. Farley
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136009280
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Book Description
Humans are not living within our ecological means. We are using the earth’s resources at a pace that cannot be maintained. We have already seen evidence of the fallout associated with ecological overconsumption and continued abuse of environmental systems will create increasing challenges both today and into the future. Our depletion of natural systems minimizes the possibilities available to future generations who are expected to somehow rely on innovation and ingenuity for their survival. Yet, despite the challenges we face, governments, individuals, non-profits, educational institutions, and corporations are all heralding the promise of sustainable development to save our environmental systems from collapse while allowing for uninterrupted economic growth. Today, the concept of sustainability is a widespread goal that nearly everyone supports. At the same time, almost no one means the same thing when they use the term. Sustainability is so broad and overly used that it seems to mean everything to everyone. The result is that the concept has lost its meaning. In this book, the authors examine the misuses and abuses of "sustainability" and seek to refine and clarify the concept. The authors offer a new definition of sustainability – what they call neo-sustainability – to help guide policies and practices that respect the primacy of the environment, the natural limits of the environment, and the relationship between environmental, social, and economic systems.

Living Well Now and in the Future

Author: Randall Curren
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262339110
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Book Description
A philosopher and a scientist propose that sustainability can be understood as living well together without diminishing opportunity to live well in the future. Most people acknowledge the profound importance of sustainability, but few can define it. We are ethically bound to live sustainably for the sake of future generations, but what does that mean? In this book Randall Curren, a philosopher, and Ellen Metzger, a scientist, clarify normative aspects of sustainability. Combining their perspectives, they propose that sustainability can be understood as the art of living well together without diminishing opportunity to live well in the future. Curren and Metzger lay out the nature and value of sustainability, survey the problems, catalog the obstacles, and identify the kind of efforts needed to overcome them. They formulate an ethic of sustainability with lessons for government, organizations, and individuals, and illustrate key ideas with three case studies. Curren and Metzger put intergenerational justice at the heart of sustainability; discuss the need for fair (as opposed to coercive) terms of cooperation to create norms, institutions, and practices conducive to sustainability; formulate a framework for a fundamental ethic of sustainability derived from core components of common morality; and emphasize the importance of sustainability education. The three illustrative case studies focus on the management of energy, water, and food systems, examining the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Australia's National Water Management System, and patterns of food production in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia.

Intelligence: All That Matters

Author: Stuart Ritchie
Publisher: John Murray
ISBN: 144479180X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
There is a strange disconnect between the scientific consensus and the public mind on intelligence testing. Just mention IQ testing in polite company, and you'll sternly be informed that IQ tests don't measure anything "real", and only reflect how good you are at doing IQ tests; that they ignore important traits like "emotional intelligence" and "multiple intelligences"; and that those who are interested in IQ testing must be elitists, or maybe something more sinister. Yet the scientific evidence is clear: IQ tests are extraordinarily useful. IQ scores are related to a huge variety of important life outcomes like educational success, income, and even life expectancy, and biological studies have shown they are genetically influenced and linked to measures of the brain. Studies of intelligence and IQ are regularly published in the world's top scientific journals. This book will offer an entertaining introduction to the state of the art in intelligence and IQ, and will show how we have arrived at what we know from a century's research. It will engage head-on with many of the criticisms of IQ testing by describing the latest high-quality scientific research, but will not be a simple point-by-point rebuttal: it will make a positive case for IQ research, focusing on the potential benefits for society that a better understanding of intelligence can bring.

Plastic Free

Author: Rebecca Prince-Ruiz
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231552726
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 365

Book Description
In July 2011, Rebecca Prince-Ruiz challenged herself to go plastic free for the whole month. Starting with a small group of people in the city of Perth, the Plastic Free July movement has grown into a 250-million strong community across 177 countries, empowering people to reduce single-use plastic consumption and create a cleaner future. This book explores how one of the world’s leading environmental campaigns took off and shares lessons from its success. From narrating marine-debris research expeditions to tracking what actually happens to our waste to sharing insights from behavioral research, it speaks to the massive scale of the plastic waste problem and how we can tackle it together. Interweaving interviews from participants, activists, and experts, Plastic Free tells the inspiring story of how ordinary people have created change in their homes, communities, workplaces, schools, businesses, and beyond. It is easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of global environmental problems and wonder what difference our own actions could possibly make. Plastic Free offers hope for the future through the stories of those who have taken on what looked like an insurmountable challenge and succeeded in innovative and practical ways, one step—and one piece of plastic—at a time.

Mathematics: All That Matters

Author: Mike Askew
Publisher: John Murray
ISBN: 1473601754
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
Mathematics often gets a bad press. Describing someone as 'calculating' or 'rational' is hardly as flattering as being labelled 'artistic' or 'creative' and mathematicians in movies or novels are often portrayed as social misfits who rarely get the guy or girl. No wonder some folks say 'oh I don't care for mathematics, I was never any good at it' with a wistful sense of pride. Yet professional mathematicians talk of the subject differently. They look for elegant solutions to problems, revel in playing around with mathematical ideas and talk of the creative nature of mathematics. As the Russian mathematician Sophia Kovalevskaya said "It is impossible to be a mathematician without being a poet in soul." So why is there such a gap between the views of everyday folks and professional mathematicians? Part of the problem lies in how most of us were taught mathematics in school. The mathematics served up there is presented as a series of de-contextualised, abstract ideas, wrested from the human struggles and interactions that gave birth to the ideas. Through looking at some of the history of mathematics, psychological studies into how we come to know mathematics and key ideas in mathematics itself, the intent of this book is, if not to make the reader fall in love with mathematics, then at least to come to understand its nature a little better, and perhaps care a little more for it. In short, this book explores the human side of maths.

Ancient Egypt: All That Matters

Author: Barry J Kemp
Publisher: John Murray
ISBN: 1444186221
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Book Description
For three thousand years a dominant force, Ancient Egypt is arguably the most successful and longest lasting human civilization yet. In this pacy guide, world renowned Egyptologist Professor Barry Kemp seeks to explain why Ancient Egypt was able to thrive with such stability for such a long time. The answers may be surprising - Kemp shows that human rights and career progression played an important role, as well as the traditional forces of slave labour and religion. Taking a thematic approach, Kemp examines ancient Egypt's georgraphy, rulers, society, morality, family life, art and architecture, military, science, philosophy and religion. He then goes on to ask what happened to Ancient Egypt, and to point to its lasting influence today.

Sustainability: All That Matters

Author: Chris Goodall
Publisher: Teach Yourself
ISBN: 9781444174403
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Sustainability: All That Matters, by award-winning writer and campaigner Chris Goodall argues that building a sustainable society is perhaps the greatest test that the world has ever faced. Today's generation has borrowed from the future by grabbing prosperity now and imposing the cost on the next generation. In this startling and informative book, which will appeal to both students and general readers, Goodall provides the first coherent new explanation of what sustainability actually is. Goodall then goes onto explore nine key sustainability challenges, applying the theory of sustainability to look at food, travel, clothing, electricity, heating and cooling, paper and cardboard, construction, consumer electronics, and air travel. This accessible and concise book will appeal to both students and general readers, giving a challenging and thought-provoking introduction to sustainability - and what matters most about it.

Acting as If Tomorrow Matters

Author: John C. Dernbach
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781585761586
Category : Conservation of natural resources
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This is a guide to making the United States environmentally sustainable. It explains the progress made to date on sustainability, including a description of the most significant obstacles to rapid and increased success. Building on the framework that has guided real progress so far, the author explains in detail how to make a greater variety of more sustainable decisions even more attractive, how law can provide an even better enabling environment for sustainability, and how public opinion and leadership can more effectively be engaged to support sustainability.