Sustainability

What is sustainability? What is a sustainable society?

1. Sustainability and
Sustainable Development
Dr. Andrew Wallace PhD

2. Overview
What do we mean; sustainability?
What do we mean; sustainable
development?
Why do we need sustainability or
sustainable development?
How can we achieve sustainability?

3. What do we mean;
sustainability?
A dictionary definition:
of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting
or using a resource so that the resource is not
depleted or permanently damaged [Webster's]
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.
[BrundtlandCommission]

4. What do we mean;
sustainability?
Resources
What we have
Production
What we make
Life style
How we use it

5. What do we mean; sustainable
development?
Sustainable developmentis a socio-
ecological process characterized by the
fulfilment of human needs while
maintaining the quality of the natural
environment indefinitely. [wikipedia]

6. What do we mean; sustainable
development?
Maintain our socioeconomic system
indefinitely!
Oxymoron
Our current socioeconomic system depend on
exponential growth
We have finite resources

7. Why do we need sustainability?

8. Environment
Pollution
Soil erosion
Pesticides
Waste disposal
How effective are efforts to
combat these problems?

9. Starvation and Poverty
About 800 million
people go hungry
Efforts to stop hunger,
starvation and poverty
in the world has come
to a halt
Yet we have more
food than we can eat!

10. Global Warming
Climate change
How effective are we
at combating this?

11. Rain Forests
From 14% to 6%
Estimated that it could
be gone by mid 21
st
century

12. Why do we need sustainable
development?
The current socio-economic system
Growth

13. The current socio-economic system
Business
Government
People

14. How can we achieve
sustainability?
Society as:
Technology
People

15. How can we achieve
sustainability?
The technical aspects of society should be
run by those who are experts in the
technology
The people part run by true democracy

16. How can we achieve
sustainability?
The technical aspects run with the
following goal:
Highest possible standard of living for as long
as possible

17. Highest standard of living
Units of productions managed by experts
No profit
Minimise energy
Minimise waste
Balanceproduction with demands
/ needs

18. For as long as possible
Minimise environmental impact
Balancethe needs of society
with the needs of the eco-system

19. Balance

20. Balance
To balance the system we propose a
system using energy rather than money
Energy is needed to run anything
Money is debt and value is subjective
Therefore not a true measure of the system
Energy credits are given equally to all
citizens
They decide what is to be produced

21. Enter Technocracy!
Technocracy offers
a alternative socio-
economic system

22. Summary
There are a number of complex problems
in the World today
The underlying cause is the current socio-
economic system
Technocracy aims to replace the current
system with an alternative system
Technical aspects rules by experts
No money but energy credits