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Sustainability / Kent E. Portney.

By: Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Series: MIT Press essential knowledge series | The MIT Press essential knowledge seriesPublisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London, England : The MIT Press, 2015Description: 235 pages : illustrations ; 18 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780262528504 (pbk. : alk. paper)
  • 0262528509 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 338.9/27
LOC classification:
  • HC 79 P853s 2015
Contents:
The concepts of sustainability Sustainability and the roots of controversy Sustainability and consumption Sustainability in the private sector : the role of business and industry Sustainability and governments : the importance of public policies The special case of sustainable cities Sustainability and the future
Summary: The word "sustainability" has been connected to everything from a certain kind of economic development to corporate promises about improved supply sourcing. But despite the apparent ubiquity of the term, the concept of sustainability has come to mean a number of specific things. In this accessible guide to the meanings of sustainability, Kent Portney describes the evolution of the idea and examines its application in a variety of contemporary contexts, including economic growth, consumption, government policy, and urban planning. Portney takes as his starting point the 1987 definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development of sustainability as economic development activity that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Essentially, Portney explains, sustainability focuses on the use and depletion of natural resources. It is not the same as environmental protection or natural resource conservation; it is more about finding some sort of steady state so that the Earth can support both human population and economic growth. Portney looks a political opposition to the promotion of sustainability, which usually questions the need for sustainability or calls its costs unacceptable; collective and individual consumption of material goods and resources and to what extent they must be curtailed to achieve sustainability; the role of the private sector; the co-opting of sustainability by corporations; government policy on sustainability at the international, national, and subnational levels; and how cities could become models for sustainability action. -- Cover flaps
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Holdings
Item type Current library Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Libro Libro Biblioteca Juan Bosch Biblioteca Juan Bosch Ciencias Sociales Ciencias Sociales (3er. Piso) HC 79 P853s 2015 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 00000178348

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The concepts of sustainability
Sustainability and the roots of controversy
Sustainability and consumption
Sustainability in the private sector : the role of business and industry
Sustainability and governments : the importance of public policies
The special case of sustainable cities
Sustainability and the future

The word "sustainability" has been connected to everything from a certain kind of economic development to corporate promises about improved supply sourcing. But despite the apparent ubiquity of the term, the concept of sustainability has come to mean a number of specific things. In this accessible guide to the meanings of sustainability, Kent Portney describes the evolution of the idea and examines its application in a variety of contemporary contexts, including economic growth, consumption, government policy, and urban planning. Portney takes as his starting point the 1987 definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development of sustainability as economic development activity that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Essentially, Portney explains, sustainability focuses on the use and depletion of natural resources. It is not the same as environmental protection or natural resource conservation; it is more about finding some sort of steady state so that the Earth can support both human population and economic growth. Portney looks a political opposition to the promotion of sustainability, which usually questions the need for sustainability or calls its costs unacceptable; collective and individual consumption of material goods and resources and to what extent they must be curtailed to achieve sustainability; the role of the private sector; the co-opting of sustainability by corporations; government policy on sustainability at the international, national, and subnational levels; and how cities could become models for sustainability action. -- Cover flaps

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