Lecture 12

• Sustainability: to be able to endure, thrive and regenerate without overburdening the living systems of the earth
• Sustainable society: one that satisfies its needs without jeopardising opportunities for future generations
• Sustainable development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 17 goals which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership
• 5 Transformational policies:

  1. Rapid renewable energy growth - cut emissions in half every decade
  2. Shift to sustainable world systems - invest 1%/year in sustainable intensification
  3. New development of models in poorer countries
  4. Active inequality reduction - richest 10% cannot amass more than 40% of national incomes
  5. Investment in education, gender equality, access to work, family planning
• Renewable energy: energy from sources that are easily replenished or perpetually available
• Sustainable energy: renewable energy with low environmental impact
• Waste/Trash: unique to humans and defined as products of human creation that are no longer wanted so, thrown away

  • in natural systems - expelled matter is recycled by another organism
• Ecological footprint: the impact a country or individual has on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to support their use of natural resources