Books : The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift

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Author name: Andres R. Edwards

 : The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift
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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.927
EAN num: 9780865715318
ISBN number: 0865715319
Label: New Society Publishing houses
Manufacturer: New Society Publishing houses
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 224
Printing Date: June 01, 2005
Publishing house: New Society Publishing houses
Sale Popularity Level: 6126
Studio: New Society Publishing houses




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Sustainability has become a buzzword in the last decade, but its full meaning is complex, emerging from a range of different sectors. In practice, it has become the springboard for millions of individuals throughout the world who are forging the fastest and most profound social transformation of our time-the sustainability revolution.



The Sustainability Revolution paints a picture of this largely unrecognized phenomenon from the point of view of five major sectors of society:



Community (government and international institutions)
Commerce (business)
Resource extraction (forestry, farming, fisheries etc.)
Ecological design (architecture, technology)
Biosphere (conservation, biodiversity etc.)



The book analyzes sustainability as defined by each of these sectors in terms of the principles, declarations and intentions that have emerged from conferences and publications, and which serve as guidelines for policy decisions and future activities. Common themes are then explored, including:



An emphasis on stewardship
The need for economic restructuring promoting no waste and equitable distribution
An understanding and respect for the principles of nature
The restoration of life forms
An intergenerational perspective on solutions



Concluding that these themes in turn represent a new set of values that define this paradigm shift, The Sustainability Revolution describes innovative sustainable projects and policies in Colombia, Brazil, India and the Netherlands and examines future trends. Complete with a useful resources list, this is the very first book of its kind and will appeal to business and government policymakers, academics and all interested in sustainability.



Andrs R. Edwards is an educator, author, media designer and environmental systems consultant who has specialized in sustainability topics for the past 15 years. The founder and president of EduTracks, an exhibit design and fabrication firm specializing in purple building and sustainable education programs for parks, towns and companies, he lives in northern California.





Customer Reviews
User popularity level:  out of 5 stars

Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - A Sustainable Framework
The Sustainability Revolution provides a broad portrait of a paradigm shift, as the sub title claims. Although I checked this out of the library, this is a book to own and refer to especially if you are interested in furthering sustainable best practices or even wondering what they are. Sustainability can be a challenge to get understanding and organized around and this book neatly categorizes it in 7 chapters and concludes with a substantial resource section; it is well referenced throughout for additional follow-up.

First we read about how sustainability's environmental roots were expanded to include consideration of the 3 E's, ecology, economy and equity; sustainability therefore looks at the interdependencies of the 3E's and engages a diversity of stakeholders when we broaden the undeniable scope of impact. Ecology is the environmental consideration in which we shift to a long term perspective, acknowledge and respond in turn to our dependence on our life support systems. Looking at economy we see a healthy environment and a healthy economy coexisting, not the opposition of these as is often still purported. The human well being requirement of the sustainability triangle is referred to herein as equity or equality as it acknowledges that the well being of the individual is dependant on the well being of the community and calls us toward a spirit of cooperation and ethics within the distribution of basic resources such as food, shelter and water and a greater emphasis on the value of education. The author then proceeds to describe sustainability principles in 5 basic categories, Community, Commerce, Natural Resources, Ecological Design, and the Biosphere with education as a key component of each as we weave our way into the sustainable path. Each of the respective principles are presented in a separate highlighted box within each chapter and then commented on by the author.

Sustainability and Community describes tools created by task forces and working groups to tackle the challenges of bringing the 3E's into balance by implementing long term systematic approaches at all levels, local, regional, national and international communities. These include the Ontario Roundtable on Environment and Economy (local initiative,) the Minnesota Planning Environmental Quality Board Principles of Sustainable Development for Minnesota (regional,) The Netherlands National Environmental Policy (national,) and the Earth Charter's Commission and ICLEI (international.) All told these community based principles integrate a diversity of perspectives and interests toward defining and working toward a shared vision for a sustainable future.

Sustainability and Commerce reveals how business practices and the long term health of our planet and all its life forms are advantaged when business mimics natural systems rather than destroys them. The precautionary principle is presented as an ethical standard wherein the company realizes that it must consider its investors and the community as a whole, igniting the conscience of business activity; if the best way for an individual to live is to do no harm, the same standard, already prevalent in other countries, must apply to the organization that has more power to do harm if precaution were not taken. The precautionary principle for example is about placing responsibility to avoid harm onto the manufacturer. It was implemented in 2003 in San Francisco at the municipal level. The Natural Step can be used by a company to assess its impact with respect to the laws of nature as it combines science and management best practices. The Houston principles links labor with environmental movements and offers the power of creative cooperation to bolster communities through jobs and healthy ecosystems. The CERES principles offer a voluntary approach to organizations that seek a conscience by providing a framework in which sustainability practices can be adopted in a supportive manner, and includes a risk reduction clause; in a sense the CERES principles leverage peer pressure and provide sharing of sustainable successes among its participants.

Sustainability and Natural Resources describes the challenge for industries directly benefiting from resource extraction, the fuel from the former industrial revolution, and our shared need for survival such that even the American Petroleum Institute calls for conservation and investment in renewables but continues to ignore equity in resource usage. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) fibre is widely available and promotes sustainable forest usage while calling on each of us to consider where and how the products we consume are appropriated as does the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) that requires sustainable fishery. The Asilomar Declaration for Sustainable Agriculture practices speaks to the need to make our food systems sustainable; our broken system is witnessed in recent outbreaks of food ... Read More



Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - Excellent reference
I good overview of the various different positions and definitions of what is sustainability. It's a little dry, but as a reference book this can't be beat.



Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - Great Intro to Sustainability
This book is perfect way to grasp what has happened and why in the sustainability movement. Andres Edwards introduces all of the right resources and contacts for anyone who is vested in our sustainability on this planet. He covers business, community and governmental approaches. In this book he simply introduces all the major themes a very broad field. It can be a little text book, but is also a very interesting read. I am the director for Sustainable Fairfax and Andres has also been a wonderful speaker for our volunteer trainings.



Rated by buyers 1 out of 5 stars - Sustainability garbage
I bought this book along with a more reputable book "For the Common Good" for a sustainability class I am taking. This book is poorly written and repetitive of other environmental books. The author uses the same arguments, poorly I might add, as every other environmentalst wanting to publish a book. The bok is filled with facts easily found on the internet. His conclusions are repetitive from every conlusion concerning environmetalism. The author has no real concept of economics and uses the suggestion of intergenerational justice as if it were true. Not worth even the recycled paper it is printed on.



Rated by buyers 3 out of 5 stars - A good survey.
Another reviewer called the book a "primer" on sustainability, and I would like to emphasize this quality. If you know very little about sustainability, this is a book for you. If you have been following the news in this area, this book will not enlighten you further. Another comment I had was that the author compares the "Sustainability Revolution" to the Industrial Revolution, and I don't believe the sustainability movement is at a revolutionary caliber yet - not that I don't want it to be.



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