Sustainability
• "We have a responsibility to sustain - if
not enhance - our natural environment
and our nation's economy for future
generations."
-Steve Johnson, Administrator, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
Sustainability Principles
• Dealing transparently and systemically with risk, uncertainty and
irreversibility.
• Ensuring appropriate valuation, appreciation and restoration of
nature.
• Integration of environmental, social, human and economic goals in
policies and activities.
• Equal opportunity and community participation/Sustainable
community.
• Conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity.
• Ensuring inter-generational equity.
• Recognizing the global integration of localities.
• A commitment to best practice.
• No net loss of human capital or natural capital.
• The principle of continuous improvement.
• The need for good governance.
Precautionay Principle
• The precautionary principle is a moral
and political principle which states that if
an action or policy might cause severe or
irreversible harm to the public, in the
absence of a scientific consensus that
harm would not ensue, the burden of proof
falls on those who would advocate taking
the action.
Ecosystem Goods and Services
• Healthy ecosystems carry out a diverse array of
processes that provide both goods and services
to humanity. Here, goods refer to items given
monetary value in the marketplace, whereas the
services from ecosystems are valued, but are
rarely bought or sold.
• (Modified from Ehrlich and Ehrlich 1991,
Lubchenco et al. 1993, and Richardson 1994)
Index Card
• Name 5 Ecosystem Goods Or Services
• How much is each worth ($)?
Ecosystem Processes
• Maintenance of energy flux, dissipation, climate
modulation
• Maintenance of hydrologic flux, hydrologic cycle, water
quality
• Biological productivity, plant pollination
• Maintenance of biogeochernical cycling, storage,
mineral-gaseous cycles, water-air quality
• Decomposition, weathering, soil development-stability,
soil quality
• Maintenance of biological diversity
• Absorbing, buffering, diluting, detoxifying pollutantsxenobiotics
Ecosystem Goods
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Food
Construction materials
Medicinal plants
Wild genes for domestic plants and
animals
• Tourism and recreation
Ecosystem Services
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Maintaining hydrological cycles
Regulating climate
Cleansing water and air
Maintaining the gaseous composition of the
atmosphere
Pollinating crops and other important plants
Generating and maintaining soils
Storing and cycling essential nutrients
Absorbing and detoxifying pollutants
Providing beauty, inspiration, and recreation
What can you do to live a more
“sustainable” lifestyle
• List 5 things you would be willing to do
• Which will have the most impact?