Systems for sustainable development: Challenges and opportunities

✍ Scribed by Jason K. Levy; Keith W. Hipel; D. Marc Kilgour

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 269 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1098-1241
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1520-6858(1998)1:1<31::aid-sys4>3.0.co;2-a

✦ Synopsis

Our planet's life support systems are being degraded in many ways, including the release of greenhouse gases, the destruction of forests, and the disposal of toxic waste. Tools from systems engineering can help to ensure that the basic needs of humanity, such as food, energy, water, and sanitation, are provided for-in both current and future generations-while ecological limits are respected. Systems for sustainable development must cope with the complex, indeterminate forces of global change and envision outcomes across multiple physical, biological, and social dimensions. Indicators of human well-being and ecosystem health are proposed to promote the sustainability of our communities and ecosystems. Current technologies from systems engineering can make our production and consumption patterns more sustainable. The challenge will be to marshal enough political courage, scientific expertise, and societal commitment to embrace a broader, more holistic, and integrated approach to sustainable development.