Download or read book State of the World written by Worldwatch Institute and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume first puts our current moment in context, tracing cities in the arc of human history. It also examines the basic structural elements of every city: materials and fuels; people and economics; and biodiversity. In part two, professionals working on some of the world's most inventive urban sustainability projects share their first-hand experience. Success stories come from places as diverse as Ahmedabad, India; Freiburg, Germany; and Shanghai, China. In many cases, local people are acting to improve their cities, even when national efforts are stalled. Parts three and four examine cross-cutting issues that affect the success of all cities. Topics range from the nitty-gritty of handling waste and developing public transportation to civic participation and navigating dysfunctional government. Throughout, readers discover the most pressing challenges facing communities and the most promising solutions currently being developed. The result is a snapshot of cities today and a vision for global urban sustainability tomorrow.

Download or read book Sustainable Prosperity in the New Economy written by William Lazonick and published by W.E. Upjohn Institute. This book was released on 2009 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lazonick explores the origins of the new era of employment insecurity and income inequality, and considers what governments, businesses, and individuals can do about it. He also asks whether the United States can refashion its high-tech business model to generate stable and equitable economic growth. --from publisher description.

Download or read book America s Most Sustainable Cities and Regions written by John W. Day and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-01-23 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes you on a unique journey through American history, taking time to consider the forces that shaped the development of various cities and regions, and arrives at an unexpected conclusion regarding sustainability. From the American Dream to globalization to the digital and information revolutions, we assume that humans have taken control of our collective destinies in spite of potholes in the road such as the Great Recession of 2007-2009. However, these attitudes were formed during a unique 100-year period of human history in which a large but finite supply of fossil fuels was tapped to feed our economic and innovation engine. Today, at the peak of the Oil Age, the horizon looks different. Cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas are situated where water and other vital ecological services are scarce, and the enormous flows of resources and energy that were needed to create the megalopolises of the 20th century will prove unsustainable. Climate change is a reality, and regional impacts will become increasingly severe. Economies such as Las Vegas, which are dependent on discretionary income and buffeted by climate change, are already suffering the fate of the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Finite resources will mean profound changes for society in general and the energy-intensive lifestyles of the US and Canada in particular. But not all regions are equally vulnerable to these 21st-century megatrends. Are you ready to look beyond “America’s Most Livable Cities” to the critical factors that will determine the sustainability of your municipality and region? Find out where your city or region ranks according to the forces that will impact our lives in the next years and decades. Find out how: ·resource availability and ecological services shaped the modern landscape ·emerging megatrends will make cities and regions more or less livable in the new century ·your city or region ranks on a “sustainability” map of the United States ·urban metabolism puts large cities at particular risk ·sustainability factors will favor economic solutions at a local, rather than global, level ·these principles apply to industrial economies and countries globally. This book should be cited as follows: J. Day, C. Hall, E. Roy, M. Moersbaecher, C. D'Elia, D. Pimentel, and A. Yanez. 2016. America's most sustainable cities and regions: Surviving the 21st century megatrends. Springer, New York. 348 p.

Download or read book Two Paths Toward Sustainable Forests written by Bruce A. Shindler and published by Corvallis : Oregon State University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent decades, new scientific information has transformed our understanding of forest ecosystems, driving forest policy changes in both Canada and the United States. The extraction-oriented policies that dominated forest management for more than a century have given way to new approaches, leading often to acrimonious public debate, controversy over the interpretation of science, and frequent litigation by groups who support conflicting points of view. Today, the U.S. and Canada face a common challenge: to achieve a sustainable form of forest management that has wide public support. Many books discuss the scientific changes underlying forest policy, but this is the first to examine the social and economic aspects of sustainable forestry and the resulting impacts on resource policy in the two countries. The authors attempt to make sense of citizens' expectations for forests, and the responses by public-land managers and policymakers. Contributors include sociologists, research foresters, economists, political scientists, and geographers, as well as scholars in recreation and tourism. Together, their writings provide an in-depth interdisciplinary perspective on Canadian and U.S. efforts to manage public forests on a sustainable basis. The premise of "Two Paths toward Sustainable Forests is that academics and students, resource professionals, policymakers, and members of industry, environmental, and forest community groups can benefit from a comparison of the situations on either side of the border. By comparing the challenges of sustainable forestry and the different approaches adopted in Canada and the U.S., this book points the way towards potential solutions to common problems.

Download or read book Sustainable States written by Jon B. Alterman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-10-13 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The importance of environmentally sustainable public utilities in the Middle East is an improbable topic for a Washington think tank study. Yet, many countries in the Middle East face serious challenges providing utilities in any manner to their populations, and the failure to do so is an increasing flashpoint for public dissatisfaction. This study finds that providing more environmentally sustainable services in the Middle East would be an effective way to address many citizens’ grievances which go beyond the reliability of those services. It would also help ameliorate deep dissatisfaction with the quality of governance and help build trust between citizens and their governments. This study examines three sectors—power, water and sanitation, and solid waste—in Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia. While the three countries are different in many ways, each faces increasing challenges providing services to their citizens. Providing these services in an environmentally sustainable way would also crucially increase each country’s resilience and diminish their vulnerability in a chronically unstable region.

Download or read book Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States written by Michael Gerrard and published by . This book was released on 2019-03-18 with total page 1056 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States provides a "legal playbook" for deep decarbonization in the United States, identifying well over 1,000 legal options for enabling the United States to address one of the greatest problems facing this country and the rest of humanity. The book is based on two reports by the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) that explain technical and policy pathways for reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. This 80x50 target and similarly aggressive carbon abatement goals are often referred to as deep decarbonization, distinguished because it requires systemic changes to the energy economy. Legal Pathways explains the DDPP reports and then addresses in detail 35 different topics in as many chapters. These 35 chapters cover energy efficiency, conservation, and fuel switching; electricity decarbonization; fuel decarbonization; carbon capture and negative emissions; non-carbon dioxide climate pollutants; and a variety of cross-cutting issues. The legal options involve federal, state, and local law, as well as private governance. Authors were asked to include all options, even if they do not now seem politically realistic or likely, giving Legal Pathways not just immediate value, but also value over time. While both the scale and complexity of deep decarbonization are enormous, this book has a simple message: deep decarbonization is achievable in the United States using laws that exist or could be enacted. These legal tools can be used with significant economic, social, environmental, and national security benefits. Book Reviews "A growing chorus of Americans understand that climate change is the biggest public health, economic, and national security challenge our families have ever faced and they rightly ask, ''What can anyone do?'' Well, this book makes that answer very clear: we can do a lot as individuals, businesses, communities, cities, states, and the federal government to fight climate change. The legal pathways are many and the barriers are not insurmountable. In short, the time is now to dig deep and decarbonize." --Gina McCarthy, Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator "Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States sets forth over 1,000 solutions for federal, state, local, and private actors to tackle climate change. This book also makes the math for Congress clear: with hundreds of policy options and 12 years to stop the worst impacts of climate change, now is the time to find a path forward." --Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator, Rhode Island "This superb work comes at a critical time in the history of our planet. As we increasingly face the threat and reality of climate change and its inevitable impact on our most vulnerable populations, this book provides the best and most current thinking on viable options for the future to address and ameliorate a vexing, worldwide challenge of extraordinary magnitude. Michael Gerrard and John Dernbach are two of the most distinguished academicians in the country on these issues, and they have assembled leading scholars and practitioners to provide a possible path forward. With 35 chapters and over 1,000 legal options, the book is like a menu of offerings for public consumption, showing that real actions can be taken, now and in the future, to achieve deep decarbonization. I recommend the book highly." --John C. Cruden, Past Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice "This book proves that we already know what to do about climate change, if only we had the will to do it. The path to decarbonization depends as much on removing legal impediments and changing outdated incentive systems as it does on imposing new regulations. There are ideas here for every sector of the economy, for every level of government, and for business and nongovernmental organizations, too, all of which should be on the table for any serious country facing the most serious of challenges. By giving us a sense of the possible, Gerrard and Dernbach and their fine authors seem to be saying two things: (1) do something; and (2) it''s possible. What a timely message, and what a great collection." --Jody Freeman, Archibald Cox Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program

Download or read book Beyond the Blue Economy written by Peter Rudge and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-04-11 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues for a broader approach to sustainable growth in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Small island states such as those in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and South Pacific face significant and growing threats from climate change, increasing political and social volatility, and rapidly evolving global trends in technology and tourism. Based on ten years of research, this book looks beyond the Blue Economy of tourism and fisheries and provides a model of how creative industries, innovation networks, creative clusters and digital transformation can give SIDS the foundation for a strong sustainable future. The book provides not only insights into how these emerging digital-creative sectors can drive developing economies but also actionable tools for policy makers, entrepreneurs and academics to deliver increased performance on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and, ultimately, growth and sustainability. This book will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners of economic geography, sustainable development, development studies and the creative industries.

Download or read book Sustainability and the U S EPA written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-10-08 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainability is based on a simple and long-recognized factual premise: Everything that humans require for their survival and well-being depends, directly or indirectly, on the natural environment. The environment provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Recognizing the importance of sustainability to its work, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been working to create programs and applications in a variety of areas to better incorporate sustainability into decision-making at the agency. To further strengthen the scientific basis for sustainability as it applies to human health and environmental protection, the EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to provide a framework for incorporating sustainability into the EPA's principles and decision-making. This framework, Sustainability and the U.S. EPA, provides recommendations for a sustainability approach that both incorporates and goes beyond an approach based on assessing and managing the risks posed by pollutants that has largely shaped environmental policy since the 1980s. Although risk-based methods have led to many successes and remain important tools, the report concludes that they are not adequate to address many of the complex problems that put current and future generations at risk, such as depletion of natural resources, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. Moreover, sophisticated tools are increasingly available to address cross-cutting, complex, and challenging issues that go beyond risk management. The report recommends that EPA formally adopt as its sustainability paradigm the widely used "three pillars" approach, which means considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of an action or decision. Health should be expressly included in the "social" pillar. EPA should also articulate its vision for sustainability and develop a set of sustainability principles that would underlie all agency policies and programs.

Download or read book The Sustainable State written by Chandran Nair and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2018-10-09 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Asks difficult questions and offers bold, provocative answers . . . These pages open our eyes to some of the most urgent problemss facing humanity. A must-read.” —Moisés Naím, author of The Revenge of Power The free-market, limited-government development model has been an ecological and social disaster for the developing world. Sustainable and equitable development is only possible with the active involvement of a strong central state that can guide the economy, protect the environment, and prioritize meeting people’s basic needs. In this sure-to-be-controversial book, Chandran Nair shows that the market-dominated model followed by the industrialized West is simply not scalable. The US alone, with less than five percent of the world population, consumes nearly a quarter of its resources. If Asian countries, where sixty percent of the world lives, follow the Western lead, the results will be calamitous. Instead, Nair argues that development must be directed by a state that is willing and able to intervene in the economy. Corporations, which by design demand ever-expanding consumption, need to be directed toward meeting societal needs or otherwise restrained, not unleashed. Development has to be oriented towards the greatest good—clean drinking water for the many has to take precedence over swimming pools for the few. He provides three compelling case studies demonstrating the benefits of such strong state governance and the findings of weak state governance. This will mean rethinking the meaning of concepts like “prosperity,” “freedom,” and “rights,” and whether democracy is always the best way to ensure responsive government—as Nair writes, “A democracy that cannot work to improve the life of its citizens is not better than a non-democracy that can actually improve quality of life.” Many people will find these to be challenging ideas, but what Nair offers is a model suited to the realities of the developing world, not the assumptions of the dominant culture.

Download or read book Schooling for Sustainable Development in Canada and the United States written by Rosalyn McKeown and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-07-26 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Education for sustainable development (ESD) presents an intriguing challenge in developed countries. The very notion of sustainable development may appear to be at cross-purposes with the social and political aims of large industrial economies. Yet, arguably, the residents of wealthy countries may be most in need of new ways of thinking and behaving on an increasingly more fragile and crowded planet. This book presents a collection of essays that capture the depth and diversity of education for sustainable development (ESD) work in formal education in Canada and the United States. Many of the authors are pioneers in the field of ESD, not only in their own countries but internationally. In this book, they share their expertise, lessons learned, and insights into the ongoing success of their work. The essays reflect leading edge practice, innovation, and depth of experience and provide clear models and strategies for expanding the application and influence of ESD in wealthy countries. The ESD programs described in the book are relevant and culturally appropriate for the specific locally contexts in which they are found but also in the larger context of ESD writ large as a planetary endeavour.

Download or read book Sustainable Quality written by Joseph Diele and published by Business Expert Press. This book was released on 2021-01-12 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is based on a new quality model and explains why a positive culture is a prerequisite to sustainable quality improvement. Today, the concept of using quality as a competitive advantage has been diminished or even lost completely. It is not that there is a lack of quality improvement models, as there are many available. While each has had success, no one model that taken hold as the model. Why do improvement efforts seem to fizzle out? Why are they not sustainable? Something has been missing from the strategy, planning, and implementation of these quality efforts. That missing ingredient has been culture. This book provides the strategy, tools, and methods needed for sustainable quality. The book is based on a new quality model and explains why a positive culture is a prerequisite to sustainable quality improvement. Excellence is achieved through people, and it is this people-centric approach that should be the basis for success. By building a foundation based on inclusion, positive culture, and strong leadership, great achievements are possible. This inside-out approach creates a strong internal community which can be the catalyst for embracing change and sustainable improvement.

Download or read book Technology Globalization and Sustainable Development written by Nicholas A. Ashford and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-18 with total page 752 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this work, the authors offer a unified, transdisciplinary approach for achieving sustainable development in industrialized nations. They present an insightful analysis of the ways in which industrial states are unsustainable and how economic and social welfare are related to the environment, public health and safety.

Download or read book Sustainable Cities in Developing Countries written by Cedric Pugh and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text addresses the difficulties of balancing the imperatives of sustainability with the pressing challenges facing some of the world's most underdeveloped areas. Various perspectives are brought to bear on issues from economics and theories of health through to the foundations of sustainability. All the key contemporary developments are dealt with; the growth in international law and agreements on controlling greenhouse gases; the effect of reforms in finance, governance and methods of appraisal on the areas of waste management; and the theoretical advances in the community development aspects of health and the neighbourhood environment guided by the experiences of the World Bank, WHO and UNEP. The text is intended as a guidebook for those responsible for re-shaping cities in the 21st century.

Download or read book Understanding Sustainable Cities written by K. David Pijawka and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Sustainable Development Paradox written by Rob Krueger and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 2007-08-30 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainability--with its promise of economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental integrity--is hardly a controversial goal. Yet scholars have generally overlooked the ways that policies aimed at promoting "sustainability" at local, national, and global scales have been shaped and constrained by capitalist social relations. This thought-provoking book reexamines sustainability conceptually and as it actually exists on the ground, with a particular focus on Western European and North American urban contexts. Topics include critical theoretical engagements with the concept of sustainability; how sustainability projects map onto contemporary urban politics and social justice movements; the spatial politics of conservation planning and resource use; and what progressive sustainability practices in the context of neoliberalism might look like.

Download or read book Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2019-03-24 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Policymakers and program managers are continually seeking ways to improve accountability in achieving an entity's mission. A key factor in improving accountability in achieving an entity's mission is to implement an effective internal control system. An effective internal control system helps an entity adapt to shifting environments, evolving demands, changing risks, and new priorities. As programs change and entities strive to improve operational processes and implement new technology, management continually evaluates its internal control system so that it is effective and updated when necessary. Section 3512 (c) and (d) of Title 31 of the United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Managers? Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA)) requires the Comptroller General to issue standards for internal control in the federal government.

Download or read book Achieving Sustainable E Government in Pacific Island States written by Rowena Cullen and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-02-17 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes the common set of obstacles to the development and integration of government Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects and effective e-government initiatives in developing countries. It draws on the expertise and experience of more developed states in the Pacific, notably Australia and New Zealand, both highly rated in global rankings for e-government and active in a variety of e-government development projects across the region. There has been a general failure to identify priorities and align projects with local needs in ICT/e-government projects. Small Island Developing States (or SIDS) present a unique problem in terms of e-government. Not only do they suffer from a common set of barriers to ICT development such as their remoteness, geographical dispersion, moist tropical climates, largely rural populations, and lack of ICT capacity and infrastructure, but are also dependent on external agencies for investment, and must negotiate with powerful donors who have conflicting agendas. E-government is widely regarded as 'transformational', increasing efficiency, productivity, accountability, economic growth, and citizen involvement. But while the governments of SIDS are committed to harnessing ICTs for effective government and economic development, they face major challenges in establishing successful e-government initiatives, due to the problems outlined above, coupled with a lack of HR capacities and appropriate strategies and policies. Drawing on the experience of the states mentioned above, as well as regional quasi-governmental bodies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), aid agencies, and the private sector, the book will be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of e-government, public administration, political science, communication, information science, and social media.