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Home  Sustainable Lifestyles Reference Documents Overview & General
Overview & General - Reference
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Genuine Progress Indicator |
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Redefining Progress -- We believe that if policymakers measure what really matters to people—health care, safety, a clean environment, and other indicators of well-being—economic policy would naturally shift towards sustainability. Redefining Progress created the Genuine Progress Indicator(GPI) in 1995 as an alternative to the gross domestic product (GDP). The GPI enables policymakers at the national, state, regional, or local level to measure how well their citizens are doing both economically and socially. (Full Article) |
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Macroeconomics and Ecological Sustainability |
The Encyclopedia of Earth -- As we enter the 21st century, we must consider whether it is possible, or even desirable, to continue along the economic growth trajectory of the 20th century. Economic growth has been accompanied by an increasing demand for natural resources, as well as increases in waste, pollution, and ecosystem damages. Many ecologists warn us that the current scale of human impacts on the natural world is already unsustainable. (Full Article)
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Prosperity Without Growth |
by the Sustainable Development Commission -- March 2009 -- A full-length report outlining strategies for the transition to a sustainable economy. The report features 12 steps to a sustainable economy, presented in threee categories: Building a Sustainable Macro-Economy, Protecting Capabilities for Flourishing and Respecting Ecological Limits. (Full Report )
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Sustainable Energy -- Without the Hot Air |
by David MacKay -- Dec. 2, 2008 -- We have an addiction to fossil fuels, and it’s not sustainable. There’s no shortage of advice on how to “make a difference,” but the public is confused. The good news is that such plans can be made. The bad news is that implementing them will not be easy. (Synopsis of the book)
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10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy |
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YES Magazine -- Oct. 31, 2008 -- The emerging field of positive psychology is bursting with new findings that suggest your actions can have a significant effect on your happiness and satisfaction with life. Here are 10 scientifically proven strategies for getting happy. (Full Article) |
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A Calculated Loss: How to Reduce Your Global Warming Emissions |
by Emily Main and P. W. McRandle -- April 2007 -- Based on your home and transportation energy consumption, the chart contains average estimates for carbon weight loss, resulting from the actions listed. Your precise weight loss can vary according to where you live and who provides your energy. That's because the amount of carbon dioxide released depends on the mix of fuel sources your energy provider uses. (Full Article)
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Restoring Nature's Capital: An Action Agenda to Sustain Ecosystem Services |
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by Frances Irwin and Janet Ranganathan -- 2007 -- Restoring Nature's Capital proposes an action agenda for business, governments, and civil society to reverse ecosystem degradation. This World Resources Institute report sets out to answer the thorny question of what changes must be made to ensure that ecosystems can meet the needs of today's and future generations. (Full Article) (Link to Report)
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Worldchanging Interview: Bill McKibben on Creating the Durable Future |
by Emily Gertz -- Apr. 11, 2007 -- In his latest book, Deep Economy: the Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, McKibben examines the unintended and intertwined consequences of both fossil fuel dependence and economic globalization. Strengthening local economies is essential to creating an ecologically sustainable future, says McKibben, as well as more genuine satisfaction with our modern lives. (Full Article)
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New Internationalist -- In the past 100 years, world consumption has grown at a rate unprecedented in human history. (Full Article ) |
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Small Steps Save Big in Energy |
by Mark Levine -- Energy efficiency is not only a tool for achieving energy security; it is the most potent of all the tools in our arsenal. Well-designed and implemented energy efficiency policies can not only substantially reduce energy demand but also give a boost to an economy. (Full Article)
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Community and Curtailment |
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by Pat Murphy -- Sept. 16, 2006 -- Discussion of the threats of peak oil, climate change and increasing inequity under the rubric of four “plans”. The alternative we propose, Plan C, is to tackle the issues of food, housing and transportation, preparing for a world of greatly reduced fossil fuel consumption. (Full Article) |
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The Human Ecological Footprint |
by Andrew A. D. Clarke -- May, 2006 -- Civilization overshoot of course has occurred many times in earlier years at the local geographic level; now for the first time it is occurring globally. There are important differences between the collapse of historic civilizations in earlier times and the approaching collapse of today’s technically advanced global civilization. (Full Article)
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“Ignoring global governance does not make it go away. It is happening now. It will continue to happen, with or without us. And – and this is the most uncomfortable truth with which we must engage – it must happen, if the issues which concern us are not to be resolved simply by the brute force of the powerful. ” George Monbiot
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