Working Toward Sustainability

Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction xvii MAKING CONNECTIONS xviii SHIFTING TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY xix THE STRUCTURE OF THIS BOOK xx Chapter 1 A Context for Sustainability 1 THE RATIONALE FOR SUSTAINABILITY 1 Sustainability Interlude 1 A Response to a Crisis 2 CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES 5 Population and Consumption 6 Climate Change 6 Nonrenewable Resource Depletion 8 Loss of Biodiversity 9 Overfishing 10 Eutrophication 12 Desertification and Acidification 13 Poverty 14 Ecosystem Services and Quality of Life 14 THE ETHICAL CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY 15 THE THREE-LEG MODEL OF SUSTAINABILITY 15 CONCLUSION 17 Chapter 2 The Technology Challenge 21 OVERVIEW OF TECHNOLOGY 21 Defining Technology 22 A Brief History of Technology 22 THE TECHNOLOGY PARADOX 25 Technological Optimism versus Technological Pessimism 25 Developing a More Nuanced View of the Impacts of Technology 27 CONSEQUENCES OF TECHNOLOGY 28 Predicting Consequences of Technology 29 Reducing the Uncertainty of Technology 31 Technology Risk Assessment, Acceptance, and Management 32 ALTERNATIVE, APPROPRIATE, AND SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY 34 THE ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY 36 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 37 Chapter 3 Introduction to Ethical Concepts 41 RELIGIOUS ETHICS 42 Common Ideals 42 Views of Human Nature 45 SECULAR AND PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICAL TRADITIONS 46 Justice 47 Deontological Ethics 47 Rights 48 Consequentialist Ethics 51 Objectivism and Ethical Relativism 52 Objectivism and Relativism in Sustainability 55 ETHICS AS A TOOL FOR MAKING DECISIONS 55 Framing Ethical Problems 56 Conflicting Values 56 THE THREE LEGS OF SUSTAINABILITY 58 Social Ethics 59 Environmental Ethics 60 Economic Ethics 61 Integrating the Three Legs 63 CONCLUSION 64 Chapter 4 Social Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics 67 JUSTICE, FAIRNESS, AND RECIPROCITY 67 The Golden Rule 68 Ethics of Care 71 DISTRIBUTIONAL PRINCIPLES 72 Distribution in a Just Society 73 Distributing Disadvantages 74 EXPLORING INTERDEPENDENCE 75 Thinking Globally, Acting Locally 76 Life on Spaceship Earth 78 Environmental Justice 80 OBLIGATIONS TO FUTURE GENERATIONS 81 Intergenerational Justice 82 A Look Back at Looking Forward 84 Future Quality of Life 85 Beyond Seven Generations 87 CONCLUSION 90 Chapter 5 Environmental Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics 95 THE EMERGENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS 95 The Birth of Modern Environmental Ethics 96 Environmentalism Becomes Mainstream 98 Undertones of the Sacred 99 RELIGION AND ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS 99 Religion and Nature 99 Greening Religion 101 ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES IN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS 103 Development of Ecology 103 CARICATURES OF NATURE 104 A Closer World 105 CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS 107 Getting the Scale of Ethics Right 108 Deep Ecology, Ecofeminism, and Social Ecology 109 Pluralistic Approaches 111 Bioregionalism 112 The New Agrarian Movement 113 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AND NONHUMAN ANIMALS 114 Making a Case for the Individual 114 Mixed Communities 115 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AND THE ETHICS OF SUSTAINABILITY 116 Identifying Values 117 Emphasizing Human Priorities 117 CONCLUSION 118 Chapter 6 Economic Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics 123 FROM CLASSICAL ECONOMICS TO ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 124 The Advent of Modern Economics 124 Ecological Economics and the Classical Economists 125 Neoclassical Economics 128 Criticisms of Neoclassical Economics 130 Physical Limitations 131 Influences of Ecology 132 THE ECOLOGICAL ECONOMIC MODEL 134 Natural Capital and Ecological Services 135 Discounting the Future 136 The Economic Value of Natural Systems 137 Feedback between Ecological and Economic Systems 139 TOOLS OF ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 144 The Polluter Pays Principle 144 Extended Producer Responsibility 145 Beneficiary Pays Principle 146 Full Cost Accounting, Full Cost Pricing, and Life-Cycle Costing 148 CONCLUSION 150 Chapter 7 Integrating the Three Legs of Sustainability 155 THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE 156 A Legal Context 157 Precaution in Practice 159 Precaution as Risk Management 160 Cost-Benefit Analysis 161 Including Stakeholders 162 Including Science 164 Compensation for Risks 165 The March of Progress 167 IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES 168 Lifeboat Ethics 168 Tragedy of the Commons 169 Hardin's Challenge 170 POVERTY REDUCTION VERSUS ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION 170 Linking Social and Environmental Goals 171 Finding Synergistic Solutions 172 The Role of Technology 174 MANAGING THE GLOBAL COMMONS 175 The Need for a Central Authority 176 Moving beyond the Tragedy of the Commons 177 International Multilateral Agreements 179 Non-Governmental Organizations 180 The Role of Government 181 TRANSCENDING THE THREE-LEGGED STOOL MODEL 182 Integrating the Three Legs 182 Complex Adaptive Systems 183 Integrating Behavior at Different Scales 184 Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems 187 Resilience and the Precautionary Principle 188 Resilience and Technology 189 Conflicting Values 191 THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWER IN DECISION MAKING 192 The Principle of Transparency 193 Transparency in Industry 194 Transparency and Technology 196 The Value of Autonomy 197 CONCLUSION 199 Chapter 8 Improving Our Thinking about Sustainability 209 OBSTACLES TO MAKING GOOD DECISIONS 210 Rational Decision Making 210 Limits of Rationality 212 Cognitive Heuristics 214 Discounting the Future 217 Complexity 219 How Barriers to Rationality Affect Decisions 220 STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING LIMITS TO RATIONALITY 224 Becoming Environmentally Informed 224 Becoming Socially and Economically Informed 226 Systems Thinking 227 CONCLUSION 235 Chapter 9 The Process of Changing Behavior 239 THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR 239 Attitudes 240 Subjective Norms 240 Perceived Control 241 Understanding Planned Behavior 242 OBSTACLES TO SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOR 243 Political Obstacles to Sustainable Behavior 244 Lack of Social Capital 244 Accepting Unsustainable Outcomes 245 Individualization 246 Distancing 248 HOW CHANGE HAPPENS 251 The Five Phases of Individual Change 251 Diffusion of Innovation 253 Applying Diffusion of Innovation 254 STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTING CHANGE 257 Small Wins 257 Reasonable Person Model 258 Moving People toward Change 261 CONCLUSION 262 Chapter 10 Creating Change with Groups 267 ADVANTAGES OF GROUP DECISION MAKING 267 Additional Insights 268 New Discoveries 270 Increased Buy-In 271 TYPES OF COLLABORATIVE PROCESSES 272 MAKING THE MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PROCESS WORK 273 Social Learning 273 Building Shared Understanding 275 Trust 281 Iterative Approach 284 LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS 287 Developing the Ideal of a Learning Organization 288 Creating Change in a Learning Organization 289 CONCLUSION 290 Chapter 11 Applying an Ethic of Sustainability 295 MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: AN OVERVIEW 295 Social Sustainability 296 Ecological Sustainability 296 Economic Sustainability 297 Integrating the Dimensions of Sustainability 298 CONTEMPORARY SUSTAINABILITY-BASED FRAMEWORKS 298 The Natural Step 299 The Hannover Principles 300 Corporate Social Responsibility 300 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 303 Sustainability Frameworks and Ethics 303 Picturing the Three-Legged Stool Model 304 A FINAL CRITIQUE 313 Index 319