Foundations for Sustainability

by Daniel A. Fiscus
Foundations for Sustainability
Author: Daniel A. Fiscus
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2018-11-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128116447
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Foundations for Sustainability: A Coherent Framework of Life-Environment Relations challenges existing assumptions on environmental issues and lays the groundwork for a new paradigm, bringing a greater understanding of what is needed to help create an environmentally and economically sustainable future, which to date has been an uphill battle and not an obvious choice. The book presents the case for a paradigm based on a multi-model of life as organism, life as ecosystem, and life as biosphere, as opposed to the singular assumption that life can be viewed solely as an organism. All backed with well-cited research from top investigators from around the world, this book is a must-have resource for anyone working in ecology, environmental science or sustainability. - Introduces a holistic, systemic approach and a synthesis of the systemic root cause that underlies many surface symptoms that are part of individual environmental problems (climate, water, energy, etc.) - Complements current piecemeal approaches in order to solve many interconnected environmental problems which share root causes - Provides tests and thought experiments to challenge current views on sustainability, leveraging the power of critical thinking to find new solutions - Gives insights on how to find solutions by blending interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary focuses with disciplinary specialization in ecology and ecosystem science - Bridges concepts and methods from math to ecology to human development

Business and Environmental Sustainability

by Sigrun M. Wagner
Business and Environmental Sustainability
Author: Sigrun M. Wagner
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2020-07-19
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1351803158
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Environmental sustainability is increasingly important to organisations, whether for regulatory, financial or ethical reasons. Business and Environmental Sustainability looks at the environmental aspect of sustainability for all organisations pursuing competitive advantage. The book provides theoretical foundations from science, economics, policy and strategy, introduces three environmental challenges (climate change, pollution and waste) and looks at how corporate functions can address these. This textbook provides a thorough foundation by introducing readers to the science, reasoning and theory behind environmental sustainability and then delves into how these ideas translate into principles and business models for organisations to use. Next, it covers environmental challenges from climate change, pollution and waste, and then goes on to examine the different corporate functions (from supply chain management to human resources) to illustrate how environmental sustainability is managed and put into practice in organisations. Finally, a set of integrative case studies draws everything together and enables the reader to apply various analytical tools, with the aim of understanding how companies can not only reduce their environmental footprint but can positively contribute to environmental sustainability. Written by an award-winning lecturer, Business and Environmental Sustainability boasts a wealth of pedagogical features, including examples from a range of industries and countries, plus a companion website with slides, quiz questions and instructor material. This will be a valuable text for students of business, management and environmental sustainability and will also be suitable for broader courses on corporate responsibility and sustainability across environmental studies, political science and engineering.

Foundations of Ecological Resilience

by Lance H. Gunderson
Foundations of Ecological Resilience
Author: Lance H. Gunderson
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2012-07-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1610911334
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Ecological resilience provides a theoretical foundation for understanding how complex systems adapt to and recover from localized disturbances like hurricanes, fires, pest outbreaks, and floods, as well as large-scale perturbations such as climate change. Ecologists have developed resilience theory over the past three decades in an effort to explain surprising and nonlinear dynamics of complex adaptive systems. Resilience theory is especially important to environmental scientists for its role in underpinning adaptive management approaches to ecosystem and resource management. Foundations of Ecological Resilience is a collection of the most important articles on the subject of ecological resilience—those writings that have defined and developed basic concepts in the field and help explain its importance and meaning for scientists and researchers. The book’s three sections cover articles that have shaped or defined the concepts and theories of resilience, including key papers that broke new conceptual ground and contributed novel ideas to the field; examples that demonstrate ecological resilience in a range of ecosystems; and articles that present practical methods for understanding and managing nonlinear ecosystem dynamics. Foundations of Ecological Resilience is an important contribution to our collective understanding of resilience and an invaluable resource for students and scholars in ecology, wildlife ecology, conservation biology, sustainability, environmental science, public policy, and related fields.

Sustainability

by Tom Theis
Sustainability
Author: Tom Theis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 644
Release: 2018-01-23
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781680921533
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With "Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation," first and second-year college students are introduced to this expanding new field, comprehensively exploring the essential concepts from every branch of knowldege - including engineering and the applied arts, natural and social sciences, and the humanities. As sustainability is a multi-disciplinary area of study, the text is the product of multiple authors drawn from the diverse faculty of the University of Illinois: each chapter is written by a recognized expert in the field.

Foundations of Environmental Sustainability

by Larry Rockwood
Foundations of Environmental Sustainability
Author: Larry Rockwood
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 477
Release: 2008-06-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0198042264
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This book reviews and analyzes the period (roughly from the 1950s to the present) when the "environment" became an issue as important as economic growth, or war and peace; to assess the current situation, and begin planning for the challenges that lie ahead. Most people are aware of both the environmental destruction taking place around the world and of the specter of climate change. The devastation of New Orleans by hurricane Katrina illustrates the potential for disaster when climate change is combined with the mismanaged environmental policy. How did we get to this point? What has been done and what can be done to avoid future environmental disasters? Thirty-two contributing chapter authors (among them, one of the principal drafters of the National Environmental Policy Act, Chief of the African Environment Division and the World Bank, Vice President of the Center for Conservation Innovation at the World Wildlife Fund, President of the Zoological Society of London, former President of the Ecological Society of America) use their unique, authoritative perspective to review the evolution of environmental science and policy in the past half century. Each author describes the evolution of environmental science and policy in the past half century and consider the challenges of the future. Although the authors of this book come from various fields, they have followed paths that have generally converged on the concept of sustainability. This book attempts to define what sustainability is, how we can achieve it, and what the prospects for sustainability in the future are.

Foundations of Environmental Physics

by Kyle Forinash
Foundations of Environmental Physics
Author: Kyle Forinash
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2010-06-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1597269603
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Foundations of Environmental Physics is designed to focus students on the current energy and environmental problems facing society, and to give them the critical thinking and computational skills needed to sort out potential solutions. From its pedagogical approach, students learn that a simple calculation based on first principles can often reveal the plausibility (or implausibility) of a proposed solution or new technology. Throughout its chapters, the text asks students to apply key concepts to current data (which they are required to locate using the Internet and other sources) to get a clearer picture of the most pressing issues in environmental science. The text begins by exploring how changes in world population impact all aspects of the environment, particularly with respect to energy use. It then discusses what the first and second laws of thermodynamics tell us about renewable and nonrenewable energy; how current energy use is changing the global climate; and how alternative technologies can be evaluated through scientific risk assessment. In approaching real-world problems, students come to understand the physical principles that underlie scientific findings. This informative and engaging textbook offers what prospective scientists, managers, and policymakers need most: the knowledge to understand environmental threats and the skills to find solutions.

Foundations of Sustainable Business

by Nada R. Sanders
Foundations of Sustainable Business
Author: Nada R. Sanders
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2019-12-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1119577551
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The second edition of Sustainable Business prepares future business leaders to tackle the most crucial social and environmental issues of our time. This engaging textbook provides students with a comprehensive, balanced introduction to integrating sustainable business policies into all core business functions and processes. The text employs a qualitative-based learning process to help students understand how leadership, finance, accounting, risk management, marketing, supply chain management, and operations can be adapted to meet the sustainability goals of the 21st century. Looking at sustainable business from the managerial viewpoint, the fully-updated new edition explains how and why business is evolving due to increased consumer and regulatory pressure for sustainable performance. Business topics are first introduced in the same manner as traditional MBA programs, and then examined through the lens of sustainably. The text incorporates real-life examples of social and environmental leadership to demonstrate the efficacy of good sustainable business decisions, and illustrates the negative ramifications of outdated, purely economic-driven managerial decision-making. Influential concepts based on interdisciplinary research in sustainability are discussed in detail, and practical insights address how to turn policy into practice in the workplace.

Foundations of a Sustainable Economy

by Umar Burki
Foundations of a Sustainable Economy
Author: Umar Burki
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2021-07-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000421503
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This book addresses current practices related to sustainable development, its challenges and the future. People belonging to different genders regardless of their age, social class and education should be equal as citizens and individuals, and identical in their rights and responsibilities. The business sector, authorities, societies and religious circles have the potential to play a fundamental role in curbing social ills and the degradation of the environment in this modern world. The authors of this book argue that without good governance, the status of a human being is unlikely to improve. They make the case that to achieve sustainability, government, society and the economy must ensure a platform for people to participate in decision-making and benefit from the rights they are accorded. By covering a range of perspectives across economic, social and moral life, the book will shed light on the problems and possible solutions to sustainable development and the triple bottom line, of people, planet and profit, under the umbrella of morals and divine law. This will be a useful guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students across multiple disciplines, such as economics, religious studies, business studies, political science, anthropology and sociology.

Markets and the Environment, Second Edition

by Nathaniel O. Keohane
Markets and the Environment, Second Edition
Author: Nathaniel O. Keohane
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2016-01-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1610916077
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"A clear grasp of economics is essential to understanding why environmental problems arise and how we can address them. ... Now thoroughly revised with updated information on current environmental policy and real-world examples of market-based instruments .... The authors provide a concise yet thorough introduction to the economic theory of environmental policy and natural resource management. They begin with an overview of environmental economics before exploring topics including cost-benefit analysis, market failures and successes, and economic growth and sustainability. Readers of the first edition will notice new analysis of cost estimation as well as specific market instruments, including municipal water pricing and waste disposal. Particular attention is paid to behavioral economics and cap-and-trade programs for carbon."--Publisher's web site.