While the term sustainability has become popular, its precise definition remains subject to debate and it will carry different senses of meaning for different people in different contexts. Probably the most widely known definition is the one presented in Our Common Future, the 1987 report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Building on that basic idea, many have worked to elaborate its details and practical implications, in the process bringing together aspects of economics, ecology, public policy, sociology, resource management, and more. Faced with increasing evidence every day that humanity is on an unsustainable trajectory, the need to develop a fuller understanding of the intertwined social and ecological contexts of human activity takes on a new urgency. The books in this list are useful introductions to the discussion of sustainability and its complexities, and it includes broad surveys of major themes as well as seminal works on particular topics such as economics and design.
Andres R. Edwards. The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. (2005)
Edwards presents a guide to what he terms the "Sustainability Movement" - a large and diverse collection of groups and individuals around the world addressing a wide variety of issues yet which share certain common values and objectives. His portrait summarizes the many dimensions of sustainability through its presentation of the guiding principles of a number of leading groups and efforts organized into five sectors: community, commerce, natural resources, ecological design, and the biosphere. A general introduction to the idea of sustainability, it also briefly traces the roots and history of the idea and includes a guide to other resources online and in print.
Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers, & Dennis Meadows. Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update. (2004)
This update revisits the work of the influential and bestselling 1972 book which warned of the consequences of the unrestrained pursuit of growth in a finite world and which triggered widespread debate over environmental and economic issues. Whereas in 1972 the authors found that humanity's population and economic activity were at such a level within the planet's carrying capacity that there was time to continue existing patterns of growth safely while considering long-term change, the evidence of the intervening three decades lead them to conclude that humanity has already overshot the limits of that capacity in a number of areas and has moved into unsustainable territory with increasingly limited options. Presenting a clear picture of the situation today, the authors propose tools to help global society move toward a more sustainable state, including technological innovation, personal change, and longer planning horizons, while presenting a sobering assessment of the political and societal challenges which need to be confronted in order to avoid the path toward catastrophe.
Herman E. Daly. Steady-State Economics. (1991)
Originally published in 1977, this book is a pioneering work in the field of sustainable economics detailing many ideas now recognized as key to sustainable development. Daly maintains that the ecosystem with its finite limits must be understood to contain the economy, rather than the other way around as the abstract models of neoclassical economics would have it. A steady-state economy operates within these ecological boundaries, allowing for genuine qualitative human development as an alternative to the aggregate quantitative growth that is overburdening the environment. To maintain this desirable state, he proposes a collection of economic institutions and government action that combines strong regulation with free market devices. This revised edition includes related essays and book reviews on issues of growth and sustainability.
Worldwatch Institute. State of the World 2008: Innovations for a Sustainable Economy. (2008)
Since 1984, the Worldwatch Institute has published the annual book series State of the World, which presents current developments in the research on global environmental challenges and solutions. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition focuses on the reforms needed to guide investment away from destructive activities and toward a new generation of environmentally sustainable industries. Surveying innovations across sectors and in such areas of activity as renewable energy, carbon markets, trade policy, finance, and economic indicators, the authors highlight the ways people are challenging existing economic assumptions and business practices.
Paul Hawken. The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability. (1993)
This fourth book by environmentalist, entrepreneur, and journalist Paul Hawken concentrates on how to change the existing relationship between business and the environment. He argues that any substantial progress in protecting the planet will have to come from a business leadership that has learned to reject short-sighted commercial gain in favor of the longer view. Using practical examples and guidelines, Hawken suggests how commerce can be transformed to an activity that restores ecosystems and protects the environment while still operating in a context of free enterprise. The Ecology of Commerce was voted in 1998 as the top college text on business and the environment by professors in 67 business schools.
Jonathan M. Harris, Timothy A. Wise, Kevin P. Gallagher, & Neva R. Goodwin, eds. A Survey of Sustainable Development: Social and Economic Dimensions. (2001)
A Survey of Sustainable Development is the sixth and final volume in the Frontier Issues of Economic Thought series produced by the Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University. The editors have assembled summaries of 66 articles reflecting diverse points of view and interdisciplinary approaches to the subject of sustainable human and economic development. Comprehensive review essays also synthesize major themes of the literature in such areas as renewable resources, corporate responsibility, democracy, population growth, biodiversity, and globalization.
Sim Van der Ryn & Stuart Cowan. Ecological Design: Tenth Anniversary Edition. (1996)
As a professor of architecture at the University of California Berkeley, California State Architect in the 1970s, and founder of the Ecological Design Institute in Marin, Sim Van der Ryn has been at the forefront of sustainable architecture for decades. Building on this experience, he has developed a philosophy based on the integration of physical and social ecology with design, emphasizing the need for ongoing collaboration of all parties involved as a crucial part of the process. This book details his principles and is a call to design in a way that honors the complexity of nature to all of those involved in the shaping of the physical details of daily existence - architects, landscape architects, city planners, farmers, chemical engineers, industrial designers, interior decorators, and others.
--John Bertland
Librarian
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