I received a wide response to my question about sustainability in labs; some around definitions, others pointing out web resources. The definitions responses are first and the web resources at the bottom. Thanks for all for their response. - Ralph From: "Debbie M. Decker"Date: August 31, 2009 7:48:01 PM EDT Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] Environmental sustainability in labs?- Friday Hilarity Ensues Harry: I am reminded of a conversation I had with my cousin, who was the outreach coordinator for the Tillamook Bay Estuary project - if you don't think we had different ideas of what "sustainability" meant! So I've been thinking about your question and poking around in my LEED, Labs21, UC Green Building Council Stuff. And this is what I've come up with: Sustainability means making decisions (business, social, personal, professional) that won't mess up the planet for those who come after us. You could come up with a more colorful word than "mess" but this is a g-rated listserv. ;-) Debbie -------------- Debbie Decker EH&S UCDavis (530)754-7964 FAX (530)752-4527 dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu Co-Conspirator to Make the World A Better Place -- Visit www.HeroicStories.com and join the conspiracy Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions, can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot." === From: awr_ara**At_Symbol_Here**onelinkpr.net Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Environmental sustainability in labs?- Friday Hilarity Ensues Date: August 31, 2009 4:36:11 PM EDT Before anyone can try to define sustainability, he, she or it must first understand unsustainability. Perhaps those of you that are attempting to define sustainability in two sentences (I have not stopped laughing since hilarity ensued) may like to see: 1. Global sustainability: Toward definition Journal Environmental Management Publisher Springer New York ISSN 0364-152X (Print) 1432-1009 (Online) Issue Volume 11, Number 6 / November, 1987 Becky J. Brown (1), Mark E. Hanson (1), Diana M. Liverman (1) and Robert W. Merideth Jr. (1) (1) Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1007 WARF Building, 53705 Madison, Wisconsin, USA Abstract: Sustainability is increasingly viewed as a desired goal of development and environmental management. This term has been used in numerous disciplines and in a variety of contexts, ranging from the concept of maximum sustainable yield in forestry and fisheries management to the vision of a sustainable society with a steady-state economy. The meaning of the term is strongly dependent on the context in which it is applied and on whether its use is based on a social, economic, or ecological perspective, Sustainability may be defined broadly or narrowly, but a useful definition must specify explicitly the context as well as the temporal and spatial scales being considered. Although societies differ in their conceptualizations of sustainability, indefinite human survival on a global scale requires certain basic support systems, which can be maintained only with a healthy environment and a stable human population. A clearer understanding of global sustainability and the development of appropriate indicators of the status of basic support systems would provide a useful framework for policy making. Key words Global sustainability - Ecologically sustainable development - Sustainable use of the biosphere http://www.springerlink.com/content/tuv6tl3h570134j2/ and 2. Prosperity without Growth? Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland March 30, 2009 The economy is geared, above all, to economic growth. Economic policy in the current recession is all about returning to growth - but an economic crisis can be an opportunity for some basic rethinking and restructuring. Two objectives other than growth - sustainability and wellbeing - have moved up the political and policy-making agenda in recent years, challenging the overriding priority traditionally given to economic growth. SDC's "Redefining Prosperity" project has looked into the connections and conflicts between sustainability, growth, and wellbeing. As part of a two year programme of work, we commissioned thinkpieces, organised seminars, and invited feedback. This project has now resulted in a major SDC report: 'Prosperity without Growth?: the transition to a sustainable economy' by Professor Tim Jackson, SDC=92s Economics Commissioner. Prosperity without growth? analyses the relationship between growth and the growing environmental crisis and 'social recession'. In the last quarter of a century, while the global economy has doubled, the increased in resource consumption has degraded an estimated 60% of the world=92s ecosystems. The benefits of growth have been distributed very unequally, with a fifth of the world=92s population sharing just 2% of global income. Even in developed countries, huge gaps remain in wealth and well-being between rich and poor. While modernising production and reducing the impact of certain goods and services have led to greater resource efficiency in recent decades, our report finds that current aspirations for 'decoupling' environmental impacts from economic growth are unrealistic. The report finds no evidence as yet of decoupling taking place on anything like the scale or speed which would be required to avoid increasing environmental devastation. Prosperity without growth? proposes twelve steps towards a sustainable economy and argues for a redefinition of "prosperity" in line with evidence about what contributes to people=92s wellbeing. SDC intends to generate discussion and debate on the challenges on the issues that Prosperity without Growth? raises. We have sent the report to the Prime Minister, government leaders in the devolved administrations, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and other government ministers, as well as business and civil society leaders. http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/redefining-prosperity.html I hope you find them useful in your definition efforts. Tony Antonio Rodriguez Figueroa, PhD, PE Environmental Consultant San Juan, PR === From: painter2**At_Symbol_Here**llnl.gov Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Environmental sustainability in labs?- Friday Hilarity Ensues Date: September 1, 2009 1:13:24 AM EDT Here's the definition from the book "Environmental Policy -New Directions for the Twenty-First Century" edited by Norman Vig and Michael Kraft, CQ Press 2003. Sustainability can be defined either broadly or narrowly. Broadly, environmental sustainability is the capacity to continuously produce the necessities of a quality human existence within the bounds of a natural world of undiminished quality. Sustainability in this sense is a long term societal objective rather than something achieved once and for all at any given time. Environmental Sustainability encompasses high performance levels within three measurable sets of environmental values: 1. human health 2. ecosystem health 3. resource sustainability Resource sustainability, the narrower sense of sustainability is achieved through the effective management of society's total material and energy requirements. Corry Painter Radioactive and Hazardous Waste Management Division Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory P.O. Box 808 L-547 Livermore, CA, 94551 Tel.: (925) 423-1473 Fax: (925) 422-3469 E-mail: painter2**At_Symbol_Here**llnl.gov === Lab sustainability resources that were pointed out to me: Harvard has a decent Lab Sustainability program started (http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/labs). Otherwise, the other stuff I've been working on is in reference to waste minimization efforts, lab recycling, and fume hood / lights out behavior change in labs. You can always send him to the MIT EHS site green pages under Sustainability Tool Kit. http://web.mit.edu/environment/reduce/sustainability.html === From: jisteinf**At_Symbol_Here**MIT.EDU Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Environmental sustainability in labs?] Date: August 30, 2009 1:09:24 PM EDT (1) We have developed an alternative chemicals "expert system" with support from the USEPA P3 program. You can find this at http://web.mit.edu/environment/academic/wizard/greenChemWiz5.html (2) There is a Department supported initiative under way to reduce energy usage associated with laboratory fume hoods. There is no web site about this that I know of. More generally you may want to browse the web site of the student group "Sustainability**At_Symbol_Here**MIT" at http://sustainability.mit.edu. You might take a look at the menu item "Revolving Doors" on the list for a nice "Tech-y" approach to behavior modification! In reply to Harry Elston's request below for a CONCISE DEFINITION (sic) of what sustainability really means, I can offer the following options [please pass these along to him -- I could not find an e-mail address]: (1) When MIT joined the Alliance for Global Sustainability [see http://globalsustainability.org ] it was decided that nothing would be accomplished by trying to define sustainability -- we should just go ahead and do it. (2) Alternatively we have an eight page essay on "The Concept of Sustainable Development" with eight theses. I can send this along if you would like to see it. Jeffrey I. Steinfeld 2 - 221 M.I.T. Cambridge Mass. 02139 (617) 253 - 4525 jisteinf**At_Symbol_Here**mit.edu === Finally, on the ACS Communities page, there is a discussion group talking about sustainability at https://communities.acs.org/groups/sustainability-stakeholders-group that people interested in this topic may want to join. They are struggling with definiton issues as well as practical aspects of greeiing national metings...
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