Saturday, August 28, 2010

Sustainable Development

Note: I will separate each posts into an easy part and a hard part, indicated by a line. 

The easy definition: Just to join the bandwagon of the people who have quoted this...."Sustainable Development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

In other words, it's basically development that will not compromise the future of the next generation. For example, if you open your country to hunting, you can make some pretty nifty cash for about ten years, before you completely crash because the ecosystem is completely ruined. We as humans are doing this right now, polluting the earth and what not. But that's another discussion.

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The nerd definition: There has been many argument about the exact meaning of the quote above. Some people argue that it is almost impossible to have development without compromising on the environment. Others suggests that this is simply an aspiration rather then a target.

(Extended reading can be found under this sentence. You have been warned.)

The World Bank has defined sustainable as "growth that lasts" which means that growth is within long term carrying capacity of the environment with respect to population and use of resources.

A highly enjoyable picture of the consequences of short term (unsustainable) development

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