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What is
Sustainable Development?
Essential
Quotes
"...Development that
meets the need of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their
own needs."
--World
Commission on Environment and
Development: "Bruntland
Commission",
1987
"Then I say the
earth belongs to each...generation
during its course, fully and in its
own right, The second generation
receives it clear of debts and
encumbrances, the third of the
second, and so on. For if the first
could charge it with a debt, then
the earth would belong to the dead
and not the living generation. Then
no generation can contract debts
greater than may be paid during the
course of its own existence."
--Thomas
Jefferson, September 6, 1789
"Sustainability is
the [emerging] doctrine that
economic growth and development
must take place, and be maintained
over time, within the limits set by
ecology in the broadest sense - by
the interrelations of human beings
and their works, the biosphere and
the physical and chemical laws that
govern it... It follows that
environmental protection and
economic development are
complementary rather than
antagonistic processes."
--William D.
Ruckelshaus, "Toward a
Sustainable World," Scientific
American, September, 1989
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ICSD's Understanding
Fundamentally,
sustainable design requires a
community to exist with only
renewable energy and renewable
resources as inputs and only
recyclable and non-polluting
outputs. From this
perspective, fossil fuels are
not a sustainable energy
source. Instead, locally
available resources must be
assessed to find renewable
energy sources. Solar power,
solar water purification and
heating, passive solar design
methods, wind, geothermal,
hydroelectric – all are
potential candidates for
community energy. In addition
to being renewable, these
energy sources are also
non-polluting: no carbon
dioxide emissions, and none of
the air pollution associated
with low-efficiency wood and
coal combustion that is common
in developing countries.
Likewise,
the concept of “waste” is set
aside and instead unwanted
community residues
(agricultural, industrial,
animal, municipal, etc.) are
examined for useful
applications. These residues
may be used as resources for
new manufacturing enterprises
(e.g. wastewater to feed a
tree farm, and straw to make
construction particle board),
or agricultural and animal
residue as input for
gasification or to a biogas
reactor. The reactor
byproducts are fertilizer and
biogas useful for heating and
electricity generation.
Ideally, the nutrients of the
soil are used to produce crops
that feed the community and
animals and support the
economy, then residues from
the community are returned to
the soil. This system is
self-sufficient with the
natural biocycle supplying
water and sun as the only
energy input. Additional
renewable energy
sources allow for a better
quality of life.
These ideas
lead to the concept of system
integration: selecting
business enterprises that
produce residues that can in
turn feed other enterprises;
selecting agricultural crops
with residues suitable for
village enterprises or energy
generation; selecting home
building materials and design
methods that promote local
business and make use of
available resources (including
the sun for winter heating);
utilizing local resources and
meeting local needs. Part of
sustainable development
therefore requires a systems
level approach to community
development. However, beyond
these basic concepts of
sustainable development, still
other factors influence the
success or failure of a
development project.
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ICSD's
Six
Basic Principles of
Sustainable Development
To guide our
sustainable village
development
projects,
ICSD has developed:
6
Basic Principles of
Sustainable Development
1. The Village is a Natural
System, including:
·
Villagers and the community
·
Agriculture, Energy,
Transportation
·  Clean
water, Sanitation
·
Enterprise
2. Maximize the use of the
village's natural resources (sun, soil,
crops, water, villager time
and talent) without
depleting the natural system's
capacity to be sustainable.
3.
Protect all
natural living systems:
Don't pollute
the water, air and soil.
4.
Eliminate
Waste:
All "waste" is
input to other systems in the
village.
5. Improve the productivity
and efficiency of all village
systems: Agriculture, human
effort, energy & resource use.
6.
Establish community
organizations to operate and
manage the sustainable village
for the benefit of ALL
villagers.
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