Is it true that “Sustainability will not come without reductions in consumption”?

Posted by Greg Laden on May 14, 2009
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Or, putting it another way,

“Why does our energy system face security and environmental challenges?”

Please visit ScienceBlog’s new blog, The Energy Grid, which is one of those shorter term issue-driven blogs we do at Sb nwo and then.

This particular iteration is moderated by Jonas Meckling, from the Belfer Center, and hosted by James Hrynyshyn, who I got to know a bit at the conference last winter, and Coby Beck, both of Scienceblogs Dot Com, and a few other rather impressive looking people.

So, please go and help them save the world. Seriously. Let’s get a great discussion going here.

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Comments

  1. #1 bill, www.wildramblings.com
    May 14, 2009

    This is fascinating and important information. I have long been a fan of sustainablity which, if followed to the letter of the movement, would require that our economic structure change.

    Presently we pretend that our economy can always expand, this is nonsense given that the world has infinite resources.

    Conservation of resources, including energy resources, even renewable energy resources, means we have to consume less, do frivolous things less, and rethink how we operate our lives. This transition would take a tremedous amount of public education and may only be possible if our current economic situation really bottoms out to the point where everyone would be forced to look at alternatives.

    One of the critical elements of this line of thinking is the establishment of a local economy. Regional economic development is very important for sustainability. Regions that have some sort of logical geographical connection must find ways to support local agriculture, energy development, and transportation. The advent of local economies is a fundamental part of the “sustainability” concept.

    Needless to say, all of this would require much sacrifice from a lot of people, and an entirely different perspective on how we run our lives and govern ourselves.

    Bill

  2. #2 chris
    May 15, 2009

    theoretically energy cannot be created or destroyed, so i think if we wise up and use energy more efficiently we can win this battle. check out http://www.e3bank.com they are helping to make the shift towards sustainability. e3 Bank offers interest rate reductions for investing in green products