outputs
or byproducts
cessing
(Box 61). Often, these waste
products
take the form of pollutants
are ecologically resource
of industrial
damaging
What constitutes
pro-
environmental
sustainability
or carrying capacity for a particular tern may be defined
that
only in broad, relative
terms of social acceptability.
and affect
Objectives
for ecosystem
productivity.
management
must incorporate Environmental means
sustainability
maintaining
source (regenerative) sink (assimilative)
capacities
of natural systems.
an assessment
De&b ti‘ clb&Hb3p
and
potentials
systems of resource
It refers
use that maintain
demands
imposed
by society
without
or irreversible
cumulative
economic
activity
were small
relative to the biosphere
and resource
base, their impact on “sources
where
and sinks”
We live in an era where have become are limiting
limited
, and
or constituencies
involved.
In all cases there
cautionary
principle,
safe
minimum
standards,
and,
possible,
“no regrets”
benefits. Ecological
by and, in turn,
economists
argue that society
cannot afford further
net loss of natural
capital. In order to maintain When the 1972 report of the Club of Rome,
and sink capacities,
The Limits to Growth, called for a transition
dismissed
to global equilibrium,
almost out-of-hand.
insufficient
attention
and few seemed went.
growth
A longer term, pro-active
commercial
focus on maintaining sinks on which
goods and services.
to throughput
(especially
Choices
CO,). must
the sources and
human life and livelihood
that must be considered
for
Transitions
to Sustainability
-
and domestic
waste
society that has not internalized
are listed in Box 62.
Canadian
initiatives.
Final
Draft
consequence
of
or disposal costs in the prices of
Some of the key policy issues
and tradeoffs
and link both
a consumer
now believe
approach
environmental
an expensive
life-cycle
to think about where the
waste products
The
has become
is the capacity of air, water and soil to
assimilate
depend.
Industrial,
recycling
What went into
that a more serious constraint
toward
must employ
supply and demand-based
was most important
Many observers
redesign
necessary.
paying
to price elasticity efficiency,
and increased exploration. industrial processes
policy transition sustainability
the prob-
resource depletion,
gained by improved
wastes
it was
current source
a significant
of public policy seems
One criticism
of the report was that it oversold lem of potential
policies that
and environmental
natural resources
development.
from growth
the com-
munities
yield both economic
was localized. This is no longer the case.
natural
is a need to apply the pre-
systems.
and
of course,
whether
or manaaed. u
ties of ecological
depletion.
When human population
systems,
assimilative capaci-
on them
and constraints.
will vary with types of eco-
the source and
to meet the
of resource
The emphasis,
to the capacity of ecological processes
economic
and equity goals, as well as
: ._(
the
ecosys-
May
1995
The increasing
amount