ENGR 4513Introduction to Sustainable EngineeringHandout 1

Sustainable Development; Impact of Growth on Climate and Ecosystems

I. Sustainable Development
A. Definitions and Overview
The term sustainable was first used to define sustainable development by the United Nations
(UN) World Commission on Environment and Development in a report called the Brundtland
Commission Report. Here is a link to the book-length report (also called Our Common Future):
http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm.
This report has one of the most frequently cited definitions of sustainable development (from
Chapter 2):
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two
key concepts:

the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which
overriding priority should be given; and

the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the
environment's ability to meet present and future needs.

Here needs meant basic human needs (food, shelter, water, sanitation) and development
referred primarily to improving the living standards of the worlds poorest. Thus the original use
of the term sustainable development was a compromise or consensus between those world
countries who sought development (eradication of poverty) and those who sought to protect the
environment.
This report led to the UN Conference on Environment & Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992
(the Earth Summit), which produced the Rio Declaration on Environment & Development
and Agenda 21.
Rio Declaration: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm
Agenda 21: http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf
These are widely cited documents that promote international cooperation for environmental
protection along with other global concerns, including the eradication of poverty.
The Brundtland Commission Report also first proposed the idea that there are three components
to sustainable development: environmental, social, and economic, as illustrated below:

Figure copied from the Welsh School of Architecture

(http://www.sustainableschoolswales.co.uk/supporting_information/sustainability/sustainability.
php). Accessed 1/12/15.
Activities at the intersection of these three domains are considered sustainable. In the very first
part of this course (the first couple of lectures), we will focus on the social and economic aspects
of sustainable engineering, but our overall course focus will be primarily on the environmental
aspects.
Since 1987, the term sustainable development has often been replaced with the term
sustainability, for example, on the web page of the US Environmental Protection Agency, it
says:
Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist
in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of
present and future generations.
Sustainability is important to making sure that we have and will continue to have, the water,
materials, and resources to protect human health and our environment.
(http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm#sustainability).
A more recent publication (Griggs et al. 2013)1 proposes a slightly different nested approach to
defining sustainable development (see below), based on the idea that the economy produces
prosperity for society, which, along with the economy, is dependent upon and contained within
the natural environment.

1 Griggs, D., Stafford-Smith, M., Gaffney, O., Rockstrm, J., hman, M. C., Shyamsundar, P.,
Steffen, W., Glaser, G., Kanie, N., Noble, I. (2013), Sustainable development goals for people
and planet, Nature 495, 305-307, March 21, 2013.
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Image copied from Griggs et al. (2013).

Griggs et al. (2013) also proposed a modified definition of sustainable development:
Development that meets the needs of the present while safeguarding Earths life-support system,
on which the welfare of current and future generations depends.
B. Measuring sustainable development
1. UN Millenium Development Goals. One measure of sustainable development is progress
toward the eight UN Millennium Development Goals that were adopted in 2000. These goals
are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

Achieve universal primary education.
Promote gender equality and empower women.
Reduce child mortality.
Improve maternal health.
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

8. Develop a global partnership for development.
Seven goals relate to development; one (number 7) relates specifically to environmental concerns
(the sustainable part of sustainable development).
Each goal has specific targets by 2015. For example, the targets for Goal 7 relate to the
following global environmental concerns:

Deforestation
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CO2 emissions
Ozone depletion
Biodiversity loss
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation
Reducing slums

For detailed progress toward sustainable development under the Millennium Development
Goals, see the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012
(http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/mdg-report-2012.html (scroll down and
pick a language)). The first page of the chapter that discusses Goal 7 is cut and pasted on the
following page.

Figure copied from the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012

(http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/mdg-report-2012.html
2. Sustainable development goals
The sustainable development goals were proposed by Gregg et al. (2013), as a follow-on to the
millennium development goals. The difference is that Gregg et al. argue that development
efforts must consider the environmental, economic, and social domains all simultaneously, as
illustrated below:

A new model for sustainable development: the

illustration explains the six goals that, if met, would
contribute to global sustainability while helping to
alleviate poverty. Download illustration (credit:
Sustainable Development Goals for people and
planet, Nature, Griggs et al (2013))
Figure copied from Stockholm Resilience Centre website
(http://www.stockholmresilience.org/21/research/research-news/3-27-2013-redefiningsustainable-development.html). Accessed 1/12/15.
2. Human development index
Although it doesnt specifically measure sustainable development, your assigned reading
introduces another development index: the human development index (HDI). The HDI, also
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developed by the United Nations, is the geometric mean of three indices that assess standard of
living:

Life expectancy index (LEI)

Education index (EI)
Income index (II)

Using the human development index, each country is ranked annually in terms of the individual
indices and the overall HDI, as a way of tracking and quantifying development.
II. Impacts of growth on climate and ecosystems
A recent article by Steffen et al. (2007)2 argues that we have entered a new period in earths
history, called the Anthropocene, in which humans, and not natural forces, exert the greatest
influence on earth. The following figure was copied from that article:

2 Steffen, W., Crutzen, P. J., McNeill, J. R. (2007), The Anthropocene: Are humans now overwhelming the great
forces of nature? AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 36(8):614-621. 2007.

Figure copied from Steffen et al. 2007.

The trends illustrated in this figure above correspond to many of those in the assigned reading
from the book Limits to Growth, which postulates that exponential growth (in population, the
economy, and other human and technological indices) cannot continue indefinitely. For example,
world population has grown exponentially in the last three centuries (see figure below):

Figure copied from Meadows et al. (2004), Limits to Growth.

In the last century, industrial production has also grown exponentially, as illustrated below:

Figure copied from Meadows et al. (2004), Limits to Growth.

The extent of population growth and the specifics of industrial growth from 1950-2000 are also
illustrated in the following table:

Table copied from Meadows et al. (2004), Limits to Growth.

Note that much of the industrial growth noted in this table has occurred in the developed nations,
while much of the population growth has occurred in the less developed nations.

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A. What are the impacts of industrial and population growth on ecosystems and climate?
1. CO2 emissions from motor vehicles, energy production, and industrial activity (e.g., steel,
aluminum, and concrete manufacturing) (see below), will lead to global climate change, which
will impact people in numerous ways, including agricultural productivity, and water resources.

Figure copied from Meadows et al. (2004), Limits to Growth.

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2. We have probably reached the limits of grain production per capita (cant produce any more
food per person).
Between 1950 and 2000, the area cultivated worldwide for grain per person fell from 0.23
hectares per person to 0.12 hectares per person. (1 hectare = 10,000 m2 = 2.47 acres). This trend
was due to increased population (i.e., the population grew more than the available land). The
loss in cultivated area was in some regions compensated by an increase in agricultural
productivity. But the grain production per person still decreased during some years in some
areas of the world (see figure below). In most world regions, food production per capita has
leveled off (suggesting that future increases are limited).

Figure copied from Meadows et al. (2004), Limits to Growth.

Also, world meat production has tripled since 1950. Therefore a greater proportion of produced
grain has gone to animal feed during this period.

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3. Deforestation
Four fifths of the Earths original forest cover has been cut down. Deforestation leads to loss of
biodiversity and may contribute to global warming (through release of carbon formerly
sequestered in trees as CO2). The following data showing deforestation rates were copied from
Carley and Christie 2000):
World region
East Asia and Pacific
Europe and Central Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Middle East and North Africa
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
High income countries

Annual deforestation rates 1990-1995

(thousands of square km)
29.8
-5.8
57.8
0.8
1.3
29.4
-11.6

Deforestation has been driven by:

Conversion of forested lands to agriculture (driven by population pressuresi.e., not

enough land to produce needed food). Problems:
o Deforested land is often unsuited for farming (e.g., poor soil).
o Forests being depleted at the fastest rates are often in tropical countries with a
rainy season that makes soil very susceptible to erosion.
An increase in cattle production, particularly in South America. Approximately 500
cattle ranches averaging 23,000 hectares were established in the former Amazon rain
forest between 1965 and 1983.
Use of wood for energy (primarily in developing countries). Half of the wood used
worldwide is burned for energy.
Use of wood for paper and construction (primarily in industrialized countries).

4. Depletion in stocks of non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels.

The following figure illustrates how society has shifted from predominantly renewable to nonrenewable fuels, and also how the consumption of non-renewable fuels has grown exponentially
over the last 150 years. These trends cannot continue indefinitely.

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Figure copied from Steffen et al. (2007).

B. What is the role for engineers?
A sustainable world would be one in which resource reserves were adequate for sustained
industrial production, and where any environmental degradation caused by waste emissions was
reversible. Many experts definitions of a sustainable world would also include an improvement
in the quality of life of the worlds poorest, since there is a relationship between social and
economic factors and population growth. The challenge for engineers and scientists is to
contribute to sustainable development, within the environmental constraints discussed in this
handout.

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References
Carley, M. and Christie, I. (2000), Managing Sustainable Development, Earthscan Publications,
Ltd., London, Chapter 1.
Griggs, D., Stafford-Smith, M., Gaffney, O., Rockstrm, J., hman, M. C., Shyamsundar, P.,
Steffen, W., Glaser, G., Kanie, N., Noble, I. (2013), Sustainable development goals for people
and planet, Nature 495, 305-307, March 21, 2013.
Meadows, D., Randers, J., Meadows, D., (2004), Limits to Growth: The 30 Year Update, Chelsea
Green Publishing Company, White River Junction, VT, Chapters 1-3.
Steffen, W., Crutzen, P. J., McNeill, J. R. (2007), The Anthropocene: Are humans now
overwhelming the great forces of nature? AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment,
36(8):614-621. 2007.

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