Sustainable Development and Sustainable Biosphere
— Lee, Sustainability and Quality of Life, 2010

"Sustainable Development and Sustainable Biosphere." Pages 91-101 in Jack Lee, ed., Sustainability and Quality of Life. Palo Alto, CA: Ria University Press, 2010. Distributed by Ingram. ISBN 978-0-9743472-1-9. Online at: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/40516

In sustainability debates, there are two poles, complements yet opposites. Economy can be prioritized, with the environment contributory to economics at the center. This is sustainable development, widely advocated, including statements by the United Nations. At the other pole, the environment is prioritized. A sustainable biosphere model demands a baseline quality of environment, respect for the integrity of natural systems. The economy must be worked out within such quality of life in a quality environment. This is advocated by the Ecological Society of America. Neither economics nor ecology is well equipped to analyze this issue ethically.

Originally a lecture given at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Annual Meeting, 2009, Chicago: Our Planet and Its Life: Origins and Futures.