Sustainable Development vs. Sustainable Biosphere
— Washington, Twomey, A Future Beyond Growth, 2016

"Sustainable development vs. sustainable biosphere." Pages 195-199 in A Future Beyond Growth: Towards a Steady State Economy, eds. Haydn Washington and Paul Twomey. London: Routledge, Earthscan, 2016.
Online at: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/178143

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, an approach widely advocated by the United Nations. At the other pole, a sustainable biosphere model demands a baseline quality of environment. The economy must be worked out within such quality of life in a quality environment. T his is advocated by the Ecological Society of America. People and their Earth have entwined destinies; that past truth continues in the present and will remain a pivotal concern in the new millennium. What we most ought to develop and sustain is a sense of respect for this wonderland planet.

Longer version published in "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

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.