This paper from Christi Electris just came across my screen. It is from the open-access journal Sustainability and its special issue on Sustainable Futures.
Here is the email message that accompanied the paper:
We are happy to share with you a new article, "The Century Ahead: Searching for Sustainability", just published in the special issue on Sustainable Futures in the journal Sustainability. In this article, we highlight our water use and water stress scenario results to 2100 in our quantitative analysis of four very different futures.
The Century Ahead: Searching for Sustainability
Paul D. Raskin, Christi Electris and Richard A. Rosen
Tellus Institute, 11 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116, USA
Abstract: The global future lies before us as a highly uncertain and contested landscape with numerous perils along the way. This study explores possible pathways to sustainability by considering in quantitative detail four contrasting scenarios for the twenty-first century. The analysis reveals vividly the risks of conventional development approaches and the real danger of socio-ecological descent. Nonetheless, the paper underscores that a Great Transition scenario—turning toward a civilization of enhanced human well-being and environmental resilience—remains an option, and identifies a suite of strategic and value changes for getting there. A fundamental shift in the development paradigm is found to be an urgent necessity for assuring a sustainable future and, as well, a hopeful opportunity for creating a world of enriched lives, human amity, and a healthy ecosphere.
Download Century_Ahead_Searching_for_Sustainability
The authors deal with a lot more than just water: food, climate, energy, industry, land use, forestry, social aspects, etc.
I did not see the kitchen sink but it is probably in there somewhere.
Interesting to note that from paper receipt to publication was just about five weeks.
Take a look at some of the other papers in this special issue.
Enjoy!
"When people can see a vision and simultaneously recognize what can be done step by step in a concrete way to achieve it, they will begin to feel encouragement and enthusiasm instead of fright." -- Erich Fromm
Paper: The Century Ahead - Searching for Sustainability ... I have printed out this posting to enable myself to look with greater specificity at how they assess ... water ... sustainability.
Quickly I noted there does not appear to be a call that "we" (that's you and me) John Q Public should be actively involved as solutions are posed to the topics they raise for discussion.
As I have consistently noted, this will prove to be the down fall of any policy substantively forced upon mankind, especially in the USA, as "we" are just beginning to see there is light and of a different color than that postulated as "truth" by for-profit-corporate-interest$ ... the WORLD BANK ... IMF ... WTO ... & the "bankster$" ...
"Spin" and propaganda is being seen for what it is ... which introduces a new set of parameters which influence the new evolving paradigm.
The future will indeed be a most interesting place ...
Respectfully submitted,
Posted by: PAUL F MILLER | Monday, 20 September 2010 at 01:12 PM