Sustainability Midterm

Brundtland definition

development that meets present needs without compromising future generations.

Sustainababble

overuse/dilution of “sustainable,” often used vaguely or for greenwashing.

Three E’s

Environment, Economy, Equity.

Nested model

economy inside society inside environment; environment is the foundation.

Iroquois sustainability principle

seven generations thinking.

UNEP (1972)

first major international environmental agency; global environmental leadership.

Leopold’s Land Ethic

humans are part of the biotic community and must act as stewards.

Anthropocentrism

human-centered worldview.

Biocentrism

all living organisms have intrinsic value.

Ecocentrism

ecosystems as wholes have intrinsic value.

Systems thinking

understanding interconnections, relationships, and feedback loops.

Linear thinking

simple cause-effect; does not capture complexity.

Reinforcing feedback loop

amplifies change (e.g., melting ice → more warming).

Balancing feedback loop

stabilizes system (e.g., predator–prey cycles).

Emergent properties

system-level behaviors arising from interactions.

Nested systems

systems within systems.

Bifurcation

sudden shift when a threshold is crossed.

GDP

measures market value of goods/services produced.

GDP limitations

ignores inequality, unpaid labor, ecosystem services, well-being.

Threshold effect

well-being stops increasing after a certain GDP level.

Decoupling

separating economic growth from environmental impact.

Green growth

economic growth with reduced environmental harm.

Substitutability

ability to replace one resource with another.

Efficiency

using fewer resources per unit of output.

Ecological footprint

human demand on Earth’s biocapacity.

Ecological overshoot

using more resources than Earth can regenerate.

Doughnut Economics

safe and just space between social foundation and ecological ceiling.

Planetary boundaries

limits within which humanity can safely operate.

Heinberg’s axioms

resources finite, growth limited, renewables must be used sustainably, nonrenewables sparingly, waste minimized.

EPA EJ definition

fair treatment and meaningful involvement for all people.

Toxic Wastes and Race (1987)

race strongest predictor of hazardous waste siting.

Chicken-and-egg debate

whether hazardous sites cause demographic change or vice versa.

EJ tributaries

civil rights, anti-toxics, labor, Indigenous rights, environmental movement.

Kuehn’s EJ taxonomy

distributive, procedural, corrective, social justice.

SDGs

17 global goals (2015–2030) for sustainability, equity, climate, development.

MDGs

8 goals (2000–2015) focused on poverty, health, education in developing nations.

MDGs vs. SDGs

SDGs broader, universal; MDGs narrower, developing-country focus.

SDG criticisms

too broad, hard to measure, not legally binding.

Decolonizing Science & Environmentalism**

Decolonizing science

addressing colonial histories; integrating Indigenous knowledge and community-led approaches.

Colonial environmental harm

land dispossession, extraction, exclusion of Indigenous knowledge.

Orr’s main argument

education must prepare students to understand ecological realities and act responsibly.

Orr’s myths

ignorance solvable; tech can manage Earth; knowledge = goodness; restoration always possible; education = upward mobility; modern culture = pinnacle.

Orr’s principles

all education is environmental; mastery of self over subject; knowledge carries responsibility; must understand real-world impacts; value of examples; learning process matters.