Sustainability

Kent E. Portney (Department of Political Science)

$32.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

MIT Press
09 October 2015

Sustainability

Series: Sustainability

A concise and accessible examination of sustainability in a range of contemporary contexts, from economic development to government policy.

The word ""sustainability"" has been connected to everything from a certain kind of economic development to corporate promises about improved supply sourcing. But despite the apparent ubiquity of the term, the concept of sustainability has come to mean a number of specific things. In this accessible guide to the meanings of sustainability, Kent Portney describes the evolution of the idea and examines its application in a variety of contemporary contexts-from economic growth and consumption to government policy and urban planning.

Portney takes as his starting point the 1987 definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development of sustainability as economic development activity that ""meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."" At its heart, Portney explains, sustainability focuses on the use and depletion of natural resources. It is not the same as environmental protection or natural resource conservation; it is more about finding some sort of steady state so that the earth can support both human population and economic growth.

Portney looks at political opposition to the promotion of sustainability, which usually questions the need for sustainability or calls its costs unacceptable; collective and individual consumption of material goods and resources and to what extent they must be curtailed to achieve sustainability; the role of the private sector, and the co-opting of sustainability by corporations; government policy on sustainability at the international, national, and subnational levels; and how cities could become models for sustainability action.

By: Kent E. Portney (Department of Political Science)
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 1
Dimensions: Height: 178mm, Width: 127mm, Spine: 14mm
Weight: 227g
ISBN: 9780262528504
ISBN 10: 0262528509
Series: Sustainability
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 09 October 2015
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Kent E. Portney is Professor and Senior Fellow in the Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Texas A&M University. He is the author of Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously (MIT Press).

Reviews for Sustainability

This volume in the 'MIT Press Essential Knowledge' series encompasses a tremendous amount of information on a complex topic in a relatively small space. * Choice *