Introduction to Sustainability is the first major textbook to review major themes in the cutting-edge field of sustainability. The book is suitable for introductory interdisciplinary courses on sustainability, as well as those in the fields of geography, geology, sociology, planning, political science, and anthropology. Brinkmann’s book allows students to see the world in new ways while also encouraging them to become part of the change needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the planet. The text includes material on the development of the field of sustainability; environmental sustainability issues like water, food, and energy; social sustainability themes like environmental justice and transportation; and economic sustainability topics like green businesses and economic development. The book concludes with a chapter on sustainability issues in college and universities. Brinkmann intersperses many fascinating case studies and text boxes that encourage students to deeply explore the material. This is a book that not only organizes the complex field of sustainability, but also encourages students to take action to make the world a better place.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments, xv About the author, xvii About the companion website, xix 1 Roots of the modern sustainability movement, 1 Meaning of sustainability, 1 Nineteenth century environmentalism, 2 Pinchot, Roosevelt, and Muir, 4 Aldo Leopold and the land ethic, 6 Better living through chemistry, the Great Smog of 1952, and Rachel Carson, 6 Environmental activism of the 1960s and 1970s and the development of environmental policy, 8 The growth of environmental laws in the 1960s and 1970s, 10 The first Earth Day, 11 International concerns, 11 Ozone and the world comes together, 12 Globalization and the Brundtland Report, 12 Deep ecology, 14 Environmental justice, 15 Measuring sustainability, 15 The road ahead, 17 Organization, 19 2 Understanding natural systems, 21 The Earth, its layers, and the rock cycle, 21 The rock cycle, 23 Biogeochemical cycles, 24 Water and the water cycle, 24 The carbon cycle and global climate change, 27 The sulfur cycle, 29 The nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, 31 Organisms and ecosystems, 33 Urban ecosystems, 35 Understanding the Anthropocene, 38 3 Measuring sustainability, 40 The United Nations Millennium Goals, 40 Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, 41 Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education, 42 Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women, 42 Goal 4. Reduce child mortality rates, 42 Goal 5. Improve maternal health, 42 Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, 43 Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability, 43 Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development, 43 National sustainability planning, 45 Canada, 45 Bhutan, 48 Regional sustainability planning, 49 Local sustainability measurement, 51 Green local governments in Florida, 53 Specific community plans, 56 PlaNYC, 56 London and sustainability, 57 Small towns and sustainability, 59 Business sustainability, 60 Personal sustainability, 61 4 Energy, 63 World energy production and consumption, 63 Traditional or “dirty” energy resources, 65 Oil, 65 Oil shale and tar sands, 66 Natural gas, 67 Coal, 69 Green energy, 71 Biomass, 71 Wind energy, 74 Solar energy, 75 Nuclear energy, 76 Other innovations, 78 Energy efficiency, 78 Living off the grid, 80 5 Global climate change and greenhouse gas management, 81 The end of nature?, 81 The science of global climate change, 81 The greenhouse effect, 81 Sinks of carbon, 86 Forests, 86 Reefs, 86 The IPCC and evidence for climate change, and the future of our planet, 86 Ocean acidification, 88 Phenological changes, 88 Conducting greenhouse gas inventories, 89 Step 1 Setting boundaries, 89 Step 2 Defining scope, 90 Step 3 Choosing a quantitative approach, 91 Step 4 Setting a baseline year, 91 Step 5 Engaging stakeholders, 91 Step 6 Procuring certification, 91 Greenhouse gas equivalents used in greenhouse gas accounting, 92 Greenhouse gas emission scopes, 92 De minimis emissions, 92 Computing greenhouse gas credits, 93 Climate action plans, 93 Religion and climate change, 98 Evangelical Environmental Network, 98 Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, 98 Catholic Climate Covenant, 98 Jewish Climate Change Campaign, 99 The International Muslim Conference on Climate Change, 99 Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change, 100 Hindu Declaration on Climate Change, 100 Art, culture, and climate change, 100 Swoon, 100 Raúl Cárdenas Osuna and Toro Labs, 101 Isaac Cordal, 101 6 Water, 103 Sources of water, 103 Consumption trends, 106 Sources of water pollution, 108 Agricultural pollution, 108 Industrial pollution, 108 Storm water pollution, 109 Sewage, 109 Leaking underground tanks, 109 Landfills, 110 Water management and conservation, 112 National and regional water conservation and management, 112 Water supply management, 113 Water management and innovation, 115 Water quality, 115 Understanding drainage basins, 120 Drainage basins out of synch, 121 Drainage basin pollution, 121 Stream profile and base level, 121 Lakes, 121 Seas, 122 Oceans, 122 7 Food and agriculture, 124 Development of modern agriculture, 124 Meat production, 127 World agricultural statistics, 130 Food deserts and obesity, 130 Reactions to the high-tech agricultural movement, 133 Vegetarianism and veganism, 133 Organic farming, 133 Small farm movement, 134 Locavores, 135 Farm to table, 136 Community sponsored agriculture, 137 Community gardens, 138 Farmers markets, 139 Beekeeping, 140 The urban chicken movement, 141 Guerilla gardening, freegans, and other radical approaches to food, 141 8 Green building, 143 LEED rating systems, 143 Site selection, 145 Brownfield development, 145 Other aspects of sustainable building siting, 147 Water use, 147 Energy and atmospheric health, 148 Materials and resources, 150 Materials re-use, 150 Recycled content of construction material, 150 Locally derived materials, 151 Renewable materials and certified sustainable wood, 151 Waste management, 151 Summary, 151 Indoor environmental quality, 152 Ventilation and air delivery monitoring, 152 Construction indoor air quality management, 152 Use of low-emitting materials, 152 Indoor chemical and pollution source control, 153 Controllability and design of lighting and temperature systems, 153 Access to daylight, 153 Summary, 153 Innovation, 154 Regional priorities, 154 Expansion of green building technology, 154 Other green building rating systems, 154 BREEAM, 154 PassivHaus, 156 Green building policy, 157 Critiques of green building, 157 The greenest building and historic preservation, 158 Small house movement, 161 Further reading, 163 9 Transportation, 164 Transportation options, 164 Vehicles and roads, 164 Vehicles and fuels, 167 Rail, 169 Ship transport, 169 Air transport, 171 Space travel, 172 Roads, 174 Environmental issues with roads, 175 Mass transit, 178 Forms of mass transit, 178 Transit hubs and transit oriented development, 180 The future, 181 10 Pollution and waste, 184 Pollution, 184 Chemical pollution, 184 Heat pollution, 187 Light pollution, 187 Noise pollution, 188 Visual pollution, 188 Littering, 189 Understanding pollution distribution, 189 The US approach to pollution, 191 Clean Air Act, 191 Clean Water Act, 192 National Environmental Policy Act, 193 Superfund, 194 Sewage treatment, 195 Sewage and sustainability, 196 Garbage and recycling, 197 Garbage composition, 197 Managing garbage, 198 Reducing waste, 199 Composting, 200 Recycling, 200 11 Environmental justice, 204 Social justice, 204 Civil rights and the modern environmental movement in the United States, 206 Lead pollution and the growth of the urban environmental justice movement, 207 Environmental racism in the United States, 209 Brownfields, community re-development, and environmental justice, 210 US EPA and environmental justice, 212 Native Americans and environmental justice, 213 Exporting environmental problems, 214 Environmental justice around the world, 214 Environmental justice in Europe, 214 Environmental justice in Asia and the Pacific, 215 Environmental justice in Africa, 217 Environmental justice in Latin America and the Caribbean: oil pollution in Ecuador, 219 Environmental justice in a Globalized World, 219 12 Sustainability planning and governance, 223 Local governments and their structure, 223 The role of citizens and stakeholders in local government, 223 Community stakeholders, 224 Boundaries and types of local governments, 225 Leadership, 226 Efforts to aid local governments on sustainability issues, 227 Scale and local governments, 229 Green regional development, 229 Sustainable development, 232 Globalization, 233 Development of globalization, 233 Drivers of globalization, 234 War and sustainability, 241 Further reading, 244 13 Sustainability, economics, and the global commons, 245 The global commons, 245 Economic processes that put the Earth out of balance, 245 Social and economic theories, 246 Neoclassical economics, 247 Environmental economics, 249 Green economics, 250 Non-capitalistic economies, 250 Deep ecology, 250 Ecofeminism, 252 Destruction regardless of theory, 252 Environmental economics: externalities, 253 Measuring the economy, 253 Green jobs, 256 Cost–benefit analysis and its application in environmental economics, 262 Environmental impact assessment, 263 Environmental ethics, 263 14 Corporate and organizational sustainability management, 266 Cognitive dissonance, 266 Why are businesses concerned with sustainability?, 266 Profit, 266 Public relations, 266 Altruism, 267 Concern over the long-term sustainability of the industry, 267 Professional standards and norms, 268 Total quality management and sustainability, 268 People, planet, and profits, 268 Ray Anderson, the father of the green corporation and the growth of green corporate environmentalism, 270 Anderson’s legacy, 272 Greenwashing in the corporate world, 272 Green consumers, 272 Global Reporting Initiative, 273 Sustainability reporting in the S & P 500, 275 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, 275 Sustainability reporting, 277 International Organization for Standardization (ISO): ISO 14000 and ISO 26000, 277 ISO 14000, 277 ISO 26000, 277 Case studies of sustainability at the corporate level, 278 Wal-Mart, 279 Unilever, 281 Lessons from Wal-Mart and Unilever, 282 Can businesses with unsustainable products be sustainable?, 283 15 Sustainability at universities, colleges, and schools, 286 Curriculum at colleges and universities, 286 Sustainability curriculum at K-12 schools, 288 External benchmarking, 289 American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education, 289 American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, 290 Other external benchmarking organizations, 292 Internal initiatives, 293 Sustainability officers, 294 Sustainability committees, 294 Food service, 295 Student and faculty activism, 296 Index, 307