Sustainability Unpacked

This book examines and decodes some of the basic elements of sustainability; food, water and energy. Current resource uses and human development strategies are discussed that can help maintain resilient environments and societies at a country level. It explores how a range of countries make decisions regarding their energy and bio-resource consumption and procurement and how these choices impact not only their societies and environments, but the world in general. Sustainability Unpackedreviews the merits of various sustainability and environmental metrics and applies these to 27 countries that are ranked low, medium or high on the human development index. It assesses their resource capacities and the environmental impacts, both within and outside their country boundaries, from consuming food, water, and energy. It explores how well the available country-level indices enlighten us regarding our ability to accurately measure the continued sustainability of food, water, and energy for future generations. The authors discuss both the commonality and uniqueness of several countries' food, water, and energy stories as a process to identify the links between resource uses and sustainability at a country level. The final section uses the lessons derived from the earlier analyses of resource consumption to explore the importance of geography, climates and sustainable management of forests and other natural resources for building resilient societies in the future.