In order to achieve stability, in my opinion, it is necessary to change the use of the earth's resources technology. Also need to reduce real consumption and move the balance of supply and demand to balance the need for consumption - production of goods.

Interesting question. Following link discusses the steps that can be taken in the community level

http://ecostrategygroup.com/10-steps-a-community-can-take-to-sustainability/

Thank you Behrouz for an interesting site. A few principles that we all can practice from the link you provided:

1. Use electricity and plugin only when required.

2. Use recycling as much as possible

3. Reduce usage of water

4. Buy local produce

5. Walk or bicycle as much as possible

Thank you Dear Nageswara for the summary .

Renewable energy sources at the community level , water efficiency, behavior change and the rest in a picture

In order to achieve stability, in my opinion, it is necessary to change the use of the earth's resources technology. Also need to reduce real consumption and move the balance of supply and demand to balance the need for consumption - production of goods.

Sustainable - “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Most current energy sources are not renewable. Even renewable sources may not be sustainable under the current energy system. Fossil fuels currently provide 2/3 of the world's energy. Optimistic projections indicate that fossil fuel reserves will run out by 2300.

The current energy system causes air and water pollution, soil degradation, and habitat disruption. Greenhouse gas emissions from energy production are considered a main contributor to global warming.

Hydroelectric power is widely used, but unsustainable

Wind power is a sustainable energy choice. Wind power is the most environmentally benign energy technology available.

Sustainable energy production is a realistic goal.

To respond to the point of reducing water use.

I think spatial components are important. Why reducing water consumption in regions where water is overabundant? Should inter-connectivity been created between regions where water is lacking and regions where water is overabundant, e.g. through channels?

Dear Marcel

You bring up a good point. We have this problem in India where there are floods in some areas and no water in some other areas. If only the rivers can be linked with proper diversion of water from plentiful areas to the areas where it is required, will solve many problems. A good proceedings of the workshop that examines these aspects for Indian rivers is given here:

http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/118387/2/H041793.pdf

Dear Rolando

Thanks for your contribution. I think renewable energy has to be given a major push. Germany has reached 25.4% of total power from renewable sources in 2013.

http://www.triplepundit.com/2014/04/german-renewable-electricity-consumption-hits-record-high-25-4-percent-2013/

I, as a technical non-specialist, do not understand why currently:

1) the massive amount of sea water cannot be transformed easily into massive consumable water on a long-term basis;

2) the massive amount of sun energy cannot be transformed easily into massive exploitable energy on a long-term basis;

despite the fact that technicians/engineers/scientists are able to build high-tech weapons and sophisticated engines that reach other planets and moons in our solar system.

Sustainability is something we should promote as much as possible. The problem lies in that there is a lot of interests that are against sustainability. You can see the position of great power on environmental issues. I believe that at the end world should turn to sustainability since otherwise the world is in danger.

I completely agree with the two valid points raised by Marcel. Water and Sun can be a large and big resource of energy. Why we don`t utilize them.

Dear Marcel and Mahfuz

Solar energy is free and available in a number of places, but the conversion technologies unfortunately are not efficient enough or economical because of the many problems with its continuous availability, conversion and storage. The current conversion costs are more and fossil fuels are still cheap. If the fossil fuels are made expensive by increasing the taxation, then may be people would go for the use of solar energy.

http://energyinformative.org/solar-energy-pros-and-cons/

I agree with Kamal.

1. Address the environmental, economic, health and social impacts and benefits of mining throughout their life cycle, including workers' health and safety;

2. Enhance the participation of stakeholders, including local and indigenous communities and women;

3. Foster sustainable mining practices through the provision of financial, technical and capacity-building support to developing countries and countries with economies.

From Solar Energy USA, a small 5 solar panel system that has a total power output of 1,150 watts (1.15kW) costs $8,300. If you want to have 5 such panels with installed capacity of 5.75 kW, the cost is $41,500. If you install the panels on your house roof, then the power will be generated when sun light is available. For additional requirement you can connect to the utilities. When excess power is generated it has to be either stored in some storage facility or could be supplied to the grid if the utility company allows it. There are a few countries such as Germany allows that procedure.

http://solarenergy-usa.com/solar-info/solar-costs/

Dear Nageswara

I think, it necessitates a missionary zeal towards sensitizing one and all to the issues on hand. How we do that it the real question.

Tapping the solar energy, renewable fuels and lubricants, and other sources of energy, as you have very rightly mentioned, that do not put pressure on earth resources, need to be adopted as our key GOALS as global citizens.

To inculcate it seriously in the psyche of people in general on a more fundamental basis so that it becomes a VALUE and CONCERN of enough seriousness, we need to bring in a full subject of ENVIRONMENT in each of primary and middle school classes, besides encouraging it in secondary and higher education as specialized subjects. Some countries in the advanced world have begun doing it already.

In the developing world, where illiteracy is still high, we also need to sensitize the rural communities about it through effective means.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=14&sid=62363081-6553-4982-80e5-20a79153f3b2%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4212&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=57416872

Thank you Sribas for your contribution. Unfortunately there are a number of communities which are dependent upon mining of fossil fuels such as coal. Developing sustainable and safe mining practices is a challenge and is rarely practiced because of the short term gains by most of the mining companies. Recent mine disaster in Turkey is an example. May be the Governments should have stricter enforcement of safety laws in this regard.

Thank you Debi for your contribution and excellent reference that you have attached. As you have correctly said we need to take a holistic view of sustainability and all the stake holders need to understand the implications and follow the guidelines for sustainability. I think in our villages most of the time we follow reasonably good sustainable practices.

What I see in many societies is over consumption and unnecessary wastage of resources. As given in the paper that you have attached the consumption has increased many folds from the hunter-gatherer time. I think we need to slowly get back to a level where we should be able to identify what is minimum resources so that the Earth should have sufficient regeneration capacity.

the problem is a disproportionate use of ressorces earth. Sustainable development requires taking into account both the economic dimension, the social dimension and the environmental dimension into a viable and sustainable equitable justice

Dear friends, it's not wrong to use the resources that are present on earth, but we need to use it THOUGHTFULLY, carefully, sparingly and wisely. We need to be unselfish and conserving and preserving, thinking of the needs of future generations.

Yes we can achievel sustainability by focusing on renewable resources. We should learn to preserve what we have, not to exaggerate in spending. Need to to save on water and electricity use and recycle the products if possible.

Possibly and/or probably not currently and/or presently!

Possible and/or probable in future!

Period!

The three tenets for sustainability are

Resource conservation

Energy conservation

Pollution prevention

May be we should focus on new technologies from sun and water usage

Dear Fairouz

Most of the technologies are available. However problems will be to bring all the stake holders into accepting what is good for the whole. Rarely do we see that the individual stake holders go beyond what is good for them. The result is that there is no holistic plan that will be useful for everybody. Some people have to sacrifice for the overall benefit of the nation or region. See the example of three gorges dam on river Yangtze in China and the various controversies that have taken place during the entire saga spanning almost four decades.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chinas-three-gorges-dam-disaster/

That is great news Kamal. In India also a large number of universities are building solar energy installations. Government is providing subsidies for the purpose.

Our way of life is not fully sustainable. We need to always look for new resources. This is precisely why some countries are now seeking ways to get resources out of the Earth. This is the natural way!

Message sent by Prof Gurudas Nulkar

A very small section of society, today, believes in what this question assumes ....that natural resources are a prerequisite for sustainability. Most do not see the connection of economic and natural wealth at all. This has to do with the way our education system leaves it out. Environmental education is taught on a "good-to-know" basis. This must be replaced by environmental education forming the foundation of school education.

The way out can hardly be command and control. True sustainability can only be achieved when each 'consumer' understands the natural constraints imposed on industry and human survival and then makes a choice of what to consume. "Conscientious” consumers have the biggest role in keeping check on industry.

In the last hundred years, industry has moved from producing needs to generating wants. It is no longer profitable to produce necessities but producing "non-necessities" is highly profitable. In India price of milk has increased from Rs15/litre to Rs 40/litre in 20 years. In the same period, cellular phones have reduced from Rs. 20000 to Rs. 2000 each. Increasingly, technology is diverted towards making such non-necessities which scale up consumption of non-renewable resources. This inadvertently increases prices of the necessities.

Consider fossil fuel consumption in the last hundred years. If we break up human energy requirements, it can be very broadly grouped into three uses - Comfort, Entertainment and Security. Hunter-gatherers used most energy for security very little for comfort and entertainment. Today's economy is based on the exact opposite, which leaves us facing a frightening truth – our economic model is based on unsustainability. Current education leaves out all such truths. Therefore theres hardly any guilt when picking up a disposable tissue or discarding plastic spoons after a few minutes of use. We have not been sensitized that decade old trees are cut down for that tissue or million year old crude is used in making up the spoons which are discarded in few minutes.

This to my mind, is the biggest hurdle for sustainability. Consumers making choices which are non-sustainable.

Spending on biodegradable plastics and renewable energy misses the whole point. We are still making unsustainable choices of consumption and disposal. Therefore I argue that sustainability must be the prerogative of consumers, only then will it be really important for industry. Otherwise it is a business distraction.

Good discussion i will say this concept of sustainability is not uniformly accepted. The desparity in the world pushes some to do whatever they want and can without looking at the implication this is true for either side of the social spectrum. The poorest dont care what sustainability means, they have to meet the end doing whetever it takes (guess they are right) conservation of vegetation at a cost that they sleep hungry seems absurd to me as well. What society is doing for them to help them conserve? he other end is those who are doing extensive resources utilization. Per capita clean water use of 500 l/d, electricity excess of 10 - 30 units per head/d and so on.

Can we make the world sustainable when we have these two extremes within a small society? IS it at all realistic demand.

Mohammed Fahm The problem is not in mining more earth resources. We have become so wasteful in utilizing these resources. We have no GLOBAL plan, nor global vision on how we all should manage these resources. For example, in the US so many of the resources we obtain re wasted or at best are used with no real planning on how to replace/renew or curtail our "appetite" to use more of.!!While there are many countries that have no resources to speak of and are living on the "crumbs" and "Aid" they get from other "industrialized" countries, they are not "taught" how to grow their own or have alternative ways and means to exchange what they have for what they need.

Sorry, if this answer is more"political" rather than"svientific"

Hope the future will hold better answers and collaboration rather than 'selfishness" and greed.