Sustainability: a Dissent

摘要: Broadly conceived and considered in its many usages, sustainability has grave defects as a planning goal, particularly when used by conservationists: it confuses means ends; is vague about what being sustained who or doing the sustaining; uninspiring; little more than Pinchot- era conservation (and thus ignores lessons learned since then); need not be linked to land, land's functioning, any ecological science; include moral component; consistent with view of humans all-powerful manipulators planet; and, general, such malleable term that popularity provides only facade consensus. When defined broadly full range economic social aspirations, poses particular risk biodiversity concerns will cast aside favor pressing human wants. Given these defects, movement should discard alluring attentive nature functioning. A sound goal would incorporate distill considerable wisdom accumulated Pinchot's day while giving conservationists rhetorical tools needed defend land against competing pressures. In our view, well served an updated variant "land health," Aldo Leopold's ecologically grounded from 1940s. Land health independent understanding set essential terms how we live enjoy earth, providing framework within which pursue aims.