Sustainability and the Art of Long-Term Thinking

<p>Dealing with time is intimately linked to sustainability, because sustainability, at its core, involves long-term ethical claims. To live up to them, decision and policy-making has to consider long-term development of society, economy, and nature. However, dealing with time and such long-term development is a notoriously difficult subject, both in science and, in particular, in practical decision and policy making. </p><p>Rooted in philosophical and scientific reasoning, this book explores how the concept of time can be incorporated into effective practical action. The book describes a system and uses case studies to help sustainability practitioners and researchers consider the long-term consequences of our actions in a methodical way. The system integrates scientific and practical knowledge about time and temporal developments to help break down the sometimes overwhelming complexity of sustainability issues.</p><p>Combining theoretical conceptual thinking and practical applications, this book will be of great interest to students and researchers of sustainability science, environmental sciences, sustainable development, environmental economics, political sciences and practical philosophy. </p> <p><strong>Preface </strong><strong>Part 1</strong> <strong>Sustainability and time </strong>1. Ways to approach sustainability policy 2. Sustainability: theory and policy <strong>Part 2</strong> <strong>The conceptual framework of stocks </strong>3. The perspective of stocks 4. Material stocks 5. Immaterial stocks and institutions 6. The persistence of institutions 7. Judgement 8. Time and the practical dimension of the concept of stock <strong>Part 3</strong><strong> Applying the stocks framework </strong>9. Shaping institutional change in the course of contamination management in Saxony-Anhalt 10. Ways of achieving sustainable land use in Germany: A stocks-based analysis <strong>Part 4 </strong><strong>The art of long term thinking </strong>11. The stocks framework as a heuristic for sustainability policies 12. Applying the heuristic: Key elements of a sustainable inland shipping policy 13. Stocks: a schooling in long term thinking 14. Literature </p>