Mihelcic James R, Zimmerman Julie B, Ramaswami Anu
Civil & Environmental Engineering, Sustainable Futures Institute, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, Michigan 49931-1295, USA.
Environ Sci Technol. 2007 May 15;41(10):3415-21. doi: 10.1021/es060303e.
Sustainable development in both the developed and developing world has the common fundamental themes of advancing economic and social prosperity while protecting and restoring natural systems. While many recent efforts have been undertaken to transfer knowledge from the developed to the developing world to achieve a more sustainable future, indigenous knowledge that often originates in developing nations also can contribute significantly to this global dialogue. Selected case studies are presented to describe important knowledge, methodologies, techniques, principles, and practices for sustainable development emerging from developing countries in two critical challenge areas to sustainability: water and energy. These, with additional analysis and quantification, can be adapted and expanded for transfer throughout the developed and developing world in advancing sustainability. A common theme in all of the case studies presented is the integration of natural processes and material flows into the anthropogenic system. Some of these techniques, originating in rural settings, have recently been adapted for use in cities, which is especially important as the global trend of urban population growth accelerates. Innovations in science and technology, specifically applied to two critical issues of today, water and energy, are expected to fundamentally shift the type and efficiency of energy and materials utilized to advance prosperity while protecting and restoring natural systems.
发达国家和发展中国家的可持续发展都有共同的基本主题,即促进经济和社会繁荣,同时保护和恢复自然系统。尽管最近人们做出了许多努力,将知识从发达国家传授给发展中国家,以实现更可持续的未来,但通常起源于发展中国家的本土知识也能为这一全球对话做出重大贡献。本文展示了一些案例研究,描述了发展中国家在可持续发展面临的两个关键挑战领域——水和能源方面,所涌现出的关于可持续发展的重要知识、方法、技术、原则和实践。通过进一步的分析和量化,这些案例可以进行调整和扩展,以便在发达国家和发展中国家传播,推动可持续发展。所有呈现的案例研究中的一个共同主题是将自然过程和物质流整合到人为系统中。其中一些起源于农村地区的技术,最近已被应用于城市,随着全球城市人口增长趋势的加速,这一点尤为重要。科学技术的创新,特别是应用于当今两个关键问题——水和能源的创新,有望从根本上改变用于促进繁荣同时保护和恢复自然系统的能源和材料的类型及效率。