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Sustainability policy and practice: Is Nature an appropriate mentor?

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  • Keith R. Skene

    (Biosphere Research Institute)

Abstract

Growing concern relating to the damage done to the Earth system by human activity has led to a proliferation of thinking in terms of ameliorating this impact. Many schools of thought, focused on economic, social and environmental sustainability, have adopted Nature as a mentor, claiming that by mimicking its forms, processes and ways of being, we can learn to live in such a way as to restore functionality to the planet while maintaining a vibrant economy. But how appropriate is it to consider Nature as a mentor? We examine three significant flaws in this approach: erroneous ecological knowledge, industry-ecology incompatibilities and the justification of Nature as a mentor. Given that most of these problems apply to almost all of the current schools of sustainability, we conclude by considering what threats to progress these flaws present, and how we can circumnavigate such difficulties.

Suggested Citation

  • Keith R. Skene, 2021. "Sustainability policy and practice: Is Nature an appropriate mentor?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(12), pages 18167-18185, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:12:d:10.1007_s10668-021-01432-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-021-01432-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Henk Brinkhuis & Stefan Schouten & Margaret E. Collinson & Appy Sluijs & Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté & Gerald R. Dickens & Matthew Huber & Thomas M. Cronin & Jonaotaro Onodera & Kozo Takahashi & Jonathan, 2006. "Episodic fresh surface waters in the Eocene Arctic Ocean," Nature, Nature, vol. 441(7093), pages 606-609, June.
    2. Skene, Keith R., 2013. "The energetics of ecological succession: A logistic model of entropic output," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 287-293.
    3. Andreas Muhar & Christopher M. Raymond & Riyan J.G. van den Born & Nicole Bauer & Kerstin Böck & Michael Braito & Arjen Buijs & Courtney Flint & Wouter T. de Groot & Christopher D. Ives & Tamara Mitro, 2018. "A model integrating social-cultural concepts of nature into frameworks of interaction between social and natural systems," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(5-6), pages 756-777, May.
    4. Peter E. Thornton & Katherine Calvin & Andrew D. Jones & Alan V. Di Vittorio & Ben Bond-Lamberty & Louise Chini & Xiaoying Shi & Jiafu Mao & William D. Collins & Jae Edmonds & Allison Thomson & John T, 2017. "Biospheric feedback effects in a synchronously coupled model of human and Earth systems," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 7(7), pages 496-500, July.
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