Cited by 399Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceSustainable Development and Environmental ManagementSustainable Development and Environmental Policy

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Overcoming systemic roadblocks to sustainability: The evolutionary redesign of worldviews, institutions, and technologies

Open access
Beddoe, Rachael, Costanza, Robert, Farley, Joshua, Garza, Eric, Kent, Jennifer, Kubiszewski, Ida, Martinez, Luz, McCowen, Tracy, Murphy, Kathleen, Myers, Norman, Ogden, Zach, Stapleton, Kevin, Woodward, John·2009·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

A high and sustainable quality of life is a central goal for humanity. Our current socio-ecological regime and its set of interconnected worldviews, institutions, and technologies all support the goal of unlimited growth of material production and consumption as a proxy for quality of life. However, abundant evidence shows that, beyond a certain threshold, further material growth no longer significantly contributes to improvement in quality of life. Not only does further material growth not meet humanity's central goal, there is mounting evidence that it creates significant roadblocks to sustainability through increasing resource constraints (i.e., peak oil, water limitations) and sink constraints (i.e., climate disruption). Overcoming these roadblocks and creating a sustainable and desirable future will require an integrated, systems level redesign of our socio-ecological regime focused explicitly and directly on the goal of sustainable quality of life rather than the proxy of unlimited material growth. This transition, like all cultural transitions, will occur through an evolutionary process, but one that we, to a certain extent, can control and direct. We suggest an integrated set of worldviews, institutions, and technologies to stimulate and seed this evolutionary redesign of the current socio-ecological regime to achieve global sustainability.

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.0812570106

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Citations

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Research works printed but not linked: 17

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Metadata

Authors
Beddoe, R., Costanza, R., Farley, J., Garza, E., Kent, J., Kubiszewski, I., Martinez, L., McCowen, T., Murphy, K., Myers, N., Ogden, Z., Stapleton, K., & Woodward, J.
Affiliations
  • Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, George D. Aiken Center,
  • University of Vermont (US)
  • Independent Environmental Researcher, Oxford OX4 3SE, United Kingdom; and
  • University of Oxford (GB)
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2009-02-24
Volume
106
Issue
8
Pages
2483-2489
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2016532953
Cited by
399
References
54
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 19
FWCI
25.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
University of Vermont
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Sustainable Development and Environmental Management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy
Keywords
sustainability transitions, quality of life, worldview, institutions, peak oil, resource constraints, climate disruption, cultural transition, sustainable development
MeSH terms
Conservation of Natural Resources, Ecology, Biological Evolution, Humans, Quality of Life

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