Abstract
Unlike most discussions of sustainability (including Chapter 17 of this book) this chapter is concerned with the long-term future of humanity, let us say in 500 or 1.000 years time when, almost certainly, the main fossil fuels are likely to be exhausted. uranium, which of course is not a fossil fuel but which is nevertheless a nonrenewable fuel, may or may not be exhausted by that time, but eventually it too will be exhausted. The title of this chapter is actually two alternative titles and it proved impossible to decide between them because they represent totally different views. namely those of the pessimist and those of the optimist. The significance of the difference lies in the exclamation mark, which indicates the view of the school of the pessimists, who hold that our present way of life is definitely unsustainable and will come to some sort of “sticky end”, and in the question mark which indicates the view of the school of the optimists, who hold that maybe our present way or life, or some scaled-down version of it, might be possible. In terms of the title of this chapter the pessimist sees that that in, say, 500 years time our present lifestyle will have vanished, while the optimist, choosing the second alternative title of this chapter “Sustainability—no hope?”, believes that some sort of tolerable, if not luxurious. lifestyle could be possible for our descendants in 500 years time.
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Cracknell, A.P. (2009). “Sustainability—no hope!” or “Sustainability—no hope?”. In: Global Climatology and Ecodynamics. Springer Praxis Books. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78209-4_18
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