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Renewable Resources and Sustainable Development

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Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education

Synonyms

Green energy; Renewable energy; Renewable natural resources; Renewable technologies

Definition

Renewable resources are natural resources that can replenish themselves once they are used within a human lifetime.

Introduction

Sustainable development is most commonly defined as “…development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987).

Renewable natural resources have garnered attention as a potential key component in sustainable development efforts, especially in countries not yet dependent on fossil fuels, as their nature allows them to meet present needs without depriving future generations of that same resource.

This entry explores renewable resources within the context of energy. It explores what renewable energy resources are, compares and contrasts them to nonrenewable energy sources, explores the externalities of renewable energy sources, and...

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Correspondence to Roxanne Lee .

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© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Lee, R. (2019). Renewable Resources and Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11352-0_297

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