Karst and Sustainability
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2011
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1207-2_16
Abstract
The modern sustainability movement focuses on the maintenance of a sound human society while sustaining healthy environments, sound economic systems, and social justice. Several major themes in this movement emerged in recent years including the development of sustainability indices and benchmarking tools that evaluate an individual or organizational environmental footprint. Such measurements take into account a variety of factors including energy use, water consumption, building practices, transportation, economic health, social variables, and innovative practices to preserve and protect the environment and natural resources. There are a number of ways that the study of karst landscapes intersects with sustainability assessments. Karst should be considered when measuring the sustainability of energy resources, water supply, building materials, agricultural and food practices, land preservation and management, tourism, and greenhouse gas management. Specifically, this chapter discusses how karst contributes to sustainability and sustainable development and highlights instances where the current use of karst landscapes may be unsustainable.
Rights Information
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Karst and Sustainability, in P. E. van Beynen (Ed.), Karst Management, Springer, p. 361-378
Scholar Commons Citation
Brinkmann, Robert and Garren, Sandra J., "Karst and Sustainability" (2011). School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 973.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/973
