Back to top of page

HOME
Back to Index of the Restoration of the planet, our home
Back to Index of the Scale of Values and measurement of the GESDI

1. Scheduling

2. Introduction and Procedure

3. Discussion Roundtable with respect to the four interacting systems

4. Summary of all Comments and Recommendations from Participants

5. Concluding Remark

6. The Scale of Values: Benchmark for the 21st Century

The Scale of Values is about establishing what is very important to ensure a sound future for Earth, what is important, what is not so important, and what should be let go. From this scale, to be agreed upon by all members of The Global Community, the assessment of sustainable development can be conducted. The Benchmark for the 21st Century is the scale we are developing now together. It is also the first measurement of sustainable development ever obtained locally, regionally, nationally and globally. This first evaluation is conducted with respect to the four interacting systems: social, economic, environmental and in the wise husbanding of natural resources.

Every 'individual' is responsible to oneself and others, and takes responsibility for the community by dealing wisely with consumption, work, finances, health, resources, family, wildlife and Earth. An 'individual' here may be a person, a corporation, a NGO, a local community, businesses, a nation, or governments. The key is personal responsibility. We are all responsible to find what is very important to sustain Earth. This Scale of Values is about just that.

The urgency index, U, described in the mathematical model, is one of the four indices of the equation for the evaluation of impacts. It is the index or variable that reflects the level of responsibility we are willing to take to solve the problem, impact or concern. It reflects the importance of the need to find a solution to the stress within a reasonable period of time or else the impact will cause significant damages and will be felt by the next generations to come.

The scale is as follows. The minimum value is 1 and is equivalent to saying that the impact is not important and may be resolved within a century. The maximum value is 10 and is equivalent to saying that the impact is very important, no waiting allowed, so as to ensure a sound future for Earth.

The values between 1 and 10 have been defined in the Mathematical Model.

7. Survey to obtain the Scale of Values

This survey was designed for those who understand and are aware of impacts and their cumulative effects over time. People in the community will want to get together, discuss and find the best solution. Every responsible individual has a right to be part of the discussion and the solution.

For instance, the impact of pollutants on a groundwater system. Someone in the community would have enough knowledge and experience to say whether it is equivalent to the minimum value of 1 which in turn is equivalent to saying that the impact is not important, what causes the impact may be let go, or that it may be resolved within a century.

Or the impact is equivalent to the maximum value of 10 which in turn is equivalent to saying that the impact is very important, no waiting allowed, so as to ensure a sound future for Earth. A personal judgement is made as to what the answer may be between 1 and 10. If noone in the community can answer the question than an environmental assessment would be appropriate in this case. Sometimes a rough estimate from someone with experience is all that is needed.

We want to find the impact of people activity on the environment, the availability of resources, economic development and onto themselves.

Results of this survey will help us to evaluate all the impacts, interactions and interrelationships between the components of the four major quality systems. At this point in time there is no need to know about every single impact and its importance in the systems. We want to evaluate the most important or urgent ones for now and be able to extrapolate in between to evaluate all the other impacts and their urgency or importance.

The following table is a guide to follow.

Index value           Urgency or importance index, U
                            The impact, problem or concern may be resolved:

          1                (not important, the cause of the impact may be let go)
                                                   within a century

          2                                      within five decades

          3                                       within one decade

          4                                       within five years

          5                                       within three years

          6                                       within one year

          7                                       within six months

          8                                       within three months

          9                                       within one month

          10                            (very important) no waiting allowed

A._____Wasteful use of oil and gas energy.
B._____Hazardous and unhealthy pollutants in the home.
C._____Very loud noise in the community.
D._____Chemicals that destroy the Ozone layer.
E._____Chemicals that increase Global Warming.
F._____Hazardous wastes from industrial or commercial sites.
G._____Pollutants from vehicles.
H._____Litter (rubbish).
I._____Pollutants let go in the environment or an ecosystem.
J._____Pollutants let go in a city with minimum clean-up facilities.
K._____Pollutants let go in the sewage.
L._____Acid rain.
M._____Deforestation.
N._____Spills of oil and other hazardous substances.
O._____Air pollution.
P._____Improper management of toxic substances and wastes.
Q._____Degradation of water resources.
R._____Threats to the tropical rain forest.
S._____Inappropriate agriculture practices.
T._____Soil erosion.
U._____Expanding deserts.
V._____Degradation of our natural environment.
W._____Rising levels of chemically induced cancers.
X._____Overconsumption.
Y._____Too much garbage with no place to go.
Z._____Widespread marine pollution resulting in everything from plastic to oil lapping up on coastlines around the world.
AA._____Growing scarcity of portable water supplies.
AB._____Shrinking wilderness and wildlife habitat.
AC._____Growing rate of extinction of plants and animals.
AD._____Over-fisheries.
AE._____Depletion and degradation of natural resources.
AF._____Stagnant economic growth.
AG._____Unmitigated environmental damages.
AH._____Forest fire.
AI._____Noise pollution.
AJ._____Emission of air pollutants from industry.
AK._____Water pollution.
AL._____National debt.
AM._____Gambling.
AN._____Radioactive wastes.
AO._____Ignoring loss of productive assets in GDP or GNP.
AOA._____Excluding natural resources values from the measurement of national income and welfare.
AP._____Ignoring expenditures such as pollution, clean-up, abatement, vehicle accidents, and floods as components of the GDP or GNP.
AQ._____Ignoring the degradation of natural resources, the environment, health, social structure, and the quality of life in the evaluation of the GDP or GNP.      AR._____Ignoring changes in the natural resource assets in the evaluation of the GDP or GNP.
AS._____Ignoring the interactions and interrelationships between the components of the four major quality systems (see GESDI) in the evaluation of the GDP or GNP.
AT._____Ignoring global concerns and their impacts on the economy in the evaluation of the GDP or GNP.
AU._____In the evaluation of the GDP or GNP, ignoring the use and depreciation of the natural and people-made stocks or assets, that is, the stocks that yield the end-use and consumption of resources (for example, the stock of forest yields the end-use and consumption of timber and wood products). The natural stocks include forests, minerals, soils, fishery, water, wildlife, and air.The use of productive stocks give rise to income, and, therefore, both people-made and natural stocks must be considered in a similar manner. The evaluation of sustainable development must include both types of stocks available for use as income or benefits, and of all investments and returns as well. Consumption levels of both types of stocks must be maintained without depleting and depreciating the quality and quantity of services the stocks bring in creating wealth.
AV._____In the evaluation of the GDP or GNP, ignoring the status of ecological processes and biological diversity of each natural resource.
AX._____In the evaluation of the GDP or GNP, ignoring the impacts of consuming a resource on other renewable resources, biological diversity, people health, and life support systems.
AY._____In the evaluation of the GDP or GNP, ignoring the annual change in the stocks of natural resources, and the services they provide to the economy.      AY._____We are polluting the Earth at a rate that threatens to alter dramatically the world.
AZ._____Our way of life on Earth has changed dramatically and greatly diminished our planet's ability to assure the continuation of life.
BA._____The degradation of the basic resources of water, soils, forests, fisheries, flora and fona, tends to be incremental and cumulative.
BB._____In the evaluation of the GDP or GNP, the total price tag of our lifestyle is not just what we pay at the cash register but also there are two more costs that must be added: the cost of maintaining and using what we got, and the associated environmental and health impacts which can be given dollar values.      BC._____Dramatical increase of per capita consumption of energy and resources.
BD._____Dramatical increase of energy and resources content per unit of output.
BE._____Dramatical increase of waste discharges per unit of output and in total.      BF._____Dramatical increase of wastage of natural resources.
BG._____Lack of comprehensive data about the status and changes in the air, water, and land.
BH._____Lack of an adequate urban environment that constitutes the level of well-being of a nation: suitable community facilities and services, decent housing and health care, family stability, personal security from crime, adequate educational and cultural opportunities, efficient and safe transportation, an atmosphere of social justice, land planning, aesthetic satisfaction, and responsive government subject to community participation in decision-making.
BI._____Violation of Human Rights.
BJ._____Prejudices toward other people.
BK._____Building materials that are the cause of pollution and health problems.      BL._____Building materials with potentially hazardous contaminants.
BM._____Building materials linked with serious contaminations and health problems.
BN._____Increase of packaging wastes.
BO._____In the Polluter-pays Principle, ignoring the true cost of packaging which includes the environmental ones: 1) the resources and energy used during manufacturing, transportation, and disposal; 2) the pollution created during the manufacturing process; 3) the litter and waste created and the associated problems in landfill sites.
BP._____Not practicing the 4 Rs to lessen the amount of garbage as part of our way of life: reduce, re-use, recycle, and repair.
BQ._____Individuals in a community are unable to dispose safely of hazardous wastes because the community does not have proper disposal facilities.
BR._____There are hazardous wastes and products in the community, and they are a potential hazard to life, health and the environment.
BS._____Hazardous wastes in the community are not disposed of properly and they end up in the regular garbage, poured down the drain or buried, which cause environmental damage and are potential health hazards to everyone.      BT._____Chemicals in tanks used in refrigeration are being recycled instead of being disposed of properly. When these chemicals are recycle they end up destroying the Ozone layer after a long period of time.
BU._____Garden pesticides are being poured down the drain instead of being taken to a proper collection center.
BV._____Pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals are being used for farming. These chemicals have impacts on the groundwater system, lake and river water, and the health of people and wildlife who absorb them.
BX._____Some areas suffer from drought, and some from flood, due partly to inappropriate land and water use.
BY._____Human activity has made our climate to change faster than it used to, and this is going to impact on the availability and distribution of water.
BZ._____The increase in human population requires more drinking water and drinking water becomes less available and more polluted.
CA._____The increase in human population requires more water and creates problems with discharging more wastewater.
CB._____Groundwater resources, just as surface water resources, have been a supply of safe, potable, readily available water for drinking purposes and for industrial water supplies, and now are taken for granted, abused, and undervalued. Groundwater may transport contaminants from a land based facility resulting in impacts upon our drinking water, fish habitat (and therefore our food chain), wetlands, streams, and lakes. There is little information about toxicity, persistence, and mobility of toxic chemicals in a groundwater system. Groundwater can be unfit for human consumption because of contamination which may be due to leaking from gasoline storage tanks, pipes, process equipment, tailing ponds, septic tanks or feedlots, landfills or from accidental spills, pesticides and fertilizers from farmland, or from contaminants in rain, snow, or atmospheric fallout.
CC._____The average person in North America uses too much water for routine things, as if there is a never-ending supply of it. Our lifestyle determines how we use water during the day. Water conservation is not being practiced as much as it should. Supplies are running out fast.
CD._____Good quality of water supplies to satisfy our lifestyle carries a price tag defined here: storing + distributing + treatment + maintaining & operating + the associated environmental and health price tags i.e., the impacts on the environment and our health. The cost of obtaining, storing, heating, distributing water are steadily increasing, and so are the environmental and health impacts associated with those costs. The costs for treating wastewater to make it suitable to return to river systems are equally increasing.
CE._____Overwatering is an important environmental concern because the water washes fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides off residential lawns into street drains that lead to rivers and creeks.
CF._____Overusing and wasting water will force a city to expand its water treatment plants, pump stations, water pipes, and storage reservoirs, and force us to produce and use more energy which leads to environmental problems as the pumping, treatment, delivery, and heating of water use energy.
CG._____Most people take for granted the water we use to wash the car, to water the lawn, cook and flush our wastes away, to shower, do half-loads of laundry, run the water while brushing our teeth, and ignore a dripping tap, and dump down the drain motor oil/solvents/paints/cleaners. We treat oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams more like parts of our sewer systems then our life-support system.
CH._____The disavantages and impacts of driving include accidents, air pollution, congestion, noise, oil pollution, energy consumption and consumption of land and other natural resources for the production of vehicles and infrastructures. Vehicles contribute to the emission of air pollutants which are carried across borders and contribute to global pollution or health problems.
CI._____Noise disturbance from vehicles is an increasingly common nuisance, especially in density built-up residential areas.
CJ._____High speed on highways increases the potential for collisions and increases fuel consumption. Driving habits are causing serious impacts to the environment and the health system.
CK._____Despite the poisoned air, crowed highways, and hundreds of acres of over-crowed parking lots which strangle most urban centers, the number of motor vehicles continue to rise at a staggering rate.
CL._____Each year motor vehicles emit and dump millions of kilograms of pollutants into the atmosphere. The dominant pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, particulates, and lead. Cars are in fact the main source of materials for photochemical reactions which cause smog.
CM._____A major problem in controlling vehicles emissions is that control systems deteriorate with use. Vehicles which meet standard emission requirements when sold often are no longer able to maintain these standards after a short period of use. The Polluter-pays Principle should require owners to be responsible to maintain those control devices so that they continue to function within the standards set by regulations.
CN._____Many consumer products and building materials will add harmful substances to our air, water, soil, or our bodies; they contain hazardous chemicals; they are not recyclable and use heavy packaging; and they are not bio-degradable after use.
CO._____Consumers while shopping do not choose (as a habit) items with minimal packaging and do not shop with reusable cotton or synthetic material bags.      CP._____Consumers while shopping do not look (as a habit) for unpackaged bulk goods where possible, buy durable multiuse items instead of single use disposable items.
CQ._____One approach in applying a sound behavior towards energy is to consider the interaction of four elements : people, equipment, available resources, and the home environment. This means energy efficiency of a home is dependent and will be limited by the performance of its weakest element. The excess capacity of any of the elements beyond that of the weakest element is wasted capacity. The most cost-effective way to improve performance is to identify and improve the weakest element. Most often when energy efficiency drops, the weak element is people. Either energy conservation has not been made a priority or members of the household are not aware, concerned, and motivated about energy conservation. For energy efficiency to be successful, there must be support of all household members, realistic goals, designated responsibility, account of all household meters, auditing energy use and establishing priorities.
CR._____The production and use of energy affects the environment. Burning coal, oil and natural gas releases emissions into the air that are known to be changing the earth's atmosphere. Using energy efficiently will play an important role on our lives. Energy efficiency has economic and environmental benefits. Using less energy saves money. Environmental benefits include a decrease in fossil fuel pollutants. Energy conservation achieved through efficiencies and demand reduction can cut emissions significantly. With increased awareness about energy and for importance of using energy efficiently individuals will be able to make informed decisions about their own lifestyles.
CS._____The natural stock of forest yields the end-use or consumption of cut timber. A sustained yield of timber must be reached to satisfy the principles of sustainable development. To maintain the productive capacity of the stock and sustain the income or benefits, people are asked to replenish the stock once used. Consumption levels of the stock must be maintained without depleting the quality and quantity of services the stock brings in creating wealth. Sufficient investments must be made to replenish timber stocks. For instance, an investment in reforestation is necesary.
CT._____The Global Community Assessment Center (GCAC) was created as it reflects our belief that global changes have become challenges for effective policy making. The Center will help societies prepare to meet these challenges. It will present to The Global Community an annual assessment of the world changes.      CU._____The assessment and integration of local/global indicators will be the supporting scientific framework from which new decisions will be made. This knowledge is relevant to the management of global change and will be used for future policy making.
CV._____Formal assessments such as those on Climate Change, Human Development Report, World Development Report, struggle for Human Rights, life species Conservation, Health, economic analyses, Biodiversity, Commission on Sustainable Development etc., have bridged the distance between incomplete science and contentious policy. No one really understand what assessment processes have been most effective, or why others have failed. There is a need to train the next generation of scientists, officials from all levels of government,economists,statisticians,environmentalists,ecologists, renewable and non-renewable resources specialists, business leaders,non-governmental organizations, educators, health and social experts, Aboriginals and Natives, home and community planners, policy analysts, international law specialists, and the public in the skills of collaborating in the future management of global changes.      CW._____GCAC’s goal is to explore how assessment of local/global indicators can better link scientific understanding with the progressive implementation of effective policy solutions to global changes. Achieving this integration is fundamental. Societies need this annual assessment to effectively manage global change.      CX._____GCAC is the Centre of assessment of local/global indicators about the four major quality systems: Environment, People, Economic Development and the Availability of Resource. The assessment of these indicators will result in giving The Global Community a sense of direction as to ensure a sound future for Earth. Results are made available to The Global Community.
CY._____GCAC is the Center of assessment of local/global indicators about the four major quality systems: Environment, People, Economic Development and the Availability of Resource. The assessment of these indicators will result in giving The Global Community a sense of direction as to ensure a sound future for Earth. Results are made available to The Global Community.
CZ._____The technical definition of Sustainable Development was given as being :
"a sound balance among the interactions of the impacts (positive and/or negative), or stresses, on the four major quality systems: People, Economic Development, Environment and Availability of Resources."
The non-technical definition was given as being:
"a sound balance among the interactions designed to create a healthy economic growth, preserve environmental quality, make wise use of our resources, and enhance social benefits." 
DA._____The measurement of GSDP gives a proper and sound signal to the public, government and industry about the rate and direction of economic growth; it identifies environmental, health, and social quality; it identifies sustainable and unsustainable levels of resource and environmental uses; it measures the success or failure of sustainable development policies and practices; and it identifies resource scarcity. Values obtained enable us to make meaningful comparisons of sustainable development between cities, provinces, nations over the entire planet.
DB._____The Global Community is defined as being all that exists or occurs at any location at any time between the Ozone layer above and the core of the planet below.
DC._____GCAC provides The Global Community with workable sound solutions related to home and community development. Present active research projects:1. Transboundary Assessments, 2. Impact Assessment, 3. Policy Assessments, 4. Assessment of local/global indicators, 5. Integration of local/global indicators, 6. Integration of scientific understanding to policy, 7. Management of Global Changes.
DD._____GCAC is working in cooperation with individuals, industry, and government to create a global value shift toward a sustainable future for Earth.      DE._____The Global Community aims to establish a new, permanent dialogue on measuring and managing sustainable development. It is a grassroots process. Everyone is involved. We belong and depend to The Global Community. We are worlds within worlds orbiting through each other's place. We are all becoming linked to others in faraway places on a much deeper level. If we work together to keep our planet healthy, productive and hospitable, it will benefit all people and living things.
DF._____The role of businesses, civic organizations, and environmenmtal agencies in implementing the sustainable use of biodiversity is important. Global link-ups are already happening at a fast rate. Business leaders are much more sensitive to the greater, wider needs for their expertise and are already in the process of creating a new kind of civilization.
DG._____The Earth Charter was adopted by The Global Community organization. The charter is a declaration by every human being to the commitment of responsibility to themselves and to one another, and to sustaining Earth. The human spirit has made the evolutionary leap. We all have a sense of universal responsibility, the local has linked with the global, and human compassion and solidarity and kinship with all life were strengthened. We are humble peoples and we have the greatest respect of Nature. The Earth Charter is an acceptance and commitment about peace, freedom, social and economic well-being, and ecological protection; it also recognizes the interactions between aspects included in the four major quality systems such as: economic, environmental, social, availability of resources; and to global ethics and spiritual values.
DH._____One of the most important factors in our lives is the inter-connection we now have to others, to other countries. Through these connections we are able to create changes for good on a global scale. We are all linked to others in faraway places on a much deeper level and we are working together to keep our planet healthy, productive and hospitable for all people and living things.
DI._____Education has become a mean to train everyone of us in sustaining the Earth and in the skills of collaborating in the management of global change. Children throughout the world are now being educated in sustaining the Earth. We are all connected by this common goal. Each one of us is 'a Global Community' from birth. Each one of us also belongs to The Global Community.
DJ._____Over the past two decades the Earth has experienced unprecedented growth in population, urban activity, community living, small businesses and in 'clean' high tech products and technologies used in communications, transportation, homes, and in the commercial and industrial sectors. New environmentally conscious technologies and strategies are being developed to handle waste products. Most waste should be eliminated from production processes. A mix of economic policy instruments shuld be introduced to render waste minimisation to an 'acceptable' level.
DK._____There has been a major shift to a sun energy system.
DL._____Global consumption and the productive capacities of Earth should be managed from the perspective of the global structure of production and ecological impacts.
DM._____A City Model based on sustainable development which integrates Land Use, Transportation, Urban Design, and all other aspects in our lives and sustainable development should be the new type of city model to be adopted by new communities. Using this model, cities will be successful in protecting their unique character and setting; natural and past heritage setting; wildlife habitats, nature grasslands, riverine forests, whenever these were found within the city limits; cultural diversity; natural resources and their availability; quality of life; health and educational institutions; social equity; and dynamic economic growth.
DN._____Land use should encourage higher residential densities throughout the urban area and especially in areas closer to transit services. We would see more mixed uses of property and mixed land uses. Rigid zoning of land should be abolished. A Sustainable Community Development Codeshould be developed to keep contractors in line and is a complement to the Building Code. Sustainable suburbs would render development along city's edges affordable, environmentally friendly, and would be the sites of interactive and diverses neighborhoods. Building designs should make it easier for people to work at home. Community designs should make it easier for residents to start up a small business, and carry on their trades. The local community organization itself should find it easy to start up a small business, and carry on its trade. Communities should become more stable, self-reliant, and self-sufficient in all areas such as energy, garbage and sewage disposal, and food. People should take responsibility of their built environment, and communities should become environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable.
DO._____Transportation has deeply changed the cultural melting pot of cities and community living. Transport of passengers and goods could be made more efficient, safe, and economical through a "use pay" system to cover costs of the transportation networks and pollution abatement. Cities should require an environmental impact assessment and public review to be conducted whenever there is a need for new transportation links, development or river crossings. Transit is critical in mitigating environmental degradation so, today, ridership levels are high; services should be closer to people and their work places; 'clean' technologies and alternative fuels should be well in use; and policies and strategies should be in place to discourage the use of the car and need to commute, and encourage the use of transit, walking and cycling.
DP._____Crop genetic engineering has help farmers to adapt crops to their own ecological settings, make farming sustainable, and be more self-reliant. DPA._____Biotechnology should also be used in other areas. There should also be more actions conducted to genetically alter our species and help it toward a new evolutionary path to improve its chances of survival.
DQ._____Global Corporate Ethics should become the ways to do things when conducting finances, business deals, business transactions, and dealing with labour, customers, consumers, partners, shareholders, suppliers, community issues, human rights, ecology, safety and health issues in the workplace, social justice, and all related women, children and minorities issues.
DR._____New business performance indicators should be developed to assess business conduct. These indicators would be designed to be integrated within the framework for the measurement of sustainable development. Each company corporate statements (along with policies and practices statements) in place would stipulate that the company actions will be responsible. A 'good corporate individual' would be defined to include all social and environmental expectations within the framework of sustainable development. Corporate social and environmental performance standards must be met. Corporations themselves would take their responsibilities by becoming involved in designing and implementing social and environmental responsibility performance. The monitoring of corporate codes of conduct would also be done by corporations themselves. Measuring corporate responsibility should have the effect of improving business performance.
DS._____A workable type of tobin tax should be in place to promote sustainable development. It would minimize the effects of financial speculation and currency crises would no longer be a fear. The Global Community organization would be given the tax and be used entirely to finance a global sustainable development. The Global Community Assessment Center would be active in findings sound solutions to sustain Earth and its peoples.
DT._____In passing new laws, legislating new policies, creating new programs and strategies, a specific goal must be kept in mind: to increase Earth's ability to assure the continuation of life.
DU._____Economic instruments that reflect environmental costs should be implemented to encourage decision-makers to take the environmental consequences of their actions into account. Possible measures include: effluent taxes, tradeable emission rights, deposit/refund systems and user charges.
DV._____Sustainable development, with its focus on anticipating and preventing environmental degradation before it occurs, means increased emphasis on appropriate resource pricing and economic instruments to achieve environmental objectives. These can ensure that the environment is more fully considered in production and consumption decisions made at all levels of society.      DW._____Governments have available policy instruments: information and consultation, standards and regulations, permits and licensing. These instruments can be used singly and in combination with economic instruments such as taxation, charges, pricing schemes and subsidies to implement a broad range of policies.      DX._____Good science is essential for good environmental policy and sound regulation. Environmental science encompasses both the social and physical sciences and includes fundamental research, applied research, monitoring and development of new technologies. Science helps us measure sustainable development and identify new problems.More environmental science is needed within all levels of government to support their legislative responsibilities, particularly as they relate to such priority issues as environmental health, toxicology, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and water and air pollution.
DY._____Quantitative targets and schedules must be set that will control global emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The world's forests are an important sink for carbon, thereby helping to limit the built-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, many forests are being threatened as land is cleared for agriculture and settlement in developing countries. In the process, kilograms of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. It is the duty of every developed country to increase its cooperation on the environment with developing countries. These countries are today facing practically all the environmental problems previously seen as confined to the industrialised countries (air pollution, water pollution, contamination of the food chain, industrial accidents, etc.) but they are facing them on a scale which we ourselves have never known. The future security of the world environment will depend on whether the developing countries are able to halt pollution, limit excessive urbanisation, slow down the population explosion, and make themselves less vulnerable to natural disasters. Cooperation with these countries is important, especially if we wish to control worldwide hazards associated with pollution of the atmosphere and the oceans, and with the destruction of the tropical forests. The major environmental problems of the developing countries are connected with the economic policies of the developed countries.
DZ._____The ultimate goal of better integration of environmental and economic policies is the reduction and prevention of social costs. Everyone, governments, representatives of policy fields, industry, trade-unions, and NGOs, must agree that environmental aspects should be built into the center of decision-making at an early stage.
EA._____The increased attention paid to environmental hazards of energy production over the past decade is due to the growing realisation that society's energy choices should improve wellbeing. Since wellbeing is as profoundly influenced by environmental conditions as by economics, sensible energy choices require systematic attention to both economic and environment. Comprehensive information and assessment of the environmental implications of energy strategies and systems are needed for effective policy making in both the energy and environmental fields.
EB._____The major environmental challenge which industrialized countries will face over the next decade is the wise management of natural resources for sustainable economic growth. The degradation of the basic resources of water, soils, forests, fisheries, flora and fauna tends to be incremental and cumulative. Unless we act now the situation will continue to deteriorate, eventually forcing its way to the forefront of considerations, nationally and globally, as a response to environmental crises of major magnitude. Already global concern and the need for heavy food relief and aid programmes in response to the land degradation and drought problems provide grim evidence of the problems of inappropriate resource management.It is the interest of The Global Community that every developed country manage its "natural capital" as efficiently as possible and with the same concern as is accorded the efficient use of other physical, financial and human capital.
EC._____A Sustainable Home and community Development will include the following parts: * Health care system, * Educational system, * Seniors'care, * Food chain, nutrition, * Population growth, * Farming communities, * Parks, * Psychological, biological, genetics and evolution, * Spiritual pathways, * Entertainment, * Quality of life, customs and beliefs, information access, communication, aesthetics * Decent housing, suitable community services, * Pollution, waste, * An atmosphere of social justice, * Family stability, * Religion, * Infrastructures and facilities, land planning, * Juvenile crimes, gangs, drugs, illiteracy, * Socio-cultural and political influences, multi-culturalism, laws, * Anthropological, Aboriginals, Natives .
ED._____Fulfill the requirements for a sustainable development by implementing economic activity that can advance sustainability by:
a) reducing per capita consumption of energy and resources;
b) reducing energy and resource content per unit of output;
c) reducing waste discharges per unit of output and in total;
d) decreasing wastage of natural resources during harvesting and processing, thus increasing the amount put to productive use.
EE._____Fulfill the requirements for a sustainable development by implementing various conservation strategies such as:
a) the maintenance of ecological succession, soil regeneration and protection, the recycling of nutrients and the cleansing of air and water;
b) the preservation of biological diversity, which forms the basis of life on Earth and assures our foods, many medicines and industrial products;
c) the sustainable use of ecosystems and species such as fish, wildlife, forests, agricultural soils and grazing lands so that harvests do not exceed rates of regeneration required to meet future needs;
d) the use of non-renewable resources in a manner that will lead to an economy that is sustainable in the long term. This will require the development of renewable substitutes;
e) the reduction in soil erosion by changing farming practices.
EF._____Fulfill the requirements for a sustainable development by developing a combined social and economic accounting system that covers not only the conventional economic indicators (GDP, GNP, etc.) but also such matters as soil depletion, forest degeneration, the costs of restoring a damaged environment and the effects of economic activity on health.
EG._____Fulfill the requirements for a sustainable development by creating tests for sustainability:
a) the amount of arable land and forest that is being lost;
b) the amount of silt in rivers coming from eroded farm fields;
c) the loss of large numbers and even whole species of wildlife;
d) the positive and negative impact of process and products on health;
e) the impact of development on the stock of non-renewable resources such as oil, gas, metals and minerals;
f) the impact of waste products;
g) the ability of new proposals to implement cleaner and more resource-efficient techniques and technologies.
EH._____Fulfill the requirements for a sustainable development by being committed to make forest management to include getting more value out of the wood. This means wasting less of the trees that are cut and making better use of what are now considered non-commercial tree speices.
EI._____Fulfill the requirements for a sustainable development by requiring formal Environmental Impact Assessment for all major projects so as to predict the sustainability of these developments and determine whether impacts can be mitigated.
EJ._____Essential elements of an adequate urban and rural development:
a) suitable community facilities and services;
b) decent housing and health care;
c) personal security from crime;
d) educational and cultural opportunities;
e) family stability;
f) efficient and safe transportation;
g) land planning;
h) an atmosphere of social justice;
i) aesthetic satisfaction;
j) responsive government subject to community participation in decision-making;
k) energy conservation and energy efficiency are part of the decision-making process and made part of the community design;
l) the application of the 4 Rs is integrated in the community design;
m) community businesses, working areas, play areas, social and cultural areas, education areas, and training areas;
n) the use of renewable energy sources, central heating where possible, and cogeneration of electricity are made part of the community design when possible;
o) the form of community development integrates concepts such as cooperation, trust, interdependence, stewardship, and mutual responsibility;
p) promote self-sufficiency in all areas such as energy, garbage, food and sewage disposal;
q) rely on locally-produced goods.
EK._____Health is created and lived by people within a community: where they work, learn, play, and love. Health is a complex state involving mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and social well-being. Each community can develop its own ideas of what a healthy community is by looking at its own situation, and finding its own solutions. Health promotion generates living and working conditions that are safe, stimulating, satisfying and enjoyable. To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, a community must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change with the environment. The overall guiding principle for the community is the need to encourage reciprocal maintenance, totake of each other and the environment. The important part of the thinking in both community health and ecological sustainability is the need to find a sense of community as a crucial aspect of healthy individual development.

8. Survey Results on the Scale of Values

1.        Dr. Raghbendra Jha
2.        Louise Dunne
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
 
 

9. The measurement of sustainable development

10. Benchmark for the 21st Century