The Concept of Sustainability and Its Consequences for Energy Policy

Sustainability and Ecological Civilization in the Age of Anthropocene: An Epistemological Analysis of the Psychosocial and “Culturalist” Interpretations of Global Environmental Risks

“…But if the Anthropocene started in 1610 and even more in 1964, then it is clear that there is an irreversible generational gap between pre-Anthropocene humanity and us. Moreover, since the notion of Anthropocene is an acknowledgment of the fact that the ecology of the Earth has been completely transformed by human activities, i.e., since the current "human footprint" already exceeds Earth's capacity both to generate resources and absorb waste, then the ultimate criteria for sustainability is less the capacity of next generations to satisfy their own needs in the future (since the nature of these needs, the state of technology and the situation of the Earth cannot be forecasted with enough precision) than man's capacity to regulate his present needs according to current available resources [30]: "Transition to sustainability requires reducing human consumption to be within ecological limits" [31]; "social-ecological sustainability requires that society's economy and other human activities do not exceed the capacity of ecosystems to provide services, which is constrained by the planet's life-support system in return" ( [32], p. 6).…”