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Nazim Ozkan ASAN

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What is sustainability for you and what will be the most sustainable development in our lifes?

In general sustainability defined as "the capacity to endure" and it has industrial, economical and social projections.

In one forum I read a short sardonic definition as "Not to sponge on coming generation".

According to me sustainbaility is mostly related with our choices. For an industrial projection as if you are a purchaising manager in an aoutomotive OEM Company, and you have to find a supplier for your annual steel consumption there is two alternatives; One is a steel producer A but the price is %3 higher other one is producer B he gives %3 lower price for the same quality material. The difference in the prices caused by the energy costs; The plant A uses expensive renewable energy sources, plant B uses cheaper petrochemical energy. Which choice will be most sustainable?

Another example you are the Minister of State For Industries you will give the permisson to investment for Gold Mining Plant or Cement Production Plant which has the same potetial for profitability. Cement Production causes a little bit more harmfull health hazards for CO emission than gold mining which uses cyanide leach technique. Which investment do you prefer?

There are lots of choices in our lifes, with these choices we change the amount of the water that we consume from the life pool, it is good for us it is still raining. But we have to catch up the balance.

Related Talks:
Topics: Correct Choices Cosmology world Peace Industrial greening action for best reaction architecture future innovation international development social behaviour sustainable living
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    Krisztián Pintér 200+

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    TED Translator
    Mar 15 2012: sustainability is stagnation. the very idea is silly, if we think just one step ahead. why would we want methods that can be continued for eternity? we don't plan to use any technology for eternity. we want to use it for a decade or a century, then we switch to a more advanced technology. we don't want an energy source that we can use for thousands of years. we want one that we can use for fifty years, till we find a better one. then an even better one. we don't need to plan for an infinite time horizon. we only want to plan for the visible time horizon. it is perfectly okay to be unsustainable as long as we have the next generation technology coming.
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