How do we attain sustainability?

[4dsc]

Great discussion over at peakoil.com about this very question. SO what is our collective path to sustainability??

http://peakoil.com/fortopic24948-0-asc-0.html

Sustainability is an attempt to provide the best outcomes for the human and natural environments both now and into the indefinite future. It relates to the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society, as well as the non-human environment. It is intended to be a means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals in a very long term. Sustainability affects every level of organization, from the local neighborhood to the entire planet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability

[Lorien]

1. Well, for starters we could focus on education worldwide

particularly educating and empowering the world's women. When populations are educated and women are more equal members of that population, birth rates drop significantly. We can't hope for sustainability unless we achieve zero population growth.

Here in the US I would love to see a National high speed rail system put into place (Mag-lev with light rail connectors). I was just in Portland, OR last week and was quite impressed with their public transportation system. If we built such systems in every major metropolitan area, along with high speed mag-levs from city to city, we would not only cut carbon emissions and fuel use for transportation significantly, but urban sprawl might also be curbed. Just a couple of thoughts to start with.