The Natural Step

Karl-Henrik Robert of Sweden published a paper in 1991 called, Educating a Nation: The Natural Step in 1991. It presents four principles of sustainability that are scientifically derived from the laws of thermodynamics. He starts by putting the two laws together and applying them to our planetary system, so that the following facts become apparent:

1. All the matter that will ever exist on earth is here now (First Law).
   


2. Disorder increases in all closed systems and the Earth is a closed system with respect to matter (Second Law). However it is an open system with respect to energy since it receives energy from the sun.
   


3. Sunlight is responsible for almost all increases in net material quality on the planet through photosynthesis and solar heating effects. Chloroplasts in plant cells take energy from sunlight for plant growth. Plants, in turn, provide energy for other forms of life, such as animals. Evaporation of water from the oceans by solar heating produces most of the earth's fresh water. This flow of energy from the sun creates structure and order from the disorder.

To achieve a sustainable civilization, one that can last indefinitely, the four following system conditions must be met,

1. Substances from the earths crust must not systematically increase in the ecosphere.


2. Substances produced by society must not systematically increase in the ecosphere.


3. The productivity and diversity of nature must not be systematically diminished.


4. There must be fair and efficient use of resources to meet human needs.

Civilization is accelerating toward unsustainability at present, so our first step will be to slow and then reverse civilization's misuse of substances.