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Guidelines
for Sustainable Technologies
Different
technologies can have vastly different effects on building or inhibiting
sustainability. The following questions provide a guide for the
sustainability index of a technology and its application.
Technologies and applications with more answers yes than no tend to be
more sustainable technologies. Does
the technology or its application: 1.
Enhance community and foster dialogue? 2.
Support diversity of people, cultures, and resources? 3.
Encourage self-organization, creativity and local decision-making? 4.
Utilize or increase the local knowledge base? 5.
Increase focus on services needed and delivered rather than products? 6.
Increase social equity? 7.
Enhance awareness, interaction and interdependency of humans with the
natural world? 8.
Use less material from the crust of the earth and focus on renewable
resources? 9.
Maintain and enhance natural ecosystems? 10.
Enhance efficient use of resources? 11.
Avoid the use of toxic or persistent organic pollutants in its
manufacture or use? 12.
Utilize natural energy flows?
13. Enhance the use of resources from the local bioregion?
14. Avoid direct altering of internal information systems of organisms
(DNA)?
15. Eliminate or recycle
waste?
16. Create safe objects of
long-term value?
17. Increase efficiency of energy flows?
18. Use natural organic
models in its design?
19. Encourage reduced
consumption of natural resources?
20. Increase the long-term
economic viability of local communities?
21. Encourage full
life-cycle ecological, economic and social accounting? July 15, 2001 Return
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