ABSTRACT
This chapter strives to articulate a better, integrated understanding of the imperative for and the many elements of sustainable development. The ethical dimensions of sustainable development are two-fold: our relationship to fellow inhabitants of our country and planet and our relationship to the land and plant and animal inhabitants of the world. Achieving sustainable development in developing countries may even require some surprising shifts, such as from one form of renewable energy (wood biomass) to another form of renewable energy, or even a shift from wood to a fossil fuel (coupled with efficient energy use). With respect to sustainable development, Commoner's simple approach can be adapted to provide some insights into how to "change the content of economic growth, to make it less material and energy-intensive." In the case of developing countries, there is potentially a particularly powerful economic incentive which could be used to promote sustainable economic development: international bank and lending policies.
