However, in its original definition, resilience does not recognise that social change mainly implies transitions to new forms of production, consumption and distribution with new combinations of technology, organisation, institutions and lifestyles (Jerneck and Olsson 2008). The inner logic and utility of the increasingly popular resilience framework (Folke et al. 2002) should, therefore, be scrutinised. Material flow analysis and various cycles Modern society is heavily dependent on manipulating a number of bio-geo-chemical cycles, such as: the carbon cycle for the provision of energy; the nitrogen and phosphorous cycles for

the provision of food; and the water cycle for the provision of water, food, energy and transport. In the natural sciences, the study of such cycles has resulted in biogeochemistry, an area of scientific inquiry that integrates the disciplines of biology, AZD1152 datasheet geosciences and chemistry (Schlesinger 1997; CHIR98014 Megonigal 2002).

Material flow analysis (MFA) represents a similar development in the social sciences, as mentioned above. To some extent, MFA resembles macro-economic modelling, with the difference that MFA deals with physical units of materials rather than monetary units. The challenge to integrate the complete cycles, both the natural and the social components of these cycles, is at the very heart of sustainability science. But this requires a rethinking of the AZD2281 molecular weight ontology and epistemology of disciplines. The natural science ontology

of the carbon cycle is based on carbon as a bio-physical entity. If the ontology is reframed to incorporate also carbon used in the manufacturing, transporting and consumption of goods, then the cycling of carbon becomes as much a social as a natural cycle. Analogous reasoning of integration can be applied to the water and the nutrient cycles. Theme two: sustainability goals This theme explores the process of formulating and establishing various global sustainability goals, including their very content. Since DNA Damage inhibitor the publication of ‘Our Common Future’ in 1987 (WCED 1987), social goal setting has changed from a broad qualitative vision of a sustainable society to more precise policies, including specific planning instruments and targets of efficiency and effectiveness that are measurable in quantitative terms, such as the Lisbon Agenda in the EU (Gros 2005). The Brundtland Commission (WCED 1987) defined sustainable development as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The concept, comprising environmental, economic and social pillars, is subject to criticism on many grounds, especially for its ambiguity and the lack of tangible operationalisation.