Sustainability Science2023-06-21T21:43:23+00:00

Featured Stories

Fish, gold and pollution: homo economicus vs. homo psychologicus

Can we understand the role of human behaviour in renewable resource exploitation? To explore this question, we constructed an imaginary island called Lakeland, with a local population catching fish for its livelihood, having the possibility to exploit a goldmine and the  option to permit large, foreign trawlers to fish in their waters. Based on an underlying system dynamics model (see http://www.sustainabilityscience.eu/2020/local-fisheries-layers-of-overexploitation/), an agent-based model (ABM) was built to better understand the role of heterogeneity in needs satisfaction and risk perception [...]

By |August 20th, 2021|

Free energy flow density as a measure of complexity

The astrophysicist Chaisson (2001) has proposed an interesting link between energy and complexity. Organisms can be viewed as dissipative structures: Ordered objects whose structure can be maintained thanks to a steady input of high-quality energy. The free energy flow density (ɸ) necessary to sustain such a non-equilibrium structure is a measure of complexity. It can be expressed in erg per second per gram or, more commonly, in mW per kg (1 erg = 107 joule). The free energy flows are [...]

By |July 13th, 2020|

The Textbook

Written by prof. dr. B.J.M. de Vries, it provides an integrated, system-oriented introduction to the concepts, theories and issues surrounding the quest for a sustainable future for Planet Earth.
Check out the textbook’s companion website, where you will find chapter resources, exercises and more!

Knowledge Base

We are building a knowledgebase of links, institutions and educational material, based on our understanding of sustainability science, as presented in the book.
Have a look at some of the resources collected so far.

Research & Education Tools

In this section we are collecting interactive tools that can be used for research and teaching.
Look at a few projects by us and other people.

Other Stories from our Blog

Book and Website Reviews

Go to Top