Komiyama H., Kraines S. Vision 2050: Roadmap for a Sustainable Earth

Tokyo: Springer, 2008. – 172 p.
This book will show that the goal of creating an energy-efficient, recycling society is possible in part because our legacy from the 20th century is not all negative. Certainly the 20th century has left us many problems to clean up, such as pollution of the land, air and seas. Nearly all of the infrastructure and manufactured goods around us – buildings, railroads, highways, cars and household appliances – must be disposed of in the 21st century, a casting off that could result in a huge burden on the earth. However, under certain conditions, it is possible for us to consider these human artifacts as a positive inheritance even after they have reached the end of their intended use. In most of the world, human artifacts – that is all of the things that we manufacture – will approach a state of artifact saturation by the middle of the 21st century. This book will show that we can use technology not only to develop large-scale sources of renewable energy and to revolutionize our energy efficiency, but also to recycle almost all of the materials in the waste products from the previous century, thereby reducing the use of natural resources for manufacture of new products to near zero.Is the Earth Sustainable?
Knowing Energy
The Limit of Energy Efficiency
Energy Conservation in Daily Life
Making Things and Recycling Things
Introduction of Renewable Energy
How to Make a Sustainable Earth
How Will Technology and Society Work Together?
Postscript
About the Authors