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Such designs are called 'sustainable' because they do not permanently reduce the natural resources available to humanity. Thus, they can be used into the indefinite future.

1 Examples of sustainable design

Most official agricultural services claim that existing pesticide protocols and methods of soil conservation adequately protect topsoil and wildlife. Some authorities say that these are not sustainable, and that agrarian reforms would permit efficient agriculture with fewer pesticides and less, or no loss of valuable topsoil or wildlife. Although there are strenuous discussions about exact methods, no authority seems to believe that sustainable agriculture is impossible.

Detergents, newspapers and other disposable items can be designed to self-destruct, usually simply rot, in the presence of air, water and common soil organisms. The current challenge in this area is to design such items in attractive colors, at costs as low as competing items. Since most such items end up in landfills, protected from air and water, the utility of such self-detruction is debated.

High quality wind turbines can be constructed from recycled aluminum, steel and small amounts of electronics. They produce renewable energy. Properly sited, wind could power our entire industrial society at prices that are now comparable to coal.

The world's oceans contain sufficient uranium to power existing industries, via breeder reactors, until the sun consumes the Earth in four billion years. Japanese scientists claim to have discovered methods of extracting the Uranium from seawater.

2 See also

• SustainabilitySustainability is an economic, social, and ecological concept. It is intended to be a means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society and its members are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, wh
• Waste managementWaste management is literally the process of managing waste materials (normally those produced as a result of human activities). It involves the collection, transport, processing and/or disposal of waste materials. Historically, the aim of waste managemen
• Environmental designEnvironmental design refers to taking environmental concerns into consideration in the design process. Environmental design" in the more established (and, perhaps, more old-fashioned) sense has to do with developing physical, spatial environments, whether
• Sim Van der RynSim Van der Ryn is acknowledged as a leader in "sustainable architecture. He is also a researcher and teacher. Van der Ryn's driving professional interest has been applying principles of physical and social ecology to architecture and environmental design
• J. BaldwinJames Tennant Baldwin (whose books and articles have been published under the names J. Baldwin and James T. Baldwin) is an American industrial designer and writer born in 1934. A one-time student of Buckminster Fuller, Baldwin's work has been inspired by
• Peter CalthorpePeter Calthorpe has been named one of twenty five "innovators on the cutting edge" by Newsweek magazine for his work redefining the models of urban and suburban growth in America. Starting practice in 1972, he has had a long and honored career in the plan
• Tom BenderTom Bender began to make his mark in the early 1970s as an architect, author, and strategic planner. He has since been also been visible as a writer in the emerging field of green economics. Recently he has studied and written about traditional architectu