Introduction to Sustainable Development

This lecture covers the introduction to sustainable development, discussing economic growth, sustainability, and the precursors of sustainable development. It explores concepts such as the closed Earth system, sustainable yield management, and the comparison of resource use with known reserves. The instructor presents historical perspectives from Thomas Jefferson, Malthus, Ricardo, Adlai Stevenson, Kenneth Boulding, and Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, as well as contemporary issues like waste accumulation, forest degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change.