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The history of sustainability traces human-dominated ecological systems from the earliest civilizations to the present. This history is characterized by the increased regional success of a particular society, followed by crises that were either resolved, producing sustainability, or not, leading to decline.〔Beddoea, R., Costanzaa, R., Farleya, J., Garza, E., Kent, J., Kubiszewski, I., Martinez, L., McCowen, T., Murphy, K., Myers, N., Ogden, Z., Stapleton, K., and Woodward, J. (February 24, 2009). ("Overcoming systemic roadblocks to sustainability: The evolutionary redesign of worldviews, institutions, and technologies." ) ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.'' 106 8 2483–2489. Retrieved on: 2009-08-20.〕〔Wright, R. (2004). ''A Short History of Progress.'' Toronto: Anansi. ISBN 0-88784-706-4.〕 In early human history, the use of fire and desire for specific foods may have altered the natural composition of plant and animal communities.〔Scholes, R. (2003). Stories from the Stone Age. Beyond Productions in association with S4C and S4C International. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved on: 2009-04-16.〕 Between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, agrarian communities emerged which depended largely on their environment and the creation of a "structure of permanence."〔Clarke, W. C. (1977). "The Structure of Permanence: The Relevance of Self-Subsistence Communities for World Ecosystem Management," in ''Subsistence and Survival: Rural Ecology in the Pacific.'' Bayliss-Smith, T. and R. Feachem (eds). London: Academic Press, pp. 363–384.〕 The Western industrial revolution of the 18th to 19th centuries tapped into the vast growth potential of the energy in fossil fuels. Coal was used to power ever more efficient engines and later to generate electricity. Modern sanitation systems and advances in medicine protected large populations from disease.〔Hilgenkamp, K. (2005). (Environmental Health: Ecological Perspectives ). London: Jones & Bartlett. ISBN 978-0-7637-2377-4.〕 In the mid-20th century, a gathering environmental movement pointed out that there were environmental costs associated with the many material benefits that were now being enjoyed. In the late 20th century, environmental problems became global in scale.〔Meadows, D.H., D.L. Meadows, J. Randers, and W. Behrens III. (1972). ''The Limits to Growth.'' New York: Universe Books. ISBN 0-87663-165-0.〕〔World Wide Fund for Nature (2008). (''Living Planet Report 2008'' ). Retrieved on: 2009-03-29.〕〔Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). (''Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis.'' ) World Resources Institute, Washington, DC. pp. 1-85. Retrieved on: 2009-07-08-01.〕〔Turner, G.M. (2008). (" A Comparison of The Limits to Growth with 30 Years of Reality." ) ''Global Environmental Change'' 18: 397–411. Online version published by CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems. Retrieved on: 2009-01-03〕 The 1973 and 1979 energy crises demonstrated the extent to which the global community had become dependent on non-renewable energy resources. In the 21st century, there is increasing global awareness of the threat posed by the human-induced enhanced greenhouse effect, produced largely by forest clearing and the burning of fossil fuels.〔U.S. Department of Commerce. (Carbon Cycle Science ). NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory. Retrieved on: 2009-03-14〕〔BBC News (August 2008). (In depth: "Climate Change." ) BBC News, UK. Retrieved on: 2009-03-14〕 ==Early civilizations== In early human history, although the energy and other resource demands of nomadic hunter-gatherers was small, the use of fire and desire for specific foods may have altered the natural composition of plant and animal communities.〔 Between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, agriculture emerged in various regions of the world.〔Wright, p. 55.〕 Agrarian communities depended largely on their environment and the creation of a "structure of permanence."〔 Societies outgrowing their local food supply or depleting critical resources either moved on or faced collapse.〔Diamond, J. (2005).''Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed''. New York: Viking Books. ISBN 1-58663-863-7.〕 Archeological evidence suggests that the first civilizations arose in Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Egypt, both dating from around 3000 BCE. By 1000 BCE, civilizations were also established in India, China, Mexico, Peru and in parts of Europe.〔Kramer, S. (1988). ''History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History.'' University of Pennsylvania Press; 3rd edition (April 1988), pp. 52–55.ISBN 9780812212761.〕〔Wright, R., p. 42.〕 Sumer illustrates issues central to the sustainability of human civilization.〔Wright, R., pp. 86–116〕 Sumerian cities practised intensive, year-round agriculture from ca. 5300 BCE. The surplus of storable food created by this economy allowed the population to settle in one place instead of migrating in search of wild foods and grazing land. It also allowed for a much greater population density. The development of agriculture in Mesopotamia required many labourers to build and maintain its irrigation system. This, in turn, led to political hierarchy, bureaucracy, and religious sanction, along with standing armies to protect the emergent civilization. Intensified agriculture allowed for population increase, but also led to deforestation in upstream areas with resultant flooding and over-irrigation, which raised soil salinity. While there was a shift from the cultivation of wheat to the more salt-tolerant barley, yields still diminished. Eventually, decreasing agricultural production and other factors led to the decline of the civilization. From 2100 BC to 1700 BC, it is estimated that the population was reduced by nearly sixty percent.〔 Civilizations similarly thought to have eventually fallen because of poor management of resources include the Mayans, Anasazi and Easter Islanders, among many others.〔Diamond, J. (2005). ''Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies''. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06131-4.〕〔Diamond, J. (2005). ''Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.'' London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-303655-5.〕 In contrast, stable communities of shifting cultivators and horticulturists existed in New Guinea and South America, and large agrarian communities in China, India and elsewhere have farmed in the same localities for centuries. Some Polynesian cultures have maintained stable communities for between 1,000 and 3,000 years on small islands with minimal resources using rahui〔Cook Islands National Environment Service. (National Parks and Conservation Areas ). Retrieved on: 2009-02-24.〕 and kaitiakitanga〔Miller, D. N. Tüwharetoa & N. Kahungunu (2005). (Western and Mäori Values for Sustainable Development ). MWH New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved on: 2009-02-24.〕 to control human pressure on the environment. In Sri Lanka nature reserves established during the reign of king Devanampiyatissa and dating back to 307 BC were devoted to sustainability and harmonious living with the nature. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of sustainability」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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