Page 8 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

Foreword

Our choices now are deciding the broad direction of our future. Our aim must be lifestyles that
would be sustainable. A series of scientific studies at local, national and global level all tell the
same story: we are over-using the natural resources of the planet and stressing its natural
systems. Climate change is the most urgent priority, but it is only one of several indications
that our present lifestyle is unsustainable. We must stop consuming the resources our children
will need. We must also stop destroying the natural wonders of this world. A sustainable future
will involve fundamental changes.
We have to make responsible choices about the essentials of a civilised life: food, shelter,
water and waste management. Intuition is not a reliable guide, neither is superficial analysis.
We need sophisticated Life Cycle Assessment. LCA is systematic analysis considering all steps
of the process of using natural resources to provide our needs. It also assesses the impacts of
by-products of that process. Whether you are making decisions as an individual, a householder
or a manager of a commercial activity, you need the sort of informed basis this book provides.
As well as explaining the techniques of Life Cycle Assessment, it also discusses its limitations.
So it is a timely contribution to the most urgent task for our generation, modifying our lifestyle
to achieve human needs within the limits of natural systems.

Ian Lowe
Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society, Griffith University
Adjunct Professor, Sunshine Coast University and
Queensland University of Technology
Honorary Research Fellow, University of Adelaide
Officer of the Order of Australia

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