Sustainability Science Sustainability
starts and ends within society. In the age of global change, societies
have to begin to take into account the Earth as a System if the
environment is not to degrade into a miserable state, and with it human
livelihoods. Material and informational flows are key to understanding
the sustainability challenge. Earth System Analysis The
science required for the self-education of humankind about its
interaction with the planetary systems is Earth System Analysis, trying
to understand how Geosphere, Biosphere and Anthroposphere are closely
interlinked now. Biosphere Transformations Human
are transforming the biosphere. Computer modelling of biogeochemical
cycles (carbon and water, to begin with) on a global scale including
human land use. Landscapes, Culture and Symbols Achieving
sustainability requires a strong sense of place-based identity
constructions and new cosmologies that link cultural narratives with
Earth system science and that bridge the gap between global views and
regional realities.
Managing PIK Research Domain 1 To chair a large research group with around 50 members poses
challenges of a particularly fascinating kind: science is a work of
social structuring, too.
