What Is Sustainability?
The concept of sustainability emerges from "sustainable development" defined in the 1987 Brundtland Report as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," addressing the balance between social equity, economic vitality, and environmental integrity.
Issues relating to sustainability are interdisciplinary, and may be found under a variety of topics in the UCLA collection. Check our list of Sustainability Topics for suggested Subject Heading searches. To search by Subject Heading, go to the UCLA/UC Library Search and select "Subject List (start of)".
Key Sustainability Journals
- SustainabilityOpen access journal
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Journals from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, includes the journal Science.
E-encyclopedias, E-books, E-journals, and Databases
Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability, vol. 8: The Americas & Oceania [electronic resource] by Call Number: GE140ISBN: 9781933782188Date: 2012This book provides extensive coverage of sustainability practices in two regions linked culturally and historically by their relative isolation before the Columbian exchange, by their colonization after it, and by the challenges of pollution, resource overuse, and environmental degradation. Regional experts and international scholars focus on environmental history in areas such as the South Pacific islands, which are threatened by rising ocean levels due to climate change.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
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A multidisciplinary database that indexes over 10,000 publications, with the complete text of over 5,500 periodicals, including a mix of peer-reviewed journals, magazines, and newspapers. - CQ Press Library This link opens in a new window
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This database contains reports and summaries of major social issues. It's a good place to get a non-biased overview of a topic. - GreenFILE This link opens in a new window
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Collection of scholarly, government, and general-interest titles which include content on the environmental effects of individuals, corporations, and local/national governments and what can be done on each level to minimize negative impact. Topics: global warming, green building, ecology, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records.
- Lyell Collection: Geological Society Publications Online"The Lyell Collection represents one of the largest integrated collections of online Earth Science literature available. Bringing together key journals, Special Publications and Society book series on a single site, the Lyell Collection is a unique resource for researcher and student alike."
- OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
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Online library of e-books, e-periodicals, and interactive statistical databases produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). - ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window
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Index to doctoral dissertations from 1637 to the present, with abstracts since 1980. A number of master's theses are also indexed, with abstracts since 1988. Many are available for download in pdf format. UCLA has access to all full text dissertations in the database. Non-UCLA users may use Dissertations Express to purchase digital or print copies of individual dissertations. - SAGE Complete Journals This link opens in a new window
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Collection of journals available from SAGE Publications. - SpringerLink This link opens in a new window
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Immense array of books, chapters, conference proceedings and journal articles in the social sciences and sciences, published by Springer-Verlag. After searching, unclick Preview Only Content, whose materials are not under UCLA subscription. Advanced search enabled at wheel icon to right of search.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new window
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A multidisciplinary database, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of most disciplines. Indexes major journals with all cited references captured. Combines the following citation databases: Science Citation Index Expanded; Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI); Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI); Conference Proceedings Citation Index.
Data and Maps
- HumanProgress.orgCato Institute. Explore the state of humanity with data, charts, and maps.