Ortwin Renn – författare

'Risk Governance is a tour de force. Every risk manager, every risk analyst, every risk researcher must read this book - it is the demarcation point for all further advances in risk policy and risk research. Renn provides authoritative guidance on how to manage risks based on a definitive synthesis of the research literature. The skill with which he builds practical recommendations from solid science is unprecedented.'Thomas Dietz, Director, Environmental Science and Policy Program, Michigan State University, USA 'A masterpiece of new knowledge and wisdom with illustrative examples of tested applications to realworld cases. The book is recommendable also to interested students in different disciplines as a timely textbook on 'risk beyond risk'.'Norio Okada, Full Professor and Director at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan 'There are classic environmental works such as The Tragedy of the Commons by Hardin, Risk Society by Beck, The Theory of Communicative Action by Habermas, and the seminal volumes by Ostrom on governing the commons. Renn's book fits right into this series of important milestones of environmental studies.'Jochen Jaeger, Professor at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 'Risk Governance provides a valuable survey of the whole field of risk and demonstrates how scientific, economic, political and civil society actors can participate in inclusive risk governance.'Jobst Conrad, Senior Scientist, Social Science Research Center Berlin, Germany 'Renn offers a remarkably fair-minded and systematic approach to bringing together the diverse fields that have something to say about 'risk'. Risk Governance moves us along the path from the noisy, formative stage of thinking about risk to one with a stronger empirical, theoretical, and analytical foundation.'Baruch Fischhoff, PhD, Howard Heinz University Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA 'I cannot describe how impressed I am at the breadth and coherence of Renn's career's work! Written with remarkable clarity and minimal technical jargon... [this] should be required reading in risk courses!' John Graham, former director of the Harvard Risk Center and former deputy director of the Office of Budget and Management of the Unites States Administration This book, for the first time, brings together and updates the groundbreaking work of renowned risk theorist and researcher Ortwin Renn, integrating the major disciplinary concepts of risk in the social, engineering and natural sciences. The book opens with the context of risk handling before flowing through the core topics of assessment, evaluation, perception, management and communication, culminating in a look at the transition from risk management to risk governance and a glimpse at a new understanding of risk in (post)modern societies.

The Role of Public Participation in Energy Transitions provides a conceptual and empirical approach to stakeholder and citizen involvement in the ongoing energy transition conversation, focusing on projects surrounding energy conversion and efficiency, reducing energy demand, and using new forms of renewable energy sources. Sections review and contrast different approaches to citizen involvement, discuss the challenges of inclusive participation in complex energy policymaking, and provide conceptual foundations for the empirical case studies that constitute the second part of the book.

The book is a valuable resource for academics in the field of energy planning and policymaking, as well as practitioners in energy governance, energy and urban planners and participation specialists.

Explains both key concepts in public participation and involvement, along with empirical results gained in implementing these concepts Links theoretical knowledge with conceptual and real-life applications in the energy sector Instructs energy planners in how to improve planning and transformation processes by using inclusive governance methods Contains insights from case studies in the fully transitioned German system that provide an empirical basis for action for energy policymakers worldwide

An issue facing the citizens and governments of modern democracies is the direct participation of the public in the solution of environmental problems. Governments are increasingly experimenting with approaches that give citizens a greater say in the environmental debate. A crucial question is addressed: how can we measure the performance of the citizen participation process? An approach to the problem is taken by viewing public participation as an act of communication. Drawing on Jurgen Habermas' "Critical Theory of Communication", a normative framework is developed around the central area of citizen participation and competence in knowledge verification. A theoretical and methodological basis for the systematic evaluation of models for environmental discourse is provided. Eight models of citizen participation are studied, from North America and Europe. Each model is evaluated and criticized in paired chapters written by scholars.

This volume demonstrates the richness and wealth of theoretical insights and practical information that risk perception studies can offer to policy makers, risk experts, and interested parties. The book begins with an extended introduction summarizing the state-of-the-art in risk perception research and core issues of cross-cultural comparisons. The main body of the book consists of four cross-cultural studies on public attitudes towards risk in different countries, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Japan, and China. The last chapter critically discusses the main findings from these studies and proposes a framework for understanding and investigating cross-cultural risk perception. Finally, implications for communication, regulation and management are outlined.

The study group "Environmental Standards" established in 1987 as an expert panel of the German Academy of Sciences and Technology in Berlin compiled this book on setting environmental standards that has been literally written and authorized by all group members. The group consisted of eleven individuals representing the following disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, law, psychology, and sociology/economics. Firstly, this text summarizes late 1990s state-of-the-art in each discipline with respect to the topic of environmental standards, limited to one major case study: the effects of ionizing radiation. Within the subject of ionizing radiation and its impacts, the book intends to provide a complete and accurate picture of the various health impacts and environmental problems. Second, this volume provides guidelines for a desirable procedure that would guarantee the inclusion of all scientific data and reasoning but would also assure the incorporation of social costs, cultural values and individual preferences in the decision-making process.The study includes a section that describes an analytic framework for collective decision-making under uncertainty, and a section on institutional innovations necessary to implement a procedure for integrating scientific input and rational decision making. The procedural suggestions are focused around a new environmental institution that is empowered to initiate and promulgate new standards on the basis of a present process of linking scientific data with social values and preferences.

Brown and her colleagues offer an unprecedented analysis of how multinational corporations and developing countries manage, in the face of differing values, to relate as each proceeds in the interest of particular development objectives. Through three case studies involving Du Pont Agrichemical, Occidental Chemical, and Xerox and the countries of India and Thailand, the authors illustrate how the differing values of the host country and the corporation influence decisions. It offers valuable insights into the anatomy of decision-making in a highly sensitive and increasingly scrutinized segment of contemporary business.This is a particularly timely examination of multinational enterprises, of the impact of corporate cultures, sustainable development, hazard management and environmental issues seen in relationship to developing countries' values, needs, and objectives.

This book explores how narratives have been and can be used to facilitate radical transformations towards a more sustainable future.Scholars from various disciplines have been increasingly utilizing social and cultural narratives to understand personal, social, and cultural transformations. These narratives offer guiding principles for achieving personal, social, and cultural transformations. Drawing on various fields such as psychoanalysis, psychology, sociology, technology, cultural studies, and related areas, this book presents different perspectives on narratives in situations of transformation, exploring both commonalities and differences. The interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research that underpins this book emphasizes the co-creation of knowledge between political, academic and civil society actors, and therefore necessitates shared narratives that can foster common problem-solving strategies. Shared narratives also play a crucial role in legitimizing goals by supporting pluralistic value- and norm-integration. Offering new insights on how interdisciplinary research and therapeutic practice can assist individuals, groups, and even entire cultures in facilitating radical transformations towards more peaceful and sustainable living conditions, this book will be a key resource for scholars and researchers of sociology, psychology, technology, cultural studies, and related areas. It was originally published as a special issue of Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research.

This book explores how narratives have been and can be used to facilitate radical transformations towards a more sustainable future.Scholars from various disciplines have been increasingly utilizing social and cultural narratives to understand personal, social, and cultural transformations. These narratives offer guiding principles for achieving personal, social, and cultural transformations. Drawing on various fields such as psychoanalysis, psychology, sociology, technology, cultural studies, and related areas, this book presents different perspectives on narratives in situations of transformation, exploring both commonalities and differences. The interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research that underpins this book emphasizes the co-creation of knowledge between political, academic and civil society actors, and therefore necessitates shared narratives that can foster common problem-solving strategies. Shared narratives also play a crucial role in legitimizing goals by supporting pluralistic value- and norm-integration. Offering new insights on how interdisciplinary research and therapeutic practice can assist individuals, groups, and even entire cultures in facilitating radical transformations towards more peaceful and sustainable living conditions, this book will be a key resource for scholars and researchers of sociology, psychology, technology, cultural studies, and related areas. It was originally published as a special issue of Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research.

This book evaluates and compares risk regulation and safety management for offshore oil and gas operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway and Australia. It provides an interdisciplinary approach with legal, technological and sociological perspectives on efforts to assess and prevent major accidents and improve safety performance. Presented in three parts, it begins with a review of the factors involved in designing, implementing and enforcing a regulatory regime for industrial safety. It then evaluates the four regimes exploring the contextual factors that influence their design and implementation, their reliance on industrial expertise and standards, and the use of performance indicators. Finally the book assesses the resilience of the Norwegian regime, its capacity to keep pace with new technologies and emerging risks, respond to near miss incidents, encourage safety culture, incorporate vested rights of labor, and perform inspection and self-audit functions. This book is relevant for those in government, business and academia, and anyone involved in offshore safety issues.

This book evaluates and compares risk regulation and safety management for offshore oil and gas operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway and Australia. It provides an interdisciplinary approach with legal, technological and sociological perspectives on efforts to assess and prevent major accidents and improve safety performance. Presented in three parts, it begins with a review of the factors involved in designing, implementing and enforcing a regulatory regime for industrial safety. It then evaluates the four regimes exploring the contextual factors that influence their design and implementation, their reliance on industrial expertise and standards, and the use of performance indicators. Finally the book assesses the resilience of the Norwegian regime, its capacity to keep pace with new technologies and emerging risks, respond to near miss incidents, encourage safety culture, incorporate vested rights of labor, and perform inspection and self-audit functions. This book is relevant for those in government, business and academia, and anyone involved in offshore safety issues.

Education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is crucial for taking advantage of the prospects of new scientific discoveries initiating or promoting technological changes, and managing opportunities and risks associated with innovations. This book explores the emerging perspectives and methodologies of STEM education and its relationship to the cultural understanding of science and technology in an international context. The authors provide a unique perspective on the subject, presenting materials and experiences from non-European industrialized as well as industrializing countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Egypt, Brazil and the USA. The chapters offer a wide scope of interpretations and comparative reviews of STEM education by including narrative elements about cultural developments, considering the influence of culture and social perceptions on technological and social change, and applying innovative tools of qualitative social research.The book represents a comprehensive and multidisciplinary review of the current status and future challenges facing STEM education across the world, including issues such as globalization, interdependencies of norms and values, effects on equity and social justice as well as resilience. Overall the volume provides valuable insights for a broad and comprehensive international comparison of STEM philosophies, approaches and experiences.

Published in 1997. After the collapse of the communist system, the political systems in Eastern Europe were unable to cope with increasing tensions between ethnic majorities and minorities. These tensions led to violent ethnic conflicts and civil wars, in particular in former Yugoslavia. In this phase of transition and nation-(re)building, ethnic groups strove for more political autonomy and even territorial secession. The newly independent states lacked democratic structures and traditions as well as civil manners that could be used for regulating ethnic conflicts. The idea of Civil Society provides both basic democratic mechanisms for a lasting co-existence in an ethnically plural society. The theoretical part of this book discusses the issues of conflict anatomy, causes for conflict, and democratic conflict resolution. The empirical part describes experiences of ethnic conflicts in former Yugoslavia (especially Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia) in Ukraine and Romania. Experiences from Switzerland and the United States demonstrate successful examples of ethnic conflict management and illustrations of the political culture within a Civil Society.

This title was first published in 2000:  The papers presented in this volume are based on the discussions of a workshop which asked: how can ethnic and political cooperation be accomplished in ethnically and politically heterogeneous countries after the collapse of the communist regimes which left a void for nationalist and even chauvinist movements? The objectives are: to promote a better understanding of the contemporary "ethnic" conflicts and their social, cultural and political causes; to determine the historical, structural and political developments that have led to or intensified these conflicts; to analyze and develop positive role models for coping with such conflicts; to provide constructive proposals for future conflict resolution mechanisms; and to identify the crucial elements for building trust-generating institutions on the basis of the civil society model. The papers address ethnic conflicts in Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on the former republics of Yugoslavia. They aim to go beyond the analysis of causes and manifestations of such conflicts and to offer constructive ideas for the post-Civil-War period.

Education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is crucial for taking advantage of the prospects of new scientific discoveries initiating or promoting technological changes, and managing opportunities and risks associated with innovations. This book explores the emerging perspectives and methodologies of STEM education and its relationship to the cultural understanding of science and technology in an international context. The authors provide a unique perspective on the subject, presenting materials and experiences from non-European industrialized as well as industrializing countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Egypt, Brazil and the USA. The chapters offer a wide scope of interpretations and comparative reviews of STEM education by including narrative elements about cultural developments, considering the influence of culture and social perceptions on technological and social change, and applying innovative tools of qualitative social research.The book represents a comprehensive and multidisciplinary review of the current status and future challenges facing STEM education across the world, including issues such as globalization, interdependencies of norms and values, effects on equity and social justice as well as resilience. Overall the volume provides valuable insights for a broad and comprehensive international comparison of STEM philosophies, approaches and experiences.

Published in 1997. After the collapse of the communist system, the political systems in Eastern Europe were unable to cope with increasing tensions between ethnic majorities and minorities. These tensions led to violent ethnic conflicts and civil wars, in particular in former Yugoslavia. In this phase of transition and nation-(re)building, ethnic groups strove for more political autonomy and even territorial secession. The newly independent states lacked democratic structures and traditions as well as civil manners that could be used for regulating ethnic conflicts. The idea of Civil Society provides both basic democratic mechanisms for a lasting co-existence in an ethnically plural society. The theoretical part of this book discusses the issues of conflict anatomy, causes for conflict, and democratic conflict resolution. The empirical part describes experiences of ethnic conflicts in former Yugoslavia (especially Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia) in Ukraine and Romania. Experiences from Switzerland and the United States demonstrate successful examples of ethnic conflict management and illustrations of the political culture within a Civil Society.

Japanese government planners set out in the 1960s to build a barrage on the Nagara River, one of the last major free?owing rivers in Japan. Conceived during a period of rapid growth in the Japanese economy, the barrage was part of a national effort to ensure adequate water supplies for future economic development as well as to reduce ?oodingrisks to downstream communities. A string of lawsuits brought by groups concerned about the impact of the dam on ecological and ?sheries - sourcesresulted incostlydelays:thedamwasnotcompletedformorethan25years. The 1990s witnessed the start of a kind of biotech gold rush toward the use of genetic modi?cation (GM) as tool to develop more productive crops through the introduction of herbicide, insect and disease resistance to feed a growing world. Opponents of the rapid deployment of GM crops have raised concerns about the safety of the technology and about its socio-economic, cultural, and ethical implications. The debate over this issue divided the world – for example, the US allowed the development of GM crops to move forward and now accounts for over half the GM crops grown worldwide whereas the European Union only recently lifted a de facto moratorium imposed in 1998 and now authorises products on a case by case basis. Worldwide, the development and use of GM crops is still barely covered by a patchwork of regulations and guidelines, ranging from strict prohibition to none at all, and creating its own sets of disparities and risks.

Risk is a part of life. How we handle uncertainty and deal with potential threats influence decision making throughout our lives. In The Risk Society Revisited, Eugene A. Rosa, Ortwin Renn, and Aaron M. McCright offer the first book to present an integrated theory of risk and governance.The authors examine our sociological understanding of risk and how we reconcile modern human conditions with our handling of risk in our quest for improved quality of life. They build a new framework for understanding risk-one that provides an innovative connection between social theory and the governance of technological and environmental risks and the sociopolitical challenges they pose for a sustainable future.Showing how our consciousness affects risk in the decisions we make-as individuals and as members of a democratic society-The Risk Society Revisited makes an important contribution to the literature of risk research.

Risk is a part of life. How we handle uncertainty and deal with potential threats influence decision making throughout our lives. In The Risk Society Revisited, Eugene A. Rosa, Ortwin Renn, and Aaron M. McCright offer the first book to present an integrated theory of risk and governance.The authors examine our sociological understanding of risk and how we reconcile modern human conditions with our handling of risk in our quest for improved quality of life. They build a new framework for understanding risk-one that provides an innovative connection between social theory and the governance of technological and environmental risks and the sociopolitical challenges they pose for a sustainable future.Showing how our consciousness affects risk in the decisions we make-as individuals and as members of a democratic society-The Risk Society Revisited makes an important contribution to the literature of risk research.

Cross-Cultural Risk Perception demonstrates the richness and wealth of theoretical insights and practical information that risk perception studies can offer to policy makers, risk experts, and interested parties. The book begins with an extended introduction summarizing the state of the art in risk perception research and core issues of cross-cultural comparisons. The main body of the book consists of four cross-cultural studies on public attitudes towards risk in different countries, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Japan, and China. The last chapter critically discusses the main findings from these studies and proposes a framework for understanding and investigating cross-cultural risk perception. Finally, implications for communication, regulation and management are outlined. The two editors, sociologist Ortwin Renn (Center of Technology Assessment, Germany) and psychologist Bernd Rohrmann (University of Melbourne, Australia), have been engaged in risk research for the last three decades.They both have written extensively on this subject and provided new empirical and theoretical insights into the growing body of international risk perception research.

The study group 'Environmental Standards' established in 1987 as an expert panel of the German Academy of Sciences and Technology in Berlin compiled this book on setting environmental standards that has been literally written and authorized by all group members. The group consisted of eleven individuals representing the following disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, law, psychology, and sociology/economics. Firstly, Environmental Standards summarizes the state of the art in each discipline with respect to the topic of environmental standards, limited to one major case study: the effects of ionizing radiation. Within the subject of ionizing radiation and its impacts, the book intends to provide a complete and accurate picture of the various health impacts and environmental problems. Second, this volume provides guidelines for a desirable procedure that would guarantee the inclusion of all scientific data and reasoning but would also assure the incorporation of social costs, cultural values and individual preferences in the decision making process.The study includes a section that describes an analytic framework for collective decision making under uncertainty and a section on institutional innovations necessary to implement a procedure for integrating scientific input and rational decision making. The procedural suggestions are focused around a new environmental institution that is empowered to initiate and promulgate new standards on the basis of a present process of linking scientific data with social values and preferences. The volume represents a rare example of integrating the natural and social sciences and developing consistent and complete procedural guidelines for standard setting in a democratic society.

Based on an EU workshop at the end of 2005, the book discusses risk and our food supply. The introductory chapter will discuss all aspects of risk and how it applies to food, from risk classification to risk management. Following a discussion of risk, the authors will present three different case studies that will emphasize the following issues:• What do we want as individuals, as a society• What is the political context of the risk discussion • When do we act and what are the costs of not acting/acting• International trade and legal issues• Moral dimensions of decision making • How do we deal with the disproportionate "power" of the various stakeholders• Rationality/emotive aspects of argumentation (connection between perception /live experiences, knowledge)• What are facts- and do they change with time • Psychological aspects: rapture of trust; the need for certainty; connection between danger, fear and risk

Based on an EU workshop at the end of 2005, the book discusses risk and our food supply. The introductory chapter will discuss all aspects of risk and how it applies to food, from risk classification to risk management. Following a discussion of risk, the authors will present three different case studies that will emphasize the following issues:• What do we want as individuals, as a society• What is the political context of the risk discussion • When do we act and what are the costs of not acting/acting• International trade and legal issues• Moral dimensions of decision making • How do we deal with the disproportionate "power" of the various stakeholders• Rationality/emotive aspects of argumentation (connection between perception /live experiences, knowledge)• What are facts- and do they change with time • Psychological aspects: rapture of trust; the need for certainty; connection between danger, fear and risk

'Risk Governance is a tour de force. Every risk manager, every risk analyst, every risk researcher must read this book - it is the demarcation point for all further advances in risk policy and risk research. Renn provides authoritative guidance on how to manage risks based on a definitive synthesis of the research literature. The skill with which he builds practical recommendations from solid science is unprecedented.'Thomas Dietz, Director, Environmental Science and Policy Program, Michigan State University, USA 'A masterpiece of new knowledge and wisdom with illustrative examples of tested applications to realworld cases. The book is recommendable also to interested students in different disciplines as a timely textbook on 'risk beyond risk'.'Norio Okada, Full Professor and Director at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan 'There are classic environmental works such as The Tragedy of the Commons by Hardin, Risk Society by Beck, The Theory of Communicative Action by Habermas, and the seminal volumes by Ostrom on governing the commons. Renn's book fits right into this series of important milestones of environmental studies.'Jochen Jaeger, Professor at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 'Risk Governance provides a valuable survey of the whole field of risk and demonstrates how scientific, economic, political and civil society actors can participate in inclusive risk governance.'Jobst Conrad, Senior Scientist, Social Science Research Center Berlin, Germany 'Renn offers a remarkably fair-minded and systematic approach to bringing together the diverse fields that have something to say about 'risk'. Risk Governance moves us along the path from the noisy, formative stage of thinking about risk to one with a stronger empirical, theoretical, and analytical foundation.'Baruch Fischhoff, PhD, Howard Heinz University Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA 'I cannot describe how impressed I am at the breadth and coherence of Renn's career's work! Written with remarkable clarity and minimal technical jargon... [this] should be required reading in risk courses!' John Graham, former director of the Harvard Risk Center and former deputy director of the Office of Budget and Management of the Unites States Administration This book, for the first time, brings together and updates the groundbreaking work of renowned risk theorist and researcher Ortwin Renn, integrating the major disciplinary concepts of risk in the social, engineering and natural sciences. The book opens with the context of risk handling before flowing through the core topics of assessment, evaluation, perception, management and communication, culminating in a look at the transition from risk management to risk governance and a glimpse at a new understanding of risk in (post)modern societies.

Risk as we now know it is a wholly new phenomenon, the by-product of our ever more complex and powerful technologies. In business, policy making, and in everyday life, it demands a new way of looking at technological and environmental uncertainty.In this definitive volume, four of the world's leading risk researchers present a fundamental critique of the prevailing approaches to understanding and managing risk - the 'rational actor paradigm'. They show how risk studies must incorporate the competing interests, values, and rationalities of those involved and find a balance of trust and acceptable risk. Their work points to a comprehensive and significant new theory of risk and uncertainty and of the decision making process they require. The implications for social, political, and environmental theory and practice are enormous.Winner of the 2000-2002 Outstanding Publication Award of the Section on Environment and Technology of the American Sociological Association

It addresses scholars, practitioners, and representatives of administrations, public and private institutions, and NGOs interested in a better understanding of the selection and design of the most effective formats for competent and fair policymaking, ensuring each format meets its full potential.

Here, expert authors delineate approaches that can support both decision makers as well as their concerned populations in overcoming unwarranted fears and in elaborating policies based on scientific evidence. Four exemplary focus areas were chosen for in-depth review, namely:- The scientific basis of risk management- Risk management in the area of environmental and ecological policy- Risk management in radiation medicine- Risk management in context with digitalization and roboticsGeneral as well as specific recommendations are summarized in a memorandum. Fundamental thoughts on the topic are presented in the introductory part of the book. The idea for and contents of the book were developed at a workshop on “Sustainable Risk Management: How to manage risks in a sensible and responsible manner?” held in Feldafing at Lake Starnberg (Germany) on April 14 to 16, 2016. The book offers important information and advice for scientists, entrepreneurs, administrators and politicians.

Here, expert authors delineate approaches that can support both decision makers as well as their concerned populations in overcoming unwarranted fears and in elaborating policies based on scientific evidence. Four exemplary focus areas were chosen for in-depth review, namely:- The scientific basis of risk management- Risk management in the area of environmental and ecological policy- Risk management in radiation medicine- Risk management in context with digitalization and roboticsGeneral as well as specific recommendations are summarized in a memorandum. Fundamental thoughts on the topic are presented in the introductory part of the book. The idea for and contents of the book were developed at a workshop on “Sustainable Risk Management: How to manage risks in a sensible and responsible manner?” held in Feldafing at Lake Starnberg (Germany) on April 14 to 16, 2016. The book offers important information and advice for scientists, entrepreneurs, administrators and politicians.

„Man könnte bilanzieren: Seit Rio (1992) ist nichts so nachhaltig wie das Reden und Schreiben über 'Nachhaltige Entwicklung' oder 'Sustainable Development' und gleichzeitig nichts so aussichtslos wie der Versuch, den Begriff konsensfähig und allgemeinverbindlich zu definieren“ (Jüdes 1997: 1). Mit diesen bitteren Worten beginnt eine kritische Analyse in der Zeitschrift „Politische Ökologie“ über die bisherige Nachhaltigkeitsdebatte in Deutschland. Wird der inflationäre Gebrauch des Wortes „Nachhaltigkeit“ dazu führen, dass wir nur noch mit einer Worthülse alles, was uns edel, hilfreich und gut erscheint, unter einen Begriff fassen wollen? Oder ist der Begriff mehr als eine dehnbare Schablone für Sonntagsreden und folgenlose Absich- erklärungen? Der Begriff der Nachhaltigkeit stammt ursprünglich aus der Forstwirtschaft und - deutet, dass nur soviel Holz geerntet werden darf, wie in dem jeweiligen Anbaugebiet nachwächst. Der sächsische Oberberghauptmann von Carlowitz hat im Jahre 1713 in s- nem Werk "Sylvicultura Oeconomica" zum ersten Male den Begriff der Nachhaltigkeit verwendet, ohne zu ahnen, dass dieser Begriff 274 Jahre nach dem Erscheinen seines W- kes international in aller Munde sein würde (Peters 1984: 4; 261). Eine nachhaltige For- wirtschaft, so der Oberberghauptmann, beruhe auf dem Grundsatz, dass man nur so viel an Holz einschlagen dürfe wie durch Neupflanzung an Bäumen nachwachsen würde. Die Idee hat die sog. Brundtland-Kommission übernommen. Sie definiert nachhaltige Entwicklung als eine „Entwicklung, die die Bedürfnisse der Gegenwart befriedigt, ohne zu riskieren, dass künftige Generationen ihre eigenen Bedürfnisse nicht befriedigen können” (Hauff 1987: 46).