What Does Sustainability Really Mean? The Search for Useful Indicators

摘要

Fou years ago, the town of North Andover, Massachusetts, began grappling with an issue common to many communities: how to set the price for the water it supplies to residents. The town was fortunate in having a good source of clean water in a municipally owned lake. But residents water bills had been rising steadily for several years, and many were unhappy about it. One reason for these increases was the town's new $20 million treatment plant. But town authorities had also set the water rates so as to generate a small profit—a fact that spawned a vigorous debate among residents. Some approved of this strategy, while others felt that the town should sell water at cost, and still others wanted to subsidize the water used by low-income residents.