A conceptual framework for sustainable decision making using the second law of thermodynamics

In spite of approaching what many feel is the brink of destruction, humans continue to invest in systems and the supporting infrastructure that do not appear to be sustainable.;This thesis begins the work of developing a new framework for decision making for sustainability. Understanding the way nature dissipates gradients, efficiently and in small steps may help us develop a basis for a new vision for sustainability. Two gradient-based principles of sustainability are proposed that draw extensively from recent thermodynamic theories of ecosystem development.;An example in urban water management is used to illustrate the potential for developing a new decision support tool based on the qualitative assessment of the size of gradients in the system and the efficiency with which they are dissipated.;The author suggests that the principles of sustainability proposed here may be developed into principles of sustainability that may be applied across much of human society.