unsustainability
Cannot keep going
Unsustainability is the quality of being impossible to maintain at the current rate or level.
The term appears most often in environmental and economic contexts: the unsustainability of fossil fuel dependence, the unsustainability of the national debt.
It implies eventual collapse or forced change if present conditions continue.
Exhausting available materials gradually
- carbon footprintTotal greenhouse gases produced
- climate crisisDestabilizing atmospheric heating
- overconsumptionExcessive use of resources
- biodiversity lossReduction in species variety
deforestation · overfishing · pollution · fossil fuels · greenhouse gases · environmental degradation · planetary boundaries · ocean acidification
Unequal distribution of resources
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- burnoutChronic occupational depletion
- poverty cycleSelf-reinforcing economic disadvantage
- displacementRemoval from usual location
food insecurity · housing crisis · social unrest · wealth gap · underemployment · working poor · healthcare access · pension crisis
Sudden structural failure
- failureLack of success
- breakdownFailure or decomposition
- crisisDecisive dangerous moment
- instabilityTendency toward unpredictable change
fragility · tipping point · feedback loop · vicious cycle · dysfunction · obsolescence · entropy · overextension
Self-perpetuating financial decline
- deficitAmount still owed
- insolvencyInability to pay debts
- bubbleAir-filled film sphere
- market crashSudden market decline
bankruptcy · overleverage · trade deficit · inflation · Ponzi scheme · boom-bust · overspending · austerity
resource depletion
Exhausting available materials gradually
- carbon footprintTotal greenhouse gases produced
- climate crisisDestabilizing atmospheric heating
- overconsumptionExcessive use of resources
biodiversity loss · deforestation · overfishing · pollution · fossil fuels · greenhouse gases · environmental degradation · planetary boundaries · ocean acidification · soil erosion
inequality
Unequal distribution of resources
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- burnoutChronic occupational depletion
- poverty cycleSelf-reinforcing economic disadvantage
displacement · food insecurity · housing crisis · social unrest · wealth gap · underemployment · working poor · healthcare access · pension crisis · urban sprawl
collapse
Sudden structural failure
instability · fragility · tipping point · feedback loop · vicious cycle · dysfunction · obsolescence · entropy · overextension · diminishing returns
debt spiral
Self-perpetuating financial decline
- deficitAmount still owed
- insolvencyInability to pay debts
- bubbleAir-filled film sphere
market crash · bankruptcy · overleverage · trade deficit · inflation · Ponzi scheme · boom-bust · overspending · austerity · financial collapse
unsustainabilitysustainability
Capacity to endure indefinitely
sustainable · renewability · durability · permanence · self-sufficiency
unsustainabilityfeasibility
Potential for success
practicality · workability · achievability · manageability · maintainability
maintain, sustain, sustained, sustenance, maintained, sustainable, maintaining, sustaining, sustains