摘要
The unintended environmental impacts of economic development threaten the continued availability of ecosystem services that are critical to human well-being. An integrated systems approach is needed to characterize sustainability problems and evaluate potential solutions. The Triple Value Model is an innovative framework that depicts the dynamic linkages and resource flows among industrial, societal, and environmental systems. The U.S. EPA has begun using this model to support transdisciplinary research projects that focus upon water resources, communities, and other broad sustainability themes. One recent application addresses opportunities for mitigation of nutrient impairment in the Narragansett Bay watershed, and has produced a policy simulation tool that enables evaluation of alternative sustainable solutions.