Sustainable Development Indicator (SDI) Group
SDI Inventory, Organized by Issue
Working Draft, Version 3, October 8, 1996
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Major Issue Categories

Each potential indicator relates to a specific issue of concern for the United States. The issues in the SDI Inventory fall into several broad categories defined below. The SDI Inventory contains approximately 450 indicators divided amoung 112 issues. Grouping the issues helps organize the large number of potential SDI in the inventory. The categories below do not reflect possible relationships between issues.

Economic

Economic Performance: Those issues dealing with the amount and value of money, wealth, debt, and investment

Infrastructure: Those issues dealing with the infrastructure to provide social services, such as education, health, transportation, etc.

Poverty: The lack of means for individuals to provide for their material needs or comforts; inequitable geographic or social distribution of wealth, income, or material goods (actual or perceived)

Production: Those issues dealing with production of goods and services

Waste: Those issues dealing with the production, handling, and disposal of man-made wastes

Environment

Biodiversity: Those issues dealing with the distribution and variety of biological forms and systems

Climate: Those issues dealing with changing climate

Environment Quality: Those issues dealing with changes in the environment

Land Use: Those issues dealing with how society uses the land

Resource: Those issues dealing with the extraction, use, or consumption of natural resources

Social

Education: Those issues related to the access, level, and quality of schooling, training, information, or knowledge

Equity: Those issues dealing with distribution of wealth, services, or burdens between socioeconomic groups within the population

Government: Those issues dealing with defining, or implementing government policy, laws, and agreements.

Heath: Those issues related to the access, level, and quality of medical care

Individual: Those issues dealing with services, capacities, and capabilities of the individual

Population: Those issues dealing with the total number of people

Social Cohesion: Those issues dealing with relationships and interactions between individuals or groups within society