24 Tomorrow’s World

Overview of Chapter 24 Living Sustainably Sustainable Living: A Plan of Action Changing Personal Attitude and Practices What Kind of World Do We Want? © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Living Sustainably Environmental Sustainability Ability to meet humanity’s current needs without compromising the needs to future generations © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Living Sustainably Consumption Human use of materials and energy World does not have enough resources to sustain everyone at level enjoyed by US Countries like China are rapidly catching up (right) © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Five Recommendations For Sustainable Living 1. Eliminating poverty and stabilizing the human population 2. Protecting and restoring Earth’s resources 3. Providing adequate food for all people 4. Mitigating climate change 5. Designing sustainable cities From Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, Published in 2006 by Lester R. Brown © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 1 - Eliminating Poverty and Stabilizing Human Population Improving quality of life in lower-income countries will require increasing economic growth Must address issues of: health, nutrition and education Role of women requires attention (right) © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 1 - Eliminating Poverty and Stabilizing Human Population Need more trained professionals in developing countries Debts to poorest countries should be forgiven Population Must devote necessary resources to family planning © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 2 - Protecting and Restoring Earth’s Resources The world’s forests Lost for two reasons Converted to cash Pressure from rapid population growth and widespread poverty Need to protect forests © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 2 - Protecting and Restoring Earth’s Resources Loss of biodiversity Need to protect biodiversity Food, medicine, clothing Ecosystem services © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 2 - Protecting and Restoring Earth’s Resources Economic development cannot ignore functions of biological and physical systems Depends on attitudes and practices based on scientific information © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 3 - Providing Adequate Food For All People Link between poverty and food insecurity Agriculture must be improved to achieve more global sustainability Manage farmlands and grazing lands efficiently (precision farming and IPM) Reduce loss of soil fertility, erosion, aquifer depletion, etc © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 4 - Mitigating Climate Change Human activities are causing the increase in global temperature Must address climate change in aggressive coordinated fashion Cannot wait until scientific knowledge is complete- earth is too complex Stabilizing climate requires a comprehensive energy plan Phase out of fossil fuels in both developed AND developing countries © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 4 - Mitigating Climate Change © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 5 - Designing Sustainable Cities Almost 50% of world’s population now lives in cities Need to design sustainable cities Urban transportation systems Parks and open spaces Innovative approaches to handle water scarcity and sewage treatment © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Case-In-Point Jakarta, Indonesia Megacity in a developing country Badly polluted air 95% of human waste dumped into rivers 2009 Green Hope Education program © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Changing Personal Attitudes and Practices Consumption overpopulation Situation where each individual in a population consumes too large a share of resources Sustainable consumption Use of goods and services that satisfy basic human needs and improve the quality of life but that minimize the use of resources so they are available for future use © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Changing Personal Attitudes and Practices Role of Education Accurate information must be made widely available People’s concerns for the environment do not translate into action © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Role of Education People must be educated to understand the reasons for changing practices Set up environmental curricula at all school levels Encourage environmental organizations Support institutions that promote conservation and sustainability Encourage inclusion of relevant material in programs of social groups © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Kind of World Do We Want? Those who live in developed countries are the source of most of the problems facing the global environment Assumption made that environment will take care of itself This view needs to be changed radically © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Kind of World Do We Want? Most critical environmental problem is our own attitudes and values Your generation must be the next pioneers Explore a different way for humans to exist in the world Requires reconnecting with natural environment Requires revaluing ourselves according to a new set of ideals What kind of world do you want to live in? © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.