HIE - Sustainable Practices Lesson

 

Sustainable Practices

Pollution is a by-product of agriculture, urbanization, and the production and consumption of goods. Global warming is the result of fossil fuel burning. Both pollution and carbon dioxide are responses to anthropogenic actions. Anthropogenic is a reaction produced directly by a human activity such as higher carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning rather than respiration and decay.

Let's return to the question of whether humans have exceeded Earth's carrying capacity for our species. Carrying capacity is exceeded if resources are being used faster than they are being replenished. It is also exceeded if the environment is being damaged.

The answer to our original question therefore appears to be yes. Many resources are being used far in excess of the rate at which they are being replaced. The best farmland is already in use and more marginal lands are being developed. Most rivers in the developed nations and many in developing nations are already dammed. Groundwater is being used far more rapidly than it is being replaced. The same is true for fossil fuels and many mineral resources. Forests are being chopped down; and wild fish are being overharvested. Humans have caused the rate of extinction of wild species to increase to about at least 100 times the normal extinction rate.

A topic generating a great deal of discussion these days is sustainable development. This is development that attempts to help people out of poverty, while protecting the environment, without using natural resources faster than they can be replaced. It is development that allows people to use resources no faster than the rate at which they are regenerated.

One of the most important steps to achieving a more sustainable future is to reduce human population growth. This has been happening in recent years. Studies have shown that the birth rate decreases as women become educated. Educated women tend to have fewer and healthier children.

Science can be an important part of sustainable development. When scientists understand how Earth's natural systems work, they can recognize how people are impacting them. Scientists can work to develop technologies that can be used to solve problems wisely. An example of a practice that can aid sustainable development is fish farming, as long as it is done in environmentally sound ways. Engineers can develop cleaner energy sources to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Citizens can change their behavior to reduce the impact they have on the planet by demanding products that are produced sustainably. When forests are logged, new trees should be planted. Mining should be done so that the landscape is not destroyed. People can consume less and think more about the impacts of what they do consume.

 

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