Our current global economy would make Dracula proud. Since 1800, the global population has increased sevenfold. This mind-boggling increase has come at the cost of sucking more and more non-renewable, or fossil, resources from the earth. This exponential expansion comes from improvements on the way we drain finite resources from the earth, and is unsustainable. Due to the economic sleight of hand of externalities, the cost of using these finite, unsustainable resources is not correctly felt in market prices. Market prices don't reflect investments that need to be made into sources of renewable energy. The global economy is recklessly and heedlessly overdrawing irreplaceable resources from the environment, while subsidizing the externalities envolved to the earth's population and environment. Ignoring this irreversible draining of the planet's finite resources through externalizing cost is intergenerational betrayal at its basest.
Over the past 150 years, food production per capita has increased steadily, allowing populations to increase and urban population to swell. This movement away from self-produced food empowers people to specialize. Once a family no longer needs to worry about providing its members with sustenance, it is able to employ its energies in a broader range of activities. There are many benefits to a more specialized populace, such an increased GDP per capita, industrial innovation, and lifespan. Civilization, in a word. However, this massive expansion comes at the cost of increased use of fossil (non-renewable) resources.
Throughout most of the Middle East, Northern China, and the American Midwest, the overwhelming increase in food productivity comes from overdrawing from water tables that are bei...
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...es with a price not addressed on the price tag. Air quality and CO2 emissions are externalities that have an enormous impact on the environment and health. In the northwestern industrial city of Benxi, smoke from burning coal shrouds the city, giving the residents the worst rate of lung disease in the country, and occasionally making the city disappear from satellite scans.
Externalities must be addressed if our global economy is to survive. It is all fine and dandy to maximize our current global production, but if it leads to a catastrophic meltdown when resources run out, I cannot bring myself to enjoy the brief prosperity. Irresponsible overuse of finite resources is a kind of generational injustice leagues beyond the tragedy of genocide, since it will force a return to brutal, nasty and short lives, if humanity survives this sanguinary practice at all.
As time passes, our population continues to increase and multiply; yet, on the other hand, our planet’s resources continue to decrease and deplete. As our population flourishes, human beings also increase their demands and clamor for the Earth’s natural products, yet are unable to sacrifice their surplus of the said resources. Garret Hardin’s work highlighted the reality that humans fail to remember that the Earth is finite and its resources are limited. Hardin’s article revealed that people are unable to fathom that we indeed have a moral obligation to our community and our natural habitat — that we are not our planet’s conquerors but its protectors. We fail to acknowledge and accept that we only have one Earth and that we must protect and treasure it at all costs. Despite all our attempts at annihilating the planet, the Earth will still be unrelenting — it will still continue to be present and powerful. Human beings must recognize that we need this planet more than it needs us and if we persist on being egocentric and covetous, in the end it is us who will
Generational conflicts, political strife, environmental regulations, stakeholders in big oil, and many more hurdles affect the push to fully sustainable economies around the world and even here in America. In a world where coal, oil, and natural gas are limited, countries are gobbling it all up as fast as they can before other poorer countries come on the grid. Even though America and other countries gobble up these resources the life of the people is still a struggle to meet basic needs. Sustainability is an intermingling of resource use and protection of the “quality of life”, it is met by using resources sparingly and by recycling or reducing the use of other non-renewable resources to provide for our immediate need, but also to conserve and protect the needs of the next generation and to improve the quality of all the lives to come.
The world is facing issues of overwhelming complexity and urgency. The challenge is to think globally and develop policies to counteract environmental decline and environmental collapse. Brown illustrates the economic future through an environmental perspective to develop a plan that will sustain civilization. Throughout the book, he concentrates on four major components that will head the world towards a brighter future. These include a massive cut in global carbon emissions, the stabilization of world population, the decrease of poverty, and the restoration of our planet’s diverse natural landscape. Brown presents the reader with very accurate arguments in World on the Edge however; he also makes some weak points that may not be the best plan to save the planet.
Reliance on major non-renewable resources has had, and continues to have detrimental effects on the environment. These resources found in the earth are mined and drilled so that people around the world can benefit from their use. For example, the majority of Americans, and most of the world’s population, uses gasoline to fuel their vehicles in order to commute back and forth from one place to another and gas to heat the homes in which they spend the bulk of their time. With the world’s population consistently growing, the amount of vehicles on the roadways increases therefore causing the amount of fuel being used to increase. The same goes for planes and ships that transport people greater distances, whether it be from Virginia to California, or the United States to China. The carbon emissions released pose a threat to the global climate (“Fossil”). Not only does the emission of fossil fuels hinder earth’s atmosphere, but the availability of the non-renewable resources used daily is also shrinking. Though the United States may not be greatly affected by the environmental dangers, other countries continuously struggle with locating drinkable water, maintaining consistent levels of agricultural produce and...
As humans, people have their own free will and mind to make their own decisions. What several people are ignorant in is the fact that the usage of an abundant of necessities is depleting at quicker speeds as the population grows over the years. Due to this fact, the earth and the people living on it has been and will be suffering from the widespread consumption of the natural resources that are crucial for everyday life. As the population increases, the consumption does not decrease and people’s unawareness to the world is destroying the planet they call home. Furthermore, the future becomes grim as society continues to act without changing their ways and living up their name as a “super predator” for themselves. Without the balance necessary for the planet, this is one punishment that humans are now facing in the present and future without worrying that the earth deserves fair treatment. As the population increases, humans are facing an exponential growth relating to the consumption rate as the earth deteriorates from the unsustainable lifestyle of
Failure to maintain clean air standards is attributed to the increased health cases of cancer and pulmonary related diseases. In addition, there is the effect of acidic rain which poisons the plants consumed that also has health effects. The financial burden is borne by health insurance and other costs in fighting the effects.
“We are consuming the Earth’s natural resources beyond its sustainable capacity of renewal” said by Herman Daly, Beyond Growth, Boston 1996, 61[1] .
Over the past few decades there have been discourses both in favor and against Globalization’s capacity to guarantee a sustainable future. Authors attest societies and businesses’ inability to account for ecological and environmental limits when dealing with economic growth, examples of this are some of the traditional business metrics used by most global companies, and nations’ measure of wealth (GDP); both sides heavily resting on economic factors, fail to account for societal and environmental concerns (Byrnea & Gloverb, 2002). Other researchers point at the intensive use of resources, especially by global corporations; such as the increasing and careless consumption of fossil fuels, water, precious metals, etc. leading to a rise in GHG (Starke, 2002) (United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 2000). Most fervent opponents go as far as to call ‘sustainable development’ an oxymoron (Ayres, 1995).
The past two hundred years have witnessed a massive rise in both industrial and population growth. As a result we as a race have begun overusing and destroying our resources on a level never before seen in the history of humanity. OK. So what? Many would argue that we as a species need to expand; we have the right to control and use our environment to the extent that it will allow us. Humans can, should, and are affecting the world around them on a level never before seen or recorded by society. These last statements epitomize what I call “the economists view” of environmental degradation. We have always exploited the environment to a large degree, and we have always emerge fine, in fact, we are arguably more fine now than we have ever been in the past. So why bother?
...dearly-held, unconscious collective assumptions may impede our chances for survival. Or, as Poliakoff, et. al., noted, “fundamental changes in technology are adopted… only when they provide real advantage” (810). Are human beings inherently selfish, or are they capable of rising above that? Will we use this power we have developed to help ourselves, or to attempt to help the world? “Why can’t we achieve a better balance between people, resources, and the environment? … The complete answers to these questions lie deeply within the complex realms of science, philosophy, religion, economics, and politics.” (170). The answers may be complicated. The truth is, industrialization has changed our relationship to the environment. It has enabled us to hurt it far more than any other species, but it has also given us the ability to help. The power of choice now lies with us.
The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.
Sustainability Revolution: Earth, the planet we call home, is a complex system made of interdependent parts and pieces of life that are constantly changing. Earth’s planetary system has maintained a balance of dynamic equilibrium—it has been sustainable— since its beginnings about 4.5 billion years ago. This balance, however, has been progressively disrupted by us—humans— especially during the last few decades. Mother Nature has provided us with natural resources and the habitat for all species to sustain life on our planet. Since the industrial revolution, we have maintained a belief that these resources are infinite, and that economic growth and our attempts to improve our standards of living can continue forever. All forms of human economic
Developed countries struggle with managing water consumption. Our high demand in agriculture, industry, and domestic use further complicates this issue. With increasing urbanization and extravagant changes in lifestyle, our use and wasting of water will only increase. As of this year, nearly 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water and 2.6 billion live without adequate water sanitation. The McDonald's down the street, however, will sell you a 1/3 pounder burger for only 150 gallons. Changes in lifestyle can easily reduce this number and help not only save water, but money as well. Currently, with our diminishing water supply, one of the main goals of humanitarian organizations is ensuring that everyone has t...
Currently, the world population shows no signs of slowing and with that the demand for resources is growing as well. As these two components strain society, the urgency and need for sustainability becomes more and more important. In the near future, environmentalists hope that humans will collectively take responsibility for the harm human activities have inflicted on Earth so that the aspects of sustainability- the principles, major components, and topics of concern come to the forefront of discussion for global action before it is too late.
Factories and transportation depend on huge amounts of fuel--billions of tons of coal and oil are consumed around the world every year. When these fuels burn they introduce smoke and other, less visible, by-products into the atmosphere.