Lecture 15- sustainability: people and planet

Question 1

what can sustainability be defined as?

Answer 1

meeting current production goals without compromising the future in terms of either environmental degradation or resource depletion

Question 2

describe population growth by 2100

Answer 2

• There is an 80% probability that the 7.7 billion population will increase to 11 billion (9.6-12.3) by 2100. Much of this increase is expected to happen in Africa

Question 3

describe the issues surrounding wealth

Answer 3

• The global economic system is biased to the rich. The world population is growing- and becoming wealthier- but most people still live on less than $10,000 per year
• 60% of the world’s population share 9.4% of global wealth
• The richest countries contribute the most to CO2 emissions- they are also the most resource intensive

Question 4

what is ecological debt?

Answer 4

living beyond our means- Because the global economy fails to properly value the Earth’s resources (or people) we don’t manage these resources (and people) in a way that is either economically or environmentally sustainable, (or just).

Question 5

what are the key issues for sustainability? (4)

Answer 5

Inter-generational responsibilities and justice
Economic and environmental sustainability
Reduction in waste and improvements in N fertilizer efficiency
Dietary choices- for health and the environment

Question 6

where is likely to be most impacted in terms of climates affect on food production?

Answer 6

the poorer regions of the world

Question 7

describe consumerism

Answer 7

I want more and I want it now!
‘what were luxuries to our fathers have become necessities for us.‘
- EF Schumacher (1977)

Question 8

quote by mahatma ghandi which describes consumerism

Answer 8

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”

Question 9

give an example of the paradox of inequality

Answer 9

No relationship between income and life expectancy between developed countries
But within countries huge effects of relative income and life expectancy
-Tight relationship between the more unequal a country is in terms of its population wealth then the worse the overall outcomes in terms of social problems and health problems

Question 10

describe income inequality in the UK?

Answer 10

its increasing- the poor are getting poorer and the super-rich richer

Question 11

describe the difference in America and norways justice systems

Answer 11

• In America prisons are to punish.
• In Norway prisons are for reintegratiing offenders into society
  much higher percentage of americans reoffend and spend high portion of life in prison compared to Norwegians

Question 12

describe the basic message behind Schumackers book ‘small is beautiful’

Answer 12

The basic message is that man is pulling the Earth and himself out of equilibrium by applying only one test to everything he does: money, profits and therefore giant operations.
We have got to ask instead, what about the cost in human terms, in happiness, health, beauty and conserving the planet?

Question 13

what is the average UK debt per person?

Answer 13

66 k

Question 14

what is meant by ‘young peoples burden’

Answer 14

e.g. younger generations have been forced into debt for university fees because the older generation hasn’t wanted to pay more taxes

Young people will have to pay to save the climate that has been damaged by the older generation: - Proposed methods of CO2 extraction from air such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) or air capture CO2 have been estimated to cost US $89-535 trillion this century

Question 15

what does the new climate economy proposal involve?

Answer 15

• Raising productivity in unproductive areas
• Better soil and water management
• Restoration of degraded agricultural land
• Halting deforestation of ecosystems

Question 16

describe the problems of food resources in the future

Answer 16

• As people get richer they tend to consume more food and there is an increase in protein demand - which tends to come as animal products -

We could feed the world by not destroying ourselves (and the planet)!- Consumption of fruit and vegetables remains below recommended daily amounts for a healthy lifestyle

Question 17

give an example which represents inequality in food supply

Answer 17

There are nearly a billion people malnourished in the world because of lack of food, whilst over 2.1 billion are overweight

Question 18

what has been suggested about classification of homo sapiens sapiens

Answer 18

It has been suggested that our present name Homo sapiens sapiens could then be reserved for a future type of human that is able to meet defined criteria such as, for example, living within the planets boundaries

Question 19

what percentage of greenhouse gases are released from global agriculture and food production

Answer 19

• Global agriculture and food production release more than 25% of greenhouse gas emissions

Question 20

describe food consumption of rich people

Answer 20

eat more meat, but also eat more nutritionally ‘empty calories’- the richest people consume 37% of their calories from these unhealthy ‘empty’ sources. – refined sugars, refined animal fats and oils, and alcohol - unhealthy for us but also the planet

Question 21

what is the most greenhouse gas intensive form of food?

Answer 21

• Ruminant-derived meat

Question 22

what type of diet is particularly healthy in comparison to UK and America?

Answer 22

and Mediterranean diets rich in leafy vegetables and fruits are significantly more healthy than the global-average diet

Question 23

describe how diet is predicted to effect disease by 2050

Answer 23

• If dietary trends continue it is predicted that 2/3rds of the global burden of disease will be due to food intake by 2050

Question 24

what should a global change in diet, away from ‘western’ style diets result in?

Answer 24

significant triple benefits for nutrition, the environment and human health.
WIN FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH

Question 25

Take home message about dietary choices

Answer 25

dietary choices across large populations begin to make a big difference in terms of health of populations and the planet - diet-environment-health trilemma