Sustainability Flashcards
Define Sustainability:
A common definition is the ability of the earth to provide the resources to meet people’s needs.
The human lifestyle relies on the earth in order to survive, not all of these treasures are renewable, so careful stewardship is needed.
Define Stewardship.
Supervision or taking care of something.
Define Ecological Footprint
The load that you impose on nature is represented by the area of the earth’s surface needed to sustain the level of resources you use and the waste you create if everyone in the world lived like you.
Ecological Footprint
We cannot live without some kind of impact on the earth. Finding out your ecological footprint is one way to measure the sustainability of your lifestyle. This can be done for an individual, group or country.
What are some factors that affect an ecological footprint?
- Amount of consumer goods bought
- Amount of packages used
- Amount and type of food eaten
- Amount of electricity used
- Distance travelled by car, transit, bike and foot.
- Extent of recycling and waste reduction.
- Fuel efficiency of vehicles
- Size of House or apartment
- Town, city or region footprint
- Waste management and recycling efforts.
- Population densities
- Average household size
- Consumer spending patterns
- Average energy use
- Transportation options
- Land use patterns
Resources
70% of the earth lives on 1.89 hectares, the remaining 30% consume 90%.
Developed countries are using significantly more resources than developing countries, so much so that it is unsustainable.
We are living in a resource gap- we are using up more of the environment(2.8 hectares of land per person) than the sustainable amount(1.8 hectares of land per person).
Population Growth
This overuse of resources is being compounded with an increased population across the globe.
In 1960 we had 3 billion people. In 2021 we are at 7.8 billion.
Efforts Toward Sustainability: The Kyoto Protocol
Problem: Around the world, the increased output of greenhouse gases is contributing to a rise in average global temperatures. A further increase of between 1 and 5°C is predicted, enough to damage physical systems and cause economic losses of up to $5 trillion. Developing countries will suffer more than developed countries.
Proposed Solution: At a 1997 conference in Kyoto, Japan,141 countries, including Canada, signed an agreement that became known as the Kyoto protocol.
Goals: The Kyoto Protocol called on countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5.2% below 1990 levels by 2012. Canda set a target of 6%.
Actions: Countries were free to develop their own plans to meet the targets. In Canada, plans focused on reducing fossil-fuel use. initiatives included requiring large factories and power plants to cut emissions, the federal government made partnerships with provinces and municipalities to make infrastructure improvements to support energy alternatives and encouraging industries, such as automakers, to take voluntary actions.
Successes: A 2006 poll by McAllister Opinion research found that 77% of respondents believed that Canada should meet or exceed its Kyoto targets. the federal and some provincial governments had adapted strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: some municipalities have also developed plans and some industries have taken action. but in 2004, Canada’s emissions were 27% higher than 1990 levels.
Barriers: Canada has made no progress toward achieving its Kyoto targets. opposition to Kyoto is strong in some provinces, such as Alberta and in some industrial sectors such as the oil industry. Some people say that meeting the targets will mean huge job losses. By early 2007, the federal government had taken no decisive action. Canada pulled out of the Kyoto protocol in 2011 after China and the U.S.A.’s refusal to sign.
Millennium Development Goals.
In 2000, the UN held an assembly about the need for everyone in the world to achieve sustainable prosperity and development. This resulted in the creation of the Millennium Development Goals.
- Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
- Achieve universal primary education
- Promote Gener Equality and empower women.
- Reduce child mortality
- Improve maternal health
- Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases.
- Ensure environmental sustainability
- Developed a global partnership for development.
Define Sustainable Prosperity
Practicing stewardship of the environment and resources so that generations are able to achieve prosperity.
Define Sustainable Development
Development that meets people’s needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Measures Of Prosperity
Gross Domestic Production(GDP) measures the income from the reproduction of goods and services in a country’s population.
GDP is
-An indicator of income
-Closely tied to standard of living
The Human Development Index(HDI) is a measurement created by the UN to access the quality of life.
HDI is a calculation based on 3 categories.
Longevity: life expectancy
Knowledge: school enrollment and adult literacy.
Standard of Living: GDP per person
HDI was created to measure the quality of life beyond just GDP(Kuwait had a high GDP and low levels of literacy).
A high HDI score does not mean prosperity for everyone.
Other Measures Of Prosperity
Gross National Happiness Index(GNH): developed by the King of Bhutan, GNH measures prosperity based on Buddhist spiritual values rather than economic growth-inner happiness rather than consumer growth.
GNH measures happiness based on psychological wellbeing, health, education, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience living standards.
The Knowledge-Economy
Businesses and individuals who research education, new ideas and information technologies for practical purposes. Knowledge-based industries include those that create high-tech products for businesses: microsystem tech, computer software and biotech.
The knowledge economy helps us to develop more sustainable practices that allow for worldwide prosperity.
Biotechnicians have created a genetically engineered form of insulin that can be produced more quickly and cheaply than older versions.
-At the same time, the knowledge economy forced less developed countries to keep up.
