Sustainable Consumption

Question 1

What is sustainable consumption?

Answer 1

Sustainable consumption is the use of goods and services to satisfy basic human needs while reducing harmful effects on the environment and natural resources ensuring that future generations’ needs will also be met.

Question 2

What does it mean to live sustainably?

Answer 2

Living sustainably means accepting a duty to seek harmony with other people and with nature. It means sharing with each other and caring for the Earth.

Question 3

How should humanity interact with nature?

Answer 3

Humanity should take no more from nature than nature can replenish. This means adopting lifestyles that respect nature’s production limits

Question 4

How does human consumption affect the economy of a country?

Answer 4

Consume goods and services economy grows as more money changing hands.

Question 5

What is the environmental impact of consumption and utilising resources?

Answer 5

Creating products that humans consume utilises natural resources and at the moment we are using resources at an unsustainable rate. This damages the environment and all the other creatures that rely on these resources to survive.

Question 6

List 4 methods of practising sustainable consumption

Answer 6

1. doing more and better with less; (car-pooling)
2. using renewable energy sources
3. using alternate fuel services (bio-fuel)
4. natural/environmentally friendly cleaning products

Question 7

What are fossil fuels and how are they damaging our environment?

Answer 7

• a natural fuel formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms
• create harmful emissions when utilised (emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere)
• more consumption = more pollution

Question 8

Define subsistence farming

Answer 8

Subsistence farming is farming that provides only for the farmer’s needs without surplus for the market.

Question 9

What is the impact of subsistence farming on the natural environment?

Answer 9

Clearing of forests and woodlands to provide land for subsistence farming which can lead to environmental damage e.g. soil erosion, drier climates and higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Question 10

At what expense does consumption drive a strong economy?

Answer 10

• degrades environment
• depletes natural resources
• hampers the ability of future generations to provide for their basic needs

Question 11

How do we make the change?

Answer 11

• Educate consumers and change consumption and behavioural patterns.
• Ethical issues – sustainable farming how can we deny a farmer land to feed his family?
• Lack of availability of sustainable products – manufacturers need to be “forced” to consider the environment and ask how they can make their products more sustainable and environmentally friendly e.g. bio-degradable products, sustainable energy supply using wind power / solar energy but currently insufficient to meet the needs of the growing population.

Question 12

Suggest how we can do more and better with less

Answer 12

• grow your own vegetables
• carpool
• reuse bathwater for watering plants
• cut down on energy consumption
• recycle
• be mindful of water usage
• buy local products

Question 13

Define carbon footprint

Answer 13

The amount of greenhouse gases produced by our actions

Question 14

What are the three pillars of sustainability?

Answer 14

• social sustainability
• environmental sustainability
• economic sustainability

Question 15

What does sustainability mean?

Answer 15

Sustainability means meeting the ecological, social and economic needs of the present without endangering resource availability for future generations