DOCSLIB.ORG

Sourcebook on Sustainable Development

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sourcebook on Sustainable Development SOURCEBOO K ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMEN T I N T E R N A T I O N A L I N S T I T U T E FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMEN T INSTITUT INTERNATIONAL IS DU DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE IIDD SOURCEBOO K ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMEN T INTERNATIONAL INSTITUT E F OR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMEN T I N S T I T U T I N T E R N A T I O N A L IISD DU DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE IIDD Copyright © 1992 International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD ) Sections of this paper may be reproduced wit h acknowledgement to the International Institute for Sustainable Development . Trademarks Throughout this book, many trademarked names are used . Rather than put a trademark symbol in every occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in a n editorial fashion, and for information purposes, with n o intention of infringement of the trademark. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Dat a Main entry under title : Sourcebook on Sustainable Developmen t 1st ed. - - Includes bibliographical references . ISBN 1-895536-04- 9 1. Environmental policy - Directories . 2. Environmental policy - Bibliography. 3. Environmental policy - Data bases . 4. Environmental policy-Audio-visual aids . I. International Institute for Sustainabl e Development . HC79, E5s68 1992 333 .7'15 C92-098089- 9 This book is printed on paper with 100% recycled content , including 15% post-consumer fibre, using vegetable-based inks . Printed and bound in Canada. Published and distributed by : International Institute for Sustainable Development 161 Portage Avenue East - 6th Floo r Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B OY4 Phone : (204) 958-770 0 Fax : (204) 958-7710 S O U R C E B O O K O N S U S T A I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T V C O N T E N T S Contents Preface I Environment and Natural Resources 44 • Biological Diversity 44 • Environment_ 44 Introduction 3 • Energy and Global Climate Change 45 Acknowledgements 4 • Food and Agriculture _ 46 Organization of the • Forests and Water 47 Sourcebook 5 • Oceans and Coastal Areas 48 Investment for Sustainable Development 48 Organizations 7 • Military 48 • Technology and Training 48 • Credit, Debt and Publications 33 Structural Adjustment 48 Contents 34 • Business 49 Information on • Development Assistance 50 Sustainable Development 3 5 Regional and Country Reports : • Genera l 35 A Sampling of Available Studies 50 • Guidebooks _38 • General Sources 50 Economy and Ecology 38 • Africa 50 • Asia 5 1 Law and Public Policy 41 •Europe 5 I Social and Community Issue s • Latin America and and Solutions 41 the Caribbean 52 • Ethics, Spirituality and Religion 41 • North America 52 • Population and Carrying Capacity 41 • South Pacific and Australia 53 • Human Settlements 4 2 • Poverty and Well-Being of People 4 2 • Community and Peoples' Participation 43 Audio-Visual 55 • Education and Sustainable Livelihoods 4 3 • Women and Youth 43 International Productions 56 Regional/National Productions 59 Cable Television 60 Independent Producers 61 I N T E R N A T I O N A L I N S T I T U T E F O R S U S T A I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T Computer Networks Appendixe s and Conferencing Systems 1 What is Computer Communications? 9 Online Databases 63 2 Glossary 94 Computer Networks and 3 APC Member Networks 9 9 Conferencing Systems 65 4 APC-Affiliated Networks 10 2 n APC Networks 6 5 5 List of APC Conferences Directly ► Association for Related to Sustainable Development 10 6 Progressive Communications 65 6 Networks Using TCN /Electronic Village 11 6 APC Relate d ► 7 GeoNet Databases Relevant Computer Networking Initiatives 67 to Sustainable Development 11 9 Other APC-affiliated Networks 6 9 ► 8 Internet Mailing Lists Related to ► NGONET _ 69 Sustainable Development 1 2 ► United Nations Conference on 9 List of Internet Information Services 12 5 Environment and 10 BITNET Mailing Lists Related t o Development (UNCED) 70 Sustainable Development 12 6 n TCN/Electronic Village 70 11 UUCP Mailing Lists 12 8 1 Telecommunications 12 Usenet Newsgroups 129 Cooperative Network 70 13 CompuServe 13 0 n GeoNet 7I 14 Computer Conference Samples 13 2 Poptel/GeoNet 7 1 n The Internet 73 DDN Network Information Centre 73 n BITNET 74 EDUCOM Networking Activities 7 4 n UUCP/UseNet 7 5 n CompuServe Information Services 7 7 Online Databases 7 9 ► IDRC Development Database Service _8 1 Dialog Information Services Inc . 8 2 ► 1 Other Database Sources or Suppliers 8 9 1 Other Sources of Information 89 S O U R C E B O O K O N S U S T A I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T Y P R E F A C E Preface At IISD we frequently hear the complaint that there is both a wealth and a dearth of information about sustainable development — no shortage o f writing on the subject, but difficulty in knowing what to read and where t o find it. The topic is complex, global, and still not firmly categorized in the minds of librarians, booksellers, and audio-visual distributors. This first edition of Sourcebook on Sustainable Development attempts to sor t through this bounty and give the reader a useable "window" on both the practical and intellectual side of sustainable development . We found three trends while assembling our directory . While the better known international institutions concerned with th e environment, development, and human welfare are issuing an importan t body of work on sustainable development, another entire outlook on th e subject is flowing upwards from grassroots organizations and writers i n both the industrialized and the developing world . This valuabl e information is not always readily available, and indeed, this book to som e extent reflects that scarcity. Secondly, computer networking has become an extremely importan t means of communicating opinions, news, and debate on sustainabl e development. Anyone researching the subject would be remiss not to ta p into the electronic web of knowledge that now encircles the world . Writing never destined to be published in the conventional sense resides on dat a bases, bulletin boards, and in the computers of individuals who might no t otherwise have an opportunity to "speak " to the rest of the world . And finally, we, realize that publishing references on sustainabl e development is like supervising a garden planted by someone else . The field is both extraordinarily productive and frustratingly unpredictable . Based on our own work at IISD, we gathered obvious sources and som e not so obvious, with the understanding that much more would follo w after the Sourcebook was printed, bound, and circulated, especially in th e period following the Earth Summit . It is our expectation that the project can be a long-term collaboration ; an evolving directory, on paper and in electronic format, to be augmented with the advice of those in various parts of the world who wish to shar e sources available on sustainable development. We hope readers will consider contributing materials and suggestions for future editions . Arthur J . Hanson President and CEO International Institute for Sustainable Development I N T E R N A T I O N A L I N S T I T U T E F O R S U S T A I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T 2 S O U R C E B O O K O N S U S T A I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T ♦ I N T R O D U C T I O N Introduction Sustainable development has become a topic of great interest , increasingly appearing in writings and audio-visual productions abou t the environment, health and human welfare, development, and relations between the developed and developing worlds. References t o new work on these subjects are entering catalogues and bibliographies at a rate that leads one to believe the world is trying to make up for los t time. But while various environmental sourcebooks have appeared, n o one has yet attempted a directory of resources on sustainable development. This book is apparently the first . Sustainable development is still more of an intention than a reality — a term that is being defined by a vast array of competing interests wit h differing notions of both sustainability and development. As defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development in Our Common Future, sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability offuture generations to meet their own needs. It rests on three pillars : environmental planning and management , / economic development, and / the well-being of people . Moving toward sustainable development—adding clarity to it s emerging definition—requires an understanding of the root causes o f unsustainable development. It requires reading, watching, and communicating with those who are working on the core issues . It requires that we look well beyond the elements of the gree n phenomenon, as seen through western eyes, to the long-term implications of a world heading rapidly beyond its carrying capacity , and in particular to needs within developing countries . It is the goal of IISD to engage people of all backgrounds from acros s the world to produce and share information that will help chang e attitudes and modify behaviour . Sourcebook on Sustainable Development is a step in that direction . It identifies many of the key sources of information on sustainable development, including organizations, publications, audio-visual materials and computerize d networks and information services .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Approaches to a Political Economy of Environment the Environmental
    IGNACY SACHS Approaches to a political economy of environment The environmental revolution constitutes a challenge to the social sciences in general1, and to economic theory in particular. Up to now, economists failed to respond to it, and pioneering books such as Kapp's Social costs of private enterprise did not generate the discussion they deserved2. Coddington goes as far as to plead guilty for the failure of the economists as a profession, to integrate a major characteristic of recent technological progress into their theoretical thinking: the provision of opportunities for shifting costs from the producer onto society. According to him, the main body of economic thought is ill-adapted to coming to terms with the ecological viewpoint and, therefore, "it may even be the case that the greatest service economists can render posterity is to remain silent" 3. This paper will take a slightly less pessimistic view. It will be argued that a political economy of environment, as distinct from an economics of environ- ment might be constructed, provided we recognize the need for far-reaching revisions of large chunks of theory. For obvious reasons, it cannot be done in one paper, not at this juncture. Our aim is much less ambitious: to identify some of the problem-areas and to suggest a few priorities for further study. Before we turn, however, to this task, it may prove useful to clear the ground by attempting a brief classification of the main ideological trends discernible in environmental discussions. Social science production is never quite free from ideological bias and this is particularly true with respect to writings on envi- 1.
    [Show full text]
  • A Slow Violence Perspective on the West Bank's Deteriorating
    ENVIRONMENTALISM OF THE OCCUPIED A slow violence perspective on the West International Master’s Programme in Human Bank’s deteriorating agricultural sector, Ecology and an overview of Palestinian Human Ecology Division agro-resistance in the struggle towards Department of Human Geography food sovereignty Faculty of Social Sciences Lund University Author: JL Pedersen Supervisor: Andreas Malm 21 May 2018 Lund University Table of Contents: ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................... 4 ABBREVIATIONS: ...................................................................................................................... 4 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 5 1.1 SITUATING PALESTINE AND THE RESEARCH TOPIC .............................................................. 5 1.2 AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ......................................................................................... 7 1.3 THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF OCCUPATION ......................................................................... 8 1.4 DISPOSITION ....................................................................................................................... 9 2. CONTEXT .........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Responding to Robert Macfarlane's 'Generation Anthropocene'
    Contemporary Studies Network Roundtable : Responding to Robert Macfarlane’s ‘Generation Anthropocene’ Sykes, R, Keeble, A, Cordle, D, Scott, JE, De Cristofaro, D, KIng, D, Rowcroft, A and Srivastava, N 10.16995/olh.153 Title Contemporary Studies Network Roundtable : Responding to Robert Macfarlane’s ‘Generation Anthropocene’ Authors Sykes, R, Keeble, A, Cordle, D, Scott, JE, De Cristofaro, D, KIng, D, Rowcroft, A and Srivastava, N Type Article URL This version is available at: http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/41547/ Published Date 2017 USIR is a digital collection of the research output of the University of Salford. Where copyright permits, full text material held in the repository is made freely available online and can be read, downloaded and copied for non-commercial private study or research purposes. Please check the manuscript for any further copyright restrictions. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. Roundtable How to Cite: Sykes, R et al 2017 Contemporary Studies Network Roundtable: Responding to Robert Macfarlane’s ‘Generation Anthropocene’. Open Library of Humanities, 3(1): 5, pp. 1–46, DOI: http://doi.org/ 10.16995/olh.153 Published: 22 February 2017 Peer Review: This article has been peer reviewed through the double-blind process of Open Library of Humanities, which is a journal published by the Open Library of Humanities. Copyright: © 2017 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distri- bution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
    [Show full text]
  • The Integration of 18Th and 19Th Century Subsistence Farming Practices Into the Planning and X-Zoning Laws of the City and County of Baltimore Clayton A
    James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Masters Theses The Graduate School Fall 2013 The integration of 18th and 19th century subsistence farming practices into the planning and x-zoning laws of the city and county of Baltimore Clayton A. Hayes James Madison University Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019 Part of the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Hayes, Clayton A., "The integration of 18th and 19th century subsistence farming practices into the planning and x-zoning laws of the city and county of Baltimore" (2013). Masters Theses. 231. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/231 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Integration of 18th and 19th Century Subsistence Farming Practices into the Planning and Zoning Laws of the City and County of Baltimore Clayton Hayes A Thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science ISAT MALTA December, 2013 Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the University of Malta and James Madison University for providing me the opportunity to earn a collaborative International Master’s Degree in ISAT and SERM. To all of my professors and administrators, thank you for providing me the knowledge applicable to my dissertation/thesis as well as future endeavors.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Protection in the Information Age
    ARTICLES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN THE INFORMATION AGE DANIEL C. ESTy* Information gaps and uncertaintieslie at the heart of many persistentpollution and natural resource management problems. This article develops a taxonomy of these gaps and argues that the emerging technologies of the Information Age will create new gap-filling options and thus expand the range of environmental protection strategies. Remote sensing technologies, modern telecommunications systems, the Internet, and computers all promise to make it much easier to identify harms, track pollution flows and resource consumption, and measure the resulting impacts. These developments will make possible a new structure of institutionalresponses to environmental problems including a more robust market in environmental prop- erty rights, expanded use of economic incentives and market-based regulatorystrat- egies, improved command-and-control regulation, and redefined social norms of environmental stewardship. Likewise, the degree to which policies are designed to promote information generation will determine whether and how quickly new insti- tutional approaches emerge. While some potential downsides to Information Age environmental protection remain, the promise of a more refined, individually tai- lored, and precise approach to pollution control and natural resourcemanagement looks to be significant. INTRODUCTION ................................................. 117 I. DEFINING THE ROLE OF INFORMATION IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL REALM ............................... 121 A. Information
    [Show full text]
  • Health and the Urban Environment: Revolutions Revisited N Gordon Mcgranahan
    MAY 2009 Health and the urban environment: revolutions revisited n GOrdON McGRANAHAN From cholera pandemics to smog episodes, urban development driven by narrow economic interests has shown itself to be a serious threat to human health and wellbeing. Past revolutions “ in sanitation and pollution control demonstrate that social movements and governance reforms can transform an urban health penalty into a health advantage. But many environmental problems have been displaced over time and space, and never truly resolved. Health concerns need once again to drive an environmental agenda – but this time it must be sustainable over the long haul, and globally equitable. With the global economic crisis raising the ante, what’s needed is no less than a revolution in environmental justice that puts health, not economics, at the core of its values. Revolutions in public health Unfortunately, just as the sanitary revolution failed For much of the 19th century, deteriorating to address ambient pollution, the pollution revolution” environmental health conditions accompanied did not address the global environmental burdens of urbanisation and economic growth. In England, where economic growth and urbanisation. Climate change, economic growth was most rapid, there is evidence coupled with recent food and oil price volatility, heralds a that urban mortality rates rose – until people acted in a new global crisis, demanding a sustainability revolution. concerted fashion to improve urban living and working An optimist views the success of the past revolutions conditions. A sanitary revolution was at the centre of as evidence that the sustainability revolution will be the ensuing transformation. By the end of the century relatively unproblematic, and perhaps even result from urban affluence had become a means to improve public economic growth itself.
    [Show full text]
  • The Edges of Environmental History Honouring Jane Carruthers
    Perspectives The Edges of Environmental History Honouring Jane Carruthers Edited by CHRISTOF MAUCH LIBBY ROBIN 2014 / 1 RCC Perspectives The Edges of Environmental History Honouring Jane Carruthers Edited by Christof Mauch Libby Robin 2014 / 1 2 RCC Perspectives Contents Prologue 5 Jane Carruthers and International Environmental History Christof Mauch and Libby Robin 9 Environmental History with an African Edge Jane Carruthers Part 1: Thinking with Animals 19 How Wild is Wild? Harriet Ritvo 25 Thinking with Birds Tom Dunlap 31 Animal Pasts, Humanised Futures: Living with Big Wild Animals in an Emerging Economy Mahesh Rangarajan Interlude 37 The Beast of the Forest Tom Griffiths Part 2: Inside and Out Wildlife Reserves 47 National Parks as Cosmopolitics Bernhard Gißibl 53 Seeing the National Park from Outside It: On an African Epistemology of Nature Clapperton Mavhunga 61 On Being Edgy: The Potential of Parklands and Justice in the Global South Emily Wakild 3 Interlude 69 Mandy Martin’s Artistic Explorations Jane Carruthers Part 3: Knowing Nature 75 Bio-invasions, Biodiversity, and Biocultural Diversity: Some Problems with These Concepts for Historians William Beinart 81 The Biopolitics of the Border Etienne Benson 87 Adventures in Gondwana: Science in the South Saul Dubow 93 Biography and Scientific Endeavour Libby Robin Interlude 101 How to Read a Bridge Rob Nixon Part 4: Environmental Injustice and the Promise of History 113 Constructing and De-constructing Communities: Tales of Urban Injustice and Resistance in Brazil and South Africa Lise Sedrez 117 Dangerous Territory: The Contested Space Between Conservation and Justice Bron Taylor 123 History and Audacity: Talking to Conservation Science Catherine A.
    [Show full text]
  • The British Library
    THE BRITISH LIBRARY CONSERVING AMERICA: A Bibliographical Guide to Printed Material in the British Library Relating to American Environmental History and Thought By David J. Whittaker THE ECCLES CENTRE FOR AMERICAN STUDIES OTHER GUIDES TO THE BRITISH LIBRARY’S NORTH AMERICAN COLLECTIONS PUBLISHED BY THE ECCLES CENTRE An Era of Change: Contemporary US-UK-West European Relations American Slavery: Pre-1866 Imprints Mormon Americana United States Government Policies Toward Native Americans, 1787-1990 United States and Canadian Newspaper Holdings in the British Library Newspaper Library Mining the American West Conserving America Imagining the West The Harlem Renaissance CONTENTS PAGE 1. Bibliographical and Historiographical Studies 2. Source Collections and Reference Works 3. Attitudes Toward Nature 4. American Environmental History 5. Wildlife and Animal Rights 6. Water, Soil and Minerals 7. Parks and Public Land 8. Forests 9. Regional Studies 10. Biographical Studies 11. Environmental Ethics 12. Comparative Studies (Selected) 13. A Chronology of Major Legislation and Events in American Environmental History PREFACE The image of America as a land of unlimited resources exerted a strong influence on her explorers and settlers. It has been argued that this great economic abundance has helped shape the American character. The harvesting of the rich soils, forest, animal and mineral wealth have surely given Americans a lifestyle envied the world over. But these have also helped to create a sense of wastefulness, materialism, gluttony, and environmental pollution. And some argue that their exploration has fostered economic and social inequality. One of the fascinating aspects of American history is the emergence of an environmental movement. From the game and forest cutting restrictions of colonial America, to the growing environmental conscientiousness in the nineteenth century to the growing institutional responses to these problems in the twentieth century, the story is as filled with significance for the present and the future.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhist-Led Rural Community Rebuilding in the Republic of Korea from the Indra’S Net Perspective
    sustainability Article Buddhist-Led Rural Community Rebuilding in the Republic of Korea from the Indra’s Net Perspective Jungho Suh Geography, Environment and Population, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia; [email protected] Abstract: This paper zeros in on Buddhist-led community rebuilding with a special reference to Sannae District in Namwon, Jeonbuk Province in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Until the 1990s, the district witnessed the traditional sense of community rapidly disappearing along with tidal rural-urban migration and agricultural industrialisation. Since the late 1990s, Silsang-sa, an about 1200-year-old Buddhist monastery located in the rural district, has strived to help revitalise the rural community. Reverend Tobop,˘ the head monk of the monastery, brought attention to the overarching Buddhist doctrines of ‘dependent arising’ and ‘Indra’s Net’ that every phenomenon arises only in relation to others. To start with, in 1998 Reverend Tobop˘ set up an organic agriculture training camp on Silsang-sa Farm for prospective rural migrants. In 2001, he established Silsang-sa Small School, which is an alternative secondary school with Buddhist ecology and economics included in the curriculum. Owing to increasing in-migration, Sannae District has gradually evolved into a socially and economically vibrant and sustainable community in which a variety of social clubs and commercial cooperatives have burgeoned. Keywords: rural sustainability; Buddhist ecology; Silsang-sa; dependent arising; Indra’s Net Citation: Suh, J. Buddhist-Led Rural Community Rebuilding in the Republic of Korea from the Indra’s 1. Introduction Net Perspective. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9328. https://doi.org/10.3390/ Localism has been recognised as an alternative approach to sustainable development.
    [Show full text]
  • Portrait of a Slow Revolution Toward Environmental Sustainability Susan E
    CHAPTER ONE Portrait of a Slow Revolution Toward Environmental Sustainability Susan E. Jackson Deep-rooted respect and reverence toward the natural environ- ment is evident in many religions and ancient cultural traditions worldwide (see Dudley, Higgins-Zogib, & Mansourian, 2005). As early as the 13th century, landscapes such as Mongolia’s Bogd Khan Uul Strictly Protected Area, which is perhaps the world’s oldest national park, have been revered as holy and protected from the influence of human activity. Yet concerns about the relationship between industrial activity and environmental degra- dation are fairly recent. Such concerns began to draw attention from scholars and philosophers during the age of enlightenment, and grew more salient as the Industrial Revolution changed where and how people lived. As large cities became established, political economists began arguing over the question of how much popu- lation growth could be supported through increasing economic development. By the time the world’s human population reached one billion people in approximately 1820, Thomas Walter Malthus had written several persuasive and widely ready essays questioning the widely held assumption that Earth’s resources were sufficient to support continuing population growth. As early as the 1850s, the destruction of California’s virgin forests led philosopher and poet James Russell Longfellow to call for a society dedicated to 3 Jackson_7202_c01_main.indd 3 3/20/2012 7:23:40 PM 4 Managing Human Resources for Environmental Sustainability protecting trees. Also during this era, Henry David Thoreau experimented with living in near isolation in rural surroundings near Walden Pond and wrote passionately about the dehuman- izing influence of industrialization and the spiritual value of living close to nature.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Population Growth: Impacts on Environment, Human Health Welfare
    Human population growth: impacts on environment, human health welfare Manish Kanti Biswas 1 POPULATION GROWTH, VARIATION AMONG NATIONS Our global human population, 6 billion at present, will cross the 7 billion mark by 2015. The needs of this huge number of human beings cannot be supported by the Earth’s natural resources, without degrading the quality of hu- man life. In the near future, fossil fuel from oil fields will run dry. It will be impossible to meet the demands for food from existing agro systems. Pastures will be overgrazed by domestic animals and industrial growth will create ever- greater problems due to pollution of soil, water and air. Seas will not have enough fish. Larger ozone holes will develop due to the discharge of industrial chemicals into the atmosphere, which will affect human health. Global warming due to industrial gases will lead to a rise in sea levels and flood all low-lying areas, submerging coastal agriculture as well as towns and cities. Water ‘famines’ due to the depletion of fresh water, will create unrest and eventually make countries go to war. The control over regional biological diversity, which is vital for producing new medicinal and industrial products, will lead to grave economic conflicts between biotechnologically advanced nations and the biorich countries. Degradation of ecosystems will lead to extinction of thousands of species, de- stabilizing natural ecosystems of great value. These are only some of the environmental problems related to an increasing human population and more intensive use of resources that we are likely to face in future. These effects can be averted by creating a mass environmental awareness movement that will bring about a change in people’s way of life.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Changes and the Environment
    Technological impact per Environmental Population (P) x x unit of consumption (T) = impact of population (I) Figure 1-14 Connections: simplified model of how three factors-number of people, affluence, and technology-affect the environmental impact of the population in developing countries (top) and devel- oped countries (bottom). the same lifetime family resource consumption level as 2 Evidence from fossils and studies of ancient cultures children in a typical U.S. family. suggest that the current form of our species, Homo Some forms of technology, such as polluting facto- sapiens sapiens, has walked the earth for perhaps ries and motor vehicles and energy-wasting devices, 90,000-195,000 years-less than an eye-blink in the increase environmental impact by raising the T factor earth's 3.7 billion years of life. in the equation. Other technologies, such as pollution Until about 12,000 years ago, we were mostly control and prevention, solar cells, and energy-saving hunter-gatherers who typically lived in small groups devices, lower environmental impact by decreasing and moved as needed to find enough food for the T factor. In other words, some forms of technology . survival. Since then, three major cultural changes have are environmentally harmful and some are environmen- occurred. The agricultural revolution, which began tally beneficial. 10,000-12,000 years ago, allowed people to settle in vil- lages and raise crops and domesticated animals. ~ RESEARCH FRONTIER Finding ways to reduce over- Next the industrial-medical revolution, which began consumption about 275 years ago, led to a shift from rural villages and animal-powered agriculture to an urban society •.
    [Show full text]