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Issue Description
As production and consumption levels continue to rise and the world population grows, an increasing amount of pressure is placed on our resources and natural environment. Can we achieve environmental sustainability and preserve the resources needed for future generations? This book explores the issues surrounding sustainability.
The information comes from a variety of sources, including government reports and statistics, newspapers and magazine articles, surveys and polls, academic research and literature from charities and lobby groups; articles have been tailored to an 11 to 14 age group. Additionally, at the end of each chapter are two pages of activities relating to the articles and issues raised in that chapter.
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Key Facts
- The increasing pressure we put on resources and environmental systems such as water, land and air cannot go on for ever. Especially as the world's population continues to increase and we already see a world where over a billion people live on less than a dollar a day. (page 1)
- In our world today around 2.5 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation and some 1.2 billion people do not have access to an improved source of water. (pages 2-3)
- Sustainability is a simple idea. It is based on the recognition that when resources are consumed faster than they are produced or renewed, the resource is reduced and eventually used up. (page 7)
- New figures show that Britain is officially the 'dustbin of Europe' as it dumps more household waste into landfill than any other country in the European Union. (page 16)
- With only 8% of the world's ancient forests currently under strict protection, huge areas are still at risk from destructive logging. (pages 20-21)
- The major threat to clean air is now posed by traffic emissions. (page 24)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One: Defining Sustainability
What is sustainable development?, Environmental sustainability, Fast facts: environmental sustainability, Sustainable consumption and production, What are natural resources?, Ecological footprint, Sustainable construction, Activities.
Chapter Two: Sustainability Challenges
Environmental migration, Sustaining life on earth, Your natural heritage: why it matters, Intrusion, Britain: the 'dustbin of Europe', Better buys: what fish can I eat?, Agricultural land use, What is organic?, Forests, Conservation, Air pollution, 2.6 billion wait in line for toilets, Activities.