Sustainable development
The connection between environmental damage and population growth is easy to see and understand. The higher the population, the greater demand for food, housing and fuel.
Human numbers and activities has a negative impact on the Earth’s atmosphere due to the release of pollution that causes acid rain, the depletion of the ozone layer and smog. All of these have impacts on the health of human beings, and on ecosystems. Population growth is directly related to this because it is largely a result of emissions from cars and industrial plants
Carbon emissions are also linked to global warming and climate change and these are the greatest environmental challenges facing the world today. Rising global temperatures will bring changes in weather patterns, rising sea levels and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
It is difficult to manage the world’s natural resources when there are conflicting demands upon them but to make sure we don’t destroy the planet for future generations there are a number of ways in which we can help limit the damage caused by humans to the environment:
Renewable resources can be used instead of finite resources.
Sustainable development. Sustainable development is the achievement of continued economic and social development without expense to the environment and natural resources. The quality of future human activity and development is increasingly seen as being dependent on maintaining this balance.
While forests all over the world have been destroyed for redevelopment, farming, wood and fossil fuels, governments are now discouraging bad forestry by preventing illegal logging, creating a demand for sustainable products and reducing the need for large scale deforestation by `Debt for Nature’ swaps – in return for increased commitment to conservation projects, governments and conservation organisations can buy back some of the countries’ debt.
Malaysia is an example to other countries involved in the sustainable development issue as it exports one third of the world's hardwoods but also has strict government controls which include restrictions on trees being felled (they have to be of a certain age and height) and companies must replant as many trees as they remove.
Limiting the amount of carbon emissions generated through industrial and domestic use. Shipping remains by far the most energy efficient form of transport we have in the world. Research undertaken by the UK government has demonstrated that energy consumption of road transport by truck lies in the range 0.7 – 1.2 Mega joules/tonne-km. By comparison the consumption of a medium size container ship (1,226TEU) at 18.5 knots is about 0.12 Mj/tonne km. Shipping also has the additional advantage of being subject to fewer capacity constraints.
Recycling – making recycled products often uses less energy than making new ones, because you need fewer raw materials.
Key Stage 3 Ecosystems- How ecosystems work; deserts, tropical rainforests; how humans have changed ecosystems.