The Impact Of Sustainable Development On The Environment

In order to preserve our resources, environmentalists use the concept of sustainable development-sustainable development is a development that satisfies our current needs without compromising the future availability of natural resources, or our future quality of life. Our consumption rates have risen significantly higher; according to the World Watch Institute, and their article The State of Consumption Today, the rate has gone up thirty-five percent, and we are now ecologically at risk. Nevertheless, who can we blame but

The rapidly increasing amount of carbon dioxide may be one of the factors that cause climate change. As Hillman states, “Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are increasing, and have done so since the Industrial Revolution.” An atmospheric CO2 concentration, research shows that there is a dramatic increase from 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1750 to 373 ppm in 2002, a rise of the third. Furthermore, the linear chart demonstrated the trend of annual global CO2

Sustainability is currently a global concern. In recent years scientists have publicised theories that the Earth will not be able to cope with the exponential growth of pollution and resource consumption.

“Many current discussions about sustainability focus on the ways in which human activity...can be maintained in the future without exhausting all of our current resources… there has been a close correlation between the growth of human society and environmental degradation - as communities grow, the environment often declines” (603).

Climate change or colloquially known as global warming, now pose a new threat to civilization as the levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) are soaring to new levels. The most significant contributor to greenhouse gasses would be Carbon Dioxide (Co2). The levels of Carbon Dioxide (Co2) gas have risen to levels civilization has not seen before. As such, the effects of these levels are not known to civilization as data gathered from the ice cores drilled in the Antarctica only shows data up to 650,000 years ago. However we can conclude that present CO2 concentrations are higher compared to any time in the last 650,000 years (IPCC 2007). Current carbon dioxide concentrations are hovering around 389 parts per million (ppm) as of September 2011,

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a type of odorless and colorless gas that can be either manmade or naturally made. Carbon dioxide is a vital greenhouse gas; in moderation. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of carbon dioxide has increased significantly. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the air is leading to global warming, ocean acidification and a multitude of many problems. In a report released from NASA, the scientist state that “that human-made carbon dioxide (CO2) continues to increase above levels not seen in hundreds of thousands of years: currently, about half of the carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels remains in the atmosphere and is not absorbed by vegetation and the oceans”. The current assessment of carbon dioxide in the air is 402 parts per million (ppm). One PPM is equivalent to one microgram/one kilogram (0.6 of a mile). Scientist claims that it needs to be brought down to 350 ppm to even start

The ideas continued to develop and by the 1970s there was a realization that “progress” had provided an excuse for “the reign of the free market, for colonial exploitation of non-Western societies, and for ravaging the biosphere”. (Du Pisani, 2007) In 1983 the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) addressed these issues and four years later they released The Brundtland Report. It centres around the interests and needs of humankind and argues for global equity for future generations by encouraging economic growth in poorer nations. It also argues that social equity, economic growth and environmental maintenance are all possible and core elements of the practice of SD. It also offers a definition of SD that has achieved widespread recognition.

Important advantages of Resources on the Earth are limited.That the way we behave now does not make life difficult or impossible for future generations.To achieve sustainable development,we need to carefully consider the need for economic development,where standards of living improve

The environment has been put in a dangerous position of not having sufficient amount of resources for current residents and the future generations that are to come. Many things such as personal needs put the environment in this position, but most of time we use these products because they are needed. Earth has become reliant on the resources, therefore we use up our resources way too fast. Our current obstacle to obtaining sustainability is we don't manage our resources, and they are used too often when there is not enough to begin with. Individually we are responsible for ourselves and the actions that are used to take care of the environment. To reach sustainability, there needs to be a limit of how much is used.

Values higher than today have occurred only millions of years ago due to massive forcing acting at a global scale, such as the immense and ‘sudden’ (from a geological perspective) release of methane-clathrates of 55 million years ago which drove CO2 concentrations up to 2000 ppm (marking the onset of an era, the Eocene period). According to most observations and climate models available today, current concentrations cannot be justified by natural causes alone without considering human influence. The annual average concentration growth rate of CO2 was larger during the last decade (1, 9 ppm) than it has been since 1960, when continuous direct atmospheric measurements begun (1, 4 ppm per year, although with year-to-year variability). Specifically,

Carbon dioxide is a molecule comprised of one carbon and two oxygens, and is an essential component of photosynthesis. However, currently, it is the most commonly emitted greenhouse gas. In the year 2013, carbon dioxide made up the vast majority of all greenhouse gasses emitted by the United States in total. In the last century, human activity has altered the carbon cycle in such a way that there’s now a greater amount of carbon dioxide than naturally should be present in Earth’s atmosphere. This leads to an increase in global temperature, ocean acidification, and a decrease in the productivity of photosynthesis.

     Carbon Dioxide plays a key role in the atmosphere. This gas has properties that allow it to sustain and hold in heat, which in turn warms the planet (EIA, 2004). Carbon, the primary component of carbon dioxide; is also the essential molecule for life and is the most basic building block found in all organic compounds. Human activities been blamed for the disruption of the earth’s natural carbon cycles and according to some studies, carbon is being added to the atmosphere faster than the natural processes that sequestrate it. The massive carbon sinks that naturally regulated and fixated excess carbon dioxide have been destroyed as humans have deforested ancient forests for the

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere. • Since pre-industrial times, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased from about 280 parts per million (ppm) to over 380 ppm. Current concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are unprecedented in at least the last 650,000 years, based on records from gas bubbles trapped in polar ice. • Independent measurements demonstrate that the increased CO2 in the atmosphere comes

Environmental issues have been a cause of a lot of debate in the recent past. Governments and nongovernmental organizations have been in constant consultations on how to help protect the environment. Apparently, as a result of man’s many actions, the natural environment is getting torn apart so quickly that the coming generations will not enjoy this kind of environment, unless a

The concept of sustainable development has become a major topic among intellectuals from various fields. Sustainable development has gone through various changes in its definitions and at present does not have a commonly accepted definition. The origination of the concept of sustainable development is debatable. In 1974 at a conference on Science and Technology for Human Development by the World Council of Churches the concept of a “sustainable society” is believed to have been first noted. This early concept focused on equitable distribution of scarce resources and the need for democratic decision making. In 1980 the currently used term of sustainable development emerged in the