Chapter 1, Problem 1CR

To determine

Author’s vision of a more sustainable world, which could be attained by 2065.

Answer to Problem 1CR

The author imagines that by 2065 the loss of species, land degradation, water pollution, air pollution, population growth, and use of non-renewable energy resources would have considerably reduced and people would have started depending on more renewable energy resources and would have begun following more sustainable lifestyles.

Explanation of Solution

The author noticed that by 2018 a small but increasing percentage of people had started adopting lifestyles that are more environmentally sustainable. The author imagines that if the pace toward such an environment-friendly life continues, then, by 2065, species loss and land degradation would have reduced, the oceans, atmosphere, rivers, and lakes would be much cleaner, and about 80 percent of the solid wastes would be recycled or reused, and the wastage of energy could be reduced to half.

The considerable atmospheric warming and the subsequent climatic fluctuation that was predicted by several scientists in 1990s would have happened by 2050. Nevertheless, the risk of further climatic fluctuations and water and air pollution would have started to reduce due to highly declined energy wastage and the slow shift in human use of energy resources from coal and oil to eco-friendly and pollution-free energy from wind, Sun, moving water, and other non-conventional resources.

The author expects the farmers producing most of the global food to have shifted to more sustainable agricultural practices that aided in water conservation and in the protection and renewal of the fertile topsoil. Moreover, the human population would have increased at about 8 billion by 2050 and then would have started a gradual decline, decreasing human pressure on the life-support systems of the Earth. In 2065, the author expects the Earth to be a more sustainable planet.