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Sustainable Development
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Sustainable Development - An Introduction
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Each and every one of us depend on the earth for our survival. All of the food that we eat comes from the earth. Our factories, offices, homes and everything in them, our cars, buses, trains, ships and planes and the fuel that propels them are all made from raw materials extracted from the earth.
As a species humans have been remarkably successful in harnessing and consuming the resources of the planet to make our lives more comfortable. However, at the start of 2010 there were an estimated 6,793,593,686 people living on earth. There is a very unequal distribution of earth’s resources between these people; with those of us in richer, more developed, countries consuming far more than those who live in what we classify as developing countries.
The resources of our planet are limited and the simple truth is that the earth is unable to continue to provide resources to maintain our present consumption pattern. Those of us in the developed world must begin to reduce our demands on the planet so that there is enough for everyone living now and enough left over for our children, grandchildren and the generations yet to come. Living and consuming in such a way that balances environmental concerns against economic and social ones is known as sustainable development.
This GreenQuest website aims to raise the level of awareness of this important topic in the hope that people will be inspired to adjust their lifestyles to one that is more sustainable. The adjustment does not have to be great – a small change made by many people can add up to a significant reduction in demands on the planet. In the same way such change does not have to cost money – in many cases living more sustainably can actually save you money.
So we start by providing basic information on the key themes listed below so that you can understand the importance of protecting vital resources such as air and water and can understand how the earth is affected by how you live your life. The information is given in non-scientific language as far as possible but is linked to websites where you can learn more about the different subject areas if you wish.
To keep you engaged, and to reinforce what you have learnt, GreenQuest presents a list of questions on the key themes. Answering these questions allows you to compete for a range of environmentally friendly prizes. It is hoped that this will attract you back to the website and that you will recommend it to your family and your friends. The more we work together the more we can achieve.
The key themes are;
• Energy and the home – how to stay warm and cosy without costing the earth
• On the move – planes, trains and automobiles (and bicycles)
• Food for thought – you are what you eat
• That changing climate – how can we help to keep the world from overheating
• Renewable energy – kicking the fossil fuel habit
• Water, water everywhere – how we can’t survive without it
• Waste not, want not – and save money too
• Fresh air for free – why we need to keep it fresh
• We are not alone – sharing the planet with other species
• Chemicals and radiation – nasty things we cannot see
• Health is wealth – how living sustainably can improve our health
• Keeping control – who does what on our behalf
• Getting involved – how we can have a say in what gets done.
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