CHAPTER 24 Summary
In-Class Activity
Click here to access the Test Banks specifically designed for chapter 24.
Sustainability refers to the ability of humans to live within Earth’s biocapacity—its ability to provide current and future generations with natural resources and to absorb our wastes.-
Natural resources include nonrenewable resources such as fossil fuels (oil, coal, and gas) and renewable resources such as sunlight, wind, and water.
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Ecologists measure human demand on Earth’s resources using ecological footprint analysis, which quantifies the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to support our lifestyles.
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The ecological footprint of the current human population is greater than Earth’s biocapacity, which means that we are living unsustainably.
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The largest component of our footprint is burning fossil fuels, which generates harmful wastes, including greenhouse gases and pollutants.
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As the human population grows, so does our ecological footprint. As of 2012, the human population totaled 7 billion people. Some demographers predict the number could hit 9 billion by 2050.
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Freshwater is a renewable resource, but the world’s supply is not distributed equally, and many people around the world suffer from water scarcity, a problem exacerbated by a rising population, the demands of agriculture, and socioeconomic challenges.
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Sustainable practices minimize the consumption of nonrenewable resources by using renewable resources like wind and solar power instead of fossil fuels to generate electricity and heat.
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At their current level of development, technologies to harvest renewable energy cannot meet our total energy demands. Fossil fuels cannot yet be taken out of our energy mix.
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Individually, we can decrease our ecological footprint by driving less, reducing water and electricity use, consuming less meat, and recycling.
MORE TO EXPLORE
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Greensburg Deployment Project eere.energy.gov/deployment/greensburg.html
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Global Footprint Network, Footprint Calculator www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
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World Wildlife Fund (2012) Living Planet Report http://www.footprintnetwork.org images/uploads/LPR_2012.pdf
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White, S. S. (2010) Out of the rubble and towards a sustainable future: the “greening” of Greensburg, Kansas. Sustainability 2:2302–2319.
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Planet Green (Discovery Communications) (2010) Greensburg (documentary series).
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