Practical Sustainability Strategies - George P. Nassos

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civilization up until about 200 years ago, our atmosphere contained about 275 ppm [16] of carbon dioxide. A concentration of 275 ppm CO2 is a useful amount—without some CO2 and other GHGs that trap heat in our atmosphere, our planet would be too cold for humans to inhabit. In 2008, James Hansen, the top NASA climatologist indicated: “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm [17].” This level of 350 ppm has been the target of many environmentalists and even Bill McKibben, who founded a worldwide organization to curb global warming, named his organization “https://350.org” [18]. Unfortunately, we are heading in the wrong direction as scientific instruments have shown that the earth's average carbon dioxide concentration reached 400 ppm in 2013 [19].

      There are some scientists, while in the minority, who believe that global warming may exist and/or it is not anthropological. Regardless, reducing carbon dioxide emissions is like an insurance policy. If one assumes that global warming does exist and therefore takes the necessary action, the downside risk is minimal. If we learn in 20 years that global warming never really existed, it would have resulted in unnecessary development of renewable energy sources and possible introduction of a carbon tax. If on the other hand, one assumes that global warming does not exist and therefore takes no action at all, what would happen if this assumption is eventually determined to be incorrect. The result to the world population could be catastrophic with rising sea levels leading to flooding and droughts leading to dwindling food production.

Chart providing a summary of the historical as well as the projected growth in population in developing and industrialized countries.

      Today these are the four major environmental concerns in the world, specifically:

       Water quality and quantity

       Depletion of natural resources

       Climate change resulting primarily from fossil fuels

       Population growth—eventually exceeding the earth's capacity

      Mitigating the impact of these four major environmental issues leads to an urgency for sustainable development.

      1 1. Brower D. Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run: A Call to Those Who Would Save the Earth. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins; 1995.

      2 2. The Holy Bible, Genesis 1: 1–31.

      3 3. Available at https://www.ecowatch.com/one-third-of-commercial-fish-stocks-fished-at-unsustainable-levels-1910593830.html. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      4 4. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      5 5. Available at https://phys.org/news/2012-10-wetlands.html. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      6 6. Available at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/grassland-threats. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      7 7. Available at https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      8 8. Available at https://www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/ecological-footprint. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      9 9. Meadows D, Randers J, Meadows D. The Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company; 2004.

      10 10. Strauss M. Got corn? Smithsonian Magazine, p. 25, April 2012.

      11 11. Diamond J. What's your consumption factor?. New York Times, 2008 Jan 2.

      12 12. U.S. Geological Survey. https://www.gao.gov/assets/670/663343.pdf. Accessed 2019 Oct 24.

      13 13. Hoekstra AY (ed.). Virtual Water Trade: Proceedings of the International Expert Meeting on Virtual Water Trade. Delft, The Netherlands: IHE Delft; 2003.

      14 14. Hubbert MK. Nuclear energy and the fossil fuels. Presented before the Spring Meeting of the Southern District, American Petroleum Institute, San Antonio, TX; 1956 Mar 7–9.

      15 15. Available at https://ourworldindata.org/how-long-before-we-run-out-of-fossil-fuels. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      16 16. Available at http://350.org/en/about/science. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      17 17. Available at http://www.columbia.edu/∼jeh1/2008/TargetCO2_20080407.pdf. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      18 18. Available at https://350.org. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      19 19. Gillis J. Heat trapping gas passes milestone, raising fears. New York Times, 2013 May 10.

      20 20. Lester Brown. Available at https://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/when-population-growth-and-resource-availability-collide.html. Accessed 2009 Feb 17. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      21 21. U.S. Census Bureau. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population_milestones. Accessed 2019 Oct 24.

      22 22. Available at https://www.worldometers.info/world-population. Accessed 2019 Dec 14.

      In 1983, the United Nations convened the World Commission on Environment and Development and was chaired by Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland who was the Prime Minister of Norway at the time. The agenda of this commission was the concern with the accelerating deterioration of the human environment and natural resources and the consequences of that deterioration for economic and social development. The final report was published

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