Sustainability is how humans, natural systems, and economies survive on the available amount of natural resources without destroying these resources faster than they can replenish. This is an important part of life because if humans do not conserve resources, then some may start to disappear. People should try to live and keep this idea in mind so future generations have access to the same resources as previous ones.
One of the major problems today deals with rising levels of greenhouse gases. A greenhouse gas is a gas that emits and absorbs radiation. One of the major gases is carbon dioxide, and levels of carbon dioxide have risen since the industrial revolution and the burning of fossil fuels. China and India are major contributers to this problem because of their dependence on coal power. Carbon emissions have grown less than one percent per year since the 1990's. Since 2000, they have a growing rate of 35 percent per year. There has been no decline from 2000 to 2008. These gases have reached a point where they can cause drastic climate changes. These greenhouse gases can cause disasters such as destructive sudden heavy rains, strong tropical storms, and repeated flooding, to increase.
To help this problem, the EPA has enforced a mandatory reporting rule of greenhouse gases. Large companies and supplies have to supply the EPA with data and other information to help with future policies and hopefully help reduce the levels of these harmful gases.
Another problem deals with the problem of too many plastic bags "floating" around the environment. Plastics cannot biodegrade, and stray bags account for one to three percent of the hundreds of billions produced each year. These bags are found everywhere, even in bodies of water. Marine life suffers because the bags are ingested by the animals, and they die of starvation due to a blocked stomach. An example of this would be a sea turtle seeing a plastic bag and mistaking it for a jellyfish. Stray plastic bags can also cause health problems for humans as well. They can clog sewer pipes, which cause standing water. An easy solution to this problem is to start using cloth bags. Cloth bags only cost one dollar at most stores, and they can save the lives of many fish.
Hyperlinks:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html
http://www.globalstewards.org/issues.htm
http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/reusablebags.htm
We will certainly discuss greenhouse gas emissions this year!! An important topic in APES. I liked that you brought in a gov't regulation concerning GG.
ReplyDeleteAsk.com is not a reliable science website--it can provide a good background overview on a topic but should not be used as a reference for science courses. I didn't feel you were nearly as specific with info. on this topic as on the GG.
A good start. 9/10