SustainabilitySustainability

Catherine WalkerAmerican Public University

What is Sustainability?

Sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is… to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development

Global Warming

Fuel Consumption

U.S. Energy Information Administration (March 2012) preliminary 2011 data

Excuses• Global warming is not real

• I can’t make a difference

• It is inconvenient

• It takes too much time

• It costs money

• I don’t know how

Life on Planet Earth…World Population6.8 billion

1.4 billion people in developing countries live on $1.25 a day or less.

925 million people do not have enough to eat — more than the populations of USA, Canada and the European Union combined.

75% of the world's poorest people — 1.4 billion women, children, and men — live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihood.

1.7 billion people lack access to clean water.

More than 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity and modern forms of energy.

Two ordinary people…• http://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harn

essed_the_wind.html

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0C-lSvbLT4&feature=fvwrel

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

--Albert Einstein

Small changes…• Watch less TV. • Reduce the time you play video games and

computer. • Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less

microwavable foods and red meat. • Remember to turn off the lights when you leave

room.• Turn off electrical devices when not in use. • Take showers with less hot water.• Remember to close the door when the heater or

air conditioner is ON.• Plant a tree.

What other changes can you make?

SourcesSlide 1: http://www.the-college-reporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/green.jpg

Slide 3: http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf

Slide 4: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-827sFaDtke4/TeT-XYzYKpI/AAAAAAAAC6I/hjEBZ44m360/s1600/Hot%2BEarth.jpg

Slide 5: http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/images/charts/primary_energy_use_by_source_2011-large.jpg

Slide 7: ttp://yearofaustere.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/lorax.png

Slide 8: http://www.compassion.com/poverty/poverty.htm

Slide 10: http://www.wikihow.com/Help-Reduce-Global-Warming-(Kids)