From 1972, when China and India could not feed their populations, both have become food exporters. The Club of Rome made the same mistake as their "limited world" predecessors, Malthus and Marx. They thought of people as reactive automatons, unable to change their behavior or their consumption. The Club of Rome should have known better. The "Green Revolution," which increased the world's production per acre of grains by a factor of five, had started in the 1960's. The Chinese peasant, allowed to farm 1/2 acre and sell his produce since 1965, had increased overall Chinese food production by 30% by 1972.
The Reality: Resources are Expanding
It seems illogical, or nearly paradoxical, that as we use more resources, our resource pool keeps growing, but that is in fact the case. This is true for three reasons:
New methods of finding and extracting resources (ore, oil, gas, other) have allowed us to increase the amount of reserves substantially-to the point where we have more global reserves of most important minerals and energy today than we did in 1972.
We have become more efficient in what we produce, partly due to the increase in the price of resources.
Our economy has changed in the developed world. For example, a ton of steel and an Intel computer chip sells for about the same number of dollars: we're producing a lot more chips and a lot less steel than we used to in OECD countries. Since a chip only requires a few grains of sand, the world's resources are preserved.
What about sustainability?
If "sustainability" means the ability to maintain and even improve our way of life on...
Sustainable Design Sustainable Development Searching for Sustainability When researchers analyzed the global resource flow trends that emerged between 1980 and 2002 they found a 25% worldwide increase in material extraction and natural resource use (Behren, Giljum, Kovanda, and Niza, 2005). The increased material extraction rates were attributed to growing economies in developing nations like China and the growing size of the consumer class in these countries. When compared to trends in economic activity
sustainable development and economic growth? Within a global economy, it is very important that as people that we start to rethink the basis of economics for the reason that with the economic system we are gifted with today, sustainable development and economic growth is not likely to attain simultaneously. This essay provides an overview of the issue and call for a shared policy that gives an everyone of the individuals
Another case study, this one by Cole (2011) examines the cultural and community impacts of tourism, both sustainable and unsustainable, on specific cultures in Indonesia. Cole concludes as well that in order to help keep the cultural and community influences and positive attitudes intact, it is important to consider the local community as a major stakeholder in the sustainability of a tourist destination. Cole states in her article, "Tourism has
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As a consequence, social unrest can then be avoided only by subsidies. The town is socially and entinancially heavily burdened. Another problem is that the spontaneous rainwater flow, mixed with wastewater in a heavy downpour, pollutes the river or lake once again and provides more problems for gaining potable water. Scenario 3: As a result of climatic and geological conditions there is little potable water available; the resources are quickly
Sustainable Distribution for Essential Medicines in Emerging Markets Business Case Background The Sustainable challenge Current distribution climate of Cure Pharmaceutical The growing importance of the emerging markets Barriers to growth Procurement and Distribution Challenge to overall sustainability in pharmaceutical companies Partnerships utilized in emerging markets and essential medicine distribution Suggestions of partnerships effective in essential medicine distribution Data gathering in essential medicine distribution Sustainable distribution for essential medicines in emerging markets Business Case Background This report addresses the role pharmaceuticals play in emerging
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