6/10/2015

BankersAdda:DegradingEnvironmentofProgressingWorld

DegradingEnvironmentofProgressingWorld
DearReaders,
On the Occasion of World Environment Day, we are
presenting you an article that can show you the reality of our environment
and how we are making it impossible to live in. UN has assigned a day for
this, but we believe it should be our responsibility to make it clean. We
should be generous enough not only for one day, but for the lifetime so that
our future generation can live a healthier life. What is the need that we wait
for a court's order, or lawmaker to force it on us. It is really something that
weneedtointrospect.HopeyouallliketheArticle.

You all might have came across this term World Environment Day
inrecentdays.Thisisbecause5thJuneisdesignatedasworldenvironment
daybyUNanditiscelebratedeveryyear.WorldEnvironmentDay(WED)is
the United Nations principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness
and action for the environment. Over the years it has grown to be a broad,
global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders
inover100countries.Italsoservesasthepeoplesdayfordoingsomething
positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective
powerthatgeneratesanexponentialpositiveimpactontheplanet.
The WED theme this year is "Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet.
Consume with Care." The wellbeing of humanity, the environment, and the
functioning of the economy, ultimately depend upon the responsible
management of the planets natural resources. And yet, evidence is building
that people are consuming far more natural resources than what the planet
cansustainablyprovide.
ManyoftheEarthsecosystemsarenearingcriticaltippingpointsof
depletion or irreversible change, pushed by high population growth and
economic development. By 2050, if current consumption and production
patternsremainthesameandwitharisingpopulationexpectedtoreach9.6
billion, we will need three planets to sustain our ways of living and
consumption.
Consuming with care means living within planetary boundaries to
ensureahealthyfuturewhereourdreamscanberealized.Humanprosperity
need not cost the earth. Living sustainably is about doing more and better
withless.Itisaboutknowingthatrisingratesofnaturalresourceuseandthe
environmental impacts that occur are not a necessary byproduct of
economicgrowth.
"Although individual decisions may seem small in the face of global
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threats and trends, when billions of people join forces in common

purpose,wecanmakeatremendousdifference."
UNSecretaryGeneralBanKiMoon
Through decades of WED celebrations, hundreds of thousands of
peoplefromcountriesallovertheworldandfromallsectorsofsocietyhave
participated in individual and organized environmental action. WED 2014
received a total of 6,437 pledges and over 3,000 activities were registered
online, resulting in a total of about 9,700 which is triple to the previous two
years.
SevenBillionDreams.OnePlanet.ConsumewithCare.
The wellbeing of humanity, the environment, and the functioning of the
economy, ultimately depend upon the responsible management of the
planetsnaturalresources.Evidenceisbuildingthatpeopleareconsumingfar
morenaturalresourcesthanwhattheplanetcansustainablyprovide.
ManyoftheEarthsecosystemsarenearingcriticaltippingpointsof
depletion or irreversible change, pushed by high population growth and
economic development. By 2050, if current consumption and production
patternsremainthesameandwitharisingpopulationexpectedtoreach9.6
billion, we will need three planets to sustain our ways of living and
consumption.
"Earthprovidesenoughtosatisfyeveryman'sneeds,butnot
everyman'sgreed."
MahatmaGandhi
The WED theme this year is therefore "Seven Billion Dreams. One
Planet. Consume with Care." Living within planetary boundaries is the most
promising strategy for ensuring a healthy future. Human prosperity need not
costtheearth.Livingsustainablyisaboutdoingmoreandbetterwithless.It
is about knowing that rising rates of natural resource use and the
environmental impacts that occur are not a necessary byproduct of
economicgrowth.
"Harmonywithlandislikeharmonywithafriendyoucannotcherish
hisrighthandandchopoffhisleft."
AldoLeopold
Water
Well,youjustmight.Itsoundssosimple.H20twopartshydrogenandone
part oxygen. This substance also known as water, is one of the most
essential elements to health.Even though households are relatively low
consumers of water, population growth and expanded water use have
outweighedtheeffectofwatersavingtechnologyandbehavior.

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Less than 3% of the worlds water is fresh (drinkable), of which

2.5% is frozen in the Antarctica, Arctic and glaciers. Humanity
must therefore rely on 0.5% for all of mans ecosystems and
freshwaterneeds.
Man is polluting water faster than nature can recycle and purify
waterinriversandlakes.
Morethan1billionpeoplestilldonothaveaccesstofreshwater.
Excessiveuseofwatercontributestotheglobalwaterstress.
Waterisfreefromnaturebuttheinfrastructureneededtodeliverit
isexpensive.

Energy
Despitetechnologicaladvancesthathavepromotedenergyefficiencygains,
energy use in OECD countries will continue to grow another 35% by 2020.
Commercial and residential energy use is the second most rapidly growing
areaofglobalenergyuseaftertransport.
In2002themotorvehiclestockinOECDcountrieswas550millionvehicles
(75% of which were personal cars). A 32% increase in vehicle ownership is
expectedby2020.Atthesametime,motorvehiclekilometresareprojected
to increase by 40% and global air travel is projected to triple in the same
period.

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We can shift our consumption patterns towards goods and

services with lower energy and material intensity without
compromisingqualityoflife.
Households consume 29% of global energy and consequently
contribute to 21% of resultant CO2 emissions.The cost of
renewable energy is increasingly competitive with that derived
fromfossilfuels.Onefifthoftheworldsfinalenergyconsumption
in2013wasfromrenewables.
Globally, energy consumption grew most quickly in the transport
and service sectors, driven by rising passenger travel and freight
transport,andarapidexpansionintheserviceeconomy.

Food
While substantial environmental impacts from food occur in the production
phase (agriculture, food processing), households influence these impacts
through their dietary choices and habits. This consequently affects the
environmentthroughfoodrelatedenergyconsumptionandwastegeneration.

1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year while almost 1

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billionpeoplegoundernourishedandanother1billionhungry.
Overconsumption of food is detrimental to our health and the
environment.
1.5billionpeoplegloballyareoverweightorobese.
Landdegradation,decliningsoilfertility,unsustainablewateruse,
overfishing and marine environment degradation are all lessening
theabilityofthenaturalresourcebasetosupplyfood.
The food sector accounts for around 30% of the worlds total
energy consumption and accounts for around 22% of total
GreenhouseGasemissions.
Increasedconsumptionadverselyaffectsfoodsecurity.
Increaseinfoodprices.
Upsurge in production methods that use more resourceintensive
foodproducts.
Resourceintensive foods deplete the agroecological resource
base,affectingitsabilitytoproduceplentifulfood.
Source,UnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme(UNEP)Official
Website

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