Sustainability

Sustainability

Learning Objectives

 Identify the criteria that can be used to evaluate whether

development is sustainable.
 Explain why innovation and resilience are important.
Sustainable Development
United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Examples:
Renewable Resources Sustainable development
focuses on careful use of renewable ecosystem
services. A renewable resource can be
produced or replaced by a healthy ecosystem.
A single southern white pine is one example of
a renewable resource because a new tree can
grow in place of an old tree that dies or is cut
down. Another example is drinkable water. In
many places, drinking water is provided
naturally by streams, rivers, and lakes, and it is
filtered by forest soils and wetlands. But if
human-caused environmental changes impact
ecosystem function, water quality may fall. If
that happens, cities and towns must pay for
mechanical or chemical treatment to provide
safe drinking water. Electricity generated
from wind farms, like the one shown in Figure
7-24, or solar power is also a renewable
resource.
Renewable Resources
Nonrenewable Resources

Nonrenewable Resources
If natural processes cannot replenish resources
within a reasonable time, they are considered to
be nonrenewable resources. Fossil fuels such as
coal, oil, and natural gas are nonrenewable
resources formed from buried organic materials
over millions of years. When existing deposits
are depleted, they are gone.
Innovation and Resilience