Sustainability

Sustainable development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Ecosystems are sustainable: If they perpetuate themselves indefinitely and require little or no additional materials each year.

Sustainable ecosystem: An ecosystem that is capable of withstanding pressure and giving support to a variety of organisms.

Many human activities are not sustainable: Depend on continual growth of population Deplete non-renewable natural resources. Produce polluting wastes

To reduce our impact on the environment some things we need to do are: Use resources more efficiently and effectively (get more from less) Reduce, re-use, re-cycle. Restore damaged environments Conserve scarce resources Reduce human impact on the environment Reduce consumption