Population Growth and Sustainability Growing Population Farming in a Modern Age Local Farms Forests and Deforestation The Great Bear Rainforest

Population growth Each year 80 million people are added to the world’s population putting more pressure on the earths natural systems -Majority of the increasing population is in the developing world -80% of goods are consumed by developed nations or 20% of the population -Developed world contributes to the majority of pollution and waste levels

Consuming the World As an increasing number of overpopulated developing nations reach development levels of the industrialized world, pollution and waste levels are rising and threaten to overwhelm the Earth’s carrying capacity and natural systems Too many people consuming and wasting too many resources

Feeding a Growing Population 7 Billion people to date inhabit the Earth -Massive amounts of land and water required to feed them 70% of the world’s water is used for agriculture -Takes 1000 liters to produce 1 liter of milk -Problem is worsening as people eat more meat and dairy

Lessons from the Past Continental catastrophes like the Dust Bowl of the 1930s have taught us the need for improved sustainable farming and that soil is a primary resource that must be protected Techniques for sustainable farming: Planting trees to form wind breaks Using wheat stubble and straw to return nutrients to soil Rotating or combining crops Adequate irrigation

Genetically Modified Crops are a growing concern and they should be! there is no study done to analyze any long term impacts or consequences of ingesting GMO foods Many of these crops rely on herbicides that damage water, soil, and possible humans who ingest them They are flooding the market and running regular farmers out of business

Polluting the Last Pure Source of Life GMO Crops depend on herbicides and pesticides, rather than natural defenses -Less labour intensive and able to produce larger quantities These chemical seep into the ground and contaminate ground water and streams -Wells contaminated -Wild plants and animals exposed to chemicals

Evil Has A Name The most popular GMO providers in the world are Monsanto and DuPont -Multinational corporations They have tried to control markets for seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides by promoting their genetically modified seeds Argue that new biotechnologies are necessary to feed the growing population

Supporting the Little Guys Supporting local and certified organic farmers and ranchers are the best ways to combat the growing GMO industry while promoting sustainable community living -Less emissions produced in transport -No contamination of foods, water, soils, and livestock -Adequate nutritional value -Promotes ethical livestock raising -Ensures local economic development

Taking on Big Business Many local farmers are in direct competition with big business -Have to compete with large corporations that use GMO crops, and import foods at cheaper prices -Local farmers cannot compete with cheap imports while still making enough to sustain themselves -Depend on people to make an ethical choice rather than one based on price

Forests and the Ecosystem They are the filters for our planet, as they take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen Over 1.6 billion people depend on forests for food, shelter, and employment Forests protect biodiversity 2011 the UN declared the International Year of Forests

Attacking the Protector of Life Almost half of the forests that covered the planet have been cleared or degraded Forests are being cleared so land can be used for -agriculture or grazing land -harvested for timber -cleared to make room for human settlement Many forests also suffering from effects of industrial pollution such as acid precipitation that destroys entire ecosystems

Consequences of Deforestation Without the protection of trees and their roots wind and rain can erode the soil and create barren landscapes -soil erosion can lead to mudslides that can impact water quality Floods are more common when forests are no longer there to absorb rainfall Deprives wildlife of habitat which leads to more attack and urban migration by bears and cougars

Preventing Deforestation Reforestation -Replanting trees where they have been cut down for timber and paper Ecotourism shows that there is an economic advantage to preserving forests -Allows people to explore threatened landscapes while generating revenue to conservation Individual efforts such as paper conservation

The Great Bear Rainforest The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the most pristine wilderness environments on earth, a vast tract of temperate rainforest stretching 400 km along the central and north coast of British Columbia. It is home to one of the last remaining unspoiled temperate rainforest, and is the only place in the world where you can see the Kermode (Spirit) bear, a sub-species of black bear noted for its white fur.

Protecting The Great Bear Rainforest In 2006, First Nations communities, environmentalists, and logging companies agreed to conserve 6.4 million hectares -2 million hectares are protected from logging with light touch logging outside that area Simon Jackson was a 13 year old boy in 1995 who founded the Spirit Bear Coalition to educate and encourage young people to work to save the Great Bear Rainforest

Consequences of Wasteful Consumption Globalization and the desire for profits over protection have encouraged wasteful consumption habits This mentality has led to devastating environmental consequences that actually backfire on companies that refuse to implement sustainable development plans Newfoundland -Overfishing depleted cod stocks and led the Canadian government to ban the cod fishing industry in Loss of jobs, industry, and wildlife

Earth Summit 1992 In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, international leaders examined various environmental issues that affect people around the world -Toxic chemicals -Alternative sources of energy -Scarcity of water Produced an action plan called Agenda 21 -Proposed that actions needed to happen globally, nationally, and locally to achieve sustainable development, yet little progress