Talk:Sustainability/application-implementation-consumption

=Consumption section= Sorry everyone - I created this page because I think it makes up a distinct topic area  that will take up about the same amount of space as the other sections we have on talk pages. It follows on from the Environmental management section. Each of these two subsections of Implementation will have a little explanation at the top so people understand. Let me know if you think it is making sense - or if we need a different tack. Granitethighs (talk) 22:19, 21 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Your proposed outline for these sections is on the right track for sure, but I can see what your getting at regarding the size, it could easily get huge. I reckon we should just start by working within one section "Application/Implementation" and if it gets too big we can decide wether or not to split it into two separate sections. Nick carson (talk) 03:30, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Nick, sorry, I just ran out of energy moving things around. This is the second section in the "implementation" part. I have also run out of energy here too - this needs a few more references and perhaps a little expanding in parts. Anyway, could we make any obvious additions etc. then I suggest we put it up so we can begin getting an overview of what we have left to do? The red "Cite" remarks are because refs occur in former part of article. They should go when this is put up.Granitethighs (talk) 00:53, 2 February 2009 (UTC)


 * As Nick is happy with this (sustainability talk page)and it has been on display for a couple of days I have transferred it to real time especially as there is no real structure without this section clear within the heading hierarchy. Could we archive whatever needs archiving on this page please?Granitethighs (talk) 09:49, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

Management of human consumption
Direct human impacts on the environment are the result of the indirect underlying driver of these impacts which is human consumption. To reduce impact we can not only consume less but can also make the full cycle of production, use and disposal of goods and services more sustainable. Consumption of goods and services can be analysed at all scales through the chain of human consumption, starting with the effects of lifestyle choices and spending patterns, through to the resource demands of specific goods and services, up to the impacts of economic sectors and even national economies. Analysis of our individual and collective consumption patterns takes account of total resource use and this is then related to the environmental, social and economic impacts of that resource use in the particular context under investigation. The ideas of embodied resource use (the total resources needed to produce a product or service ), resource intensity (the resources needed for each dollar spent on a good or service), and resource productivity (the amount of good or service produced for a given input of resource) are important aspects of consumption management. At a simple level human consumption can be examined through the demand for the basic resources food, energy, materials and water

Energy
The activity of living organisms is possible through the expenditure of the Sun's energy that has been stored by plants (primary producers) during photosynthesis. This is passed through the food chain to other organisms and it ultimately powers all living processes. Since the industrial revolution the concentrated energy of the Sun stored in fossilized plants as fossil fuels have been a major driver of technology which, in turn, has been the source of both economic and political power. In 2007, after prolonged skepticism about the human contribution to climate change, climate scientists of the IPCC concluded that there was at least a 90% probability that this atmospheric increase in CO2 was human-induced - essentially due to fossil fuel emissions and, to a lesser extent, the CO2 released from changes in land use. Projections for the coming century indicate that a minimum of 500 ppm can be expected and possibly as much as 1000 ppm. Stabilising the world’s climate will require high income countries to reduce their emissions by 60-90% over 2006 levels by 2050. This should stabilise atmospheric carbon dioxide levels at 450-650 ppm from current levels of about 380 ppm. Above this level and temperatures would probably rise by more than 2 C to produce “catastrophic” climate change. Reduction of current CO2 levels must be achieved against a background of global population increase and developing countries aspiring to energy-intensive high consumption Western lifestyles.

Attempts to reduce greenhouse emissions, referred to as decarbonization, have ranged from tracking the passage of carbon through the carbon cycle to the exploration of renewable energies, developing less carbon-hungry technology and transport systems and attempts by individuals to lead carbon neutral lifestyles by monitoring for their fossil fuel use all the products and services they use.

Water
In the decade 1951-60 human water withdrawals were four times greater than the previous decade. This rapid increase resulted from scientific and technological developments impacting through the economy - especially the increase in irrigated land, growth in industrial and power sectors, and intensive dam construction on all continents. This altered the water cycle of rivers and lakes, affected their water quality and therefore potential as a human resource and, most significantly, altered the global water cycle. Currently towards 35% of human water use is unsustainable, drawing on diminishing aquifers and reducing flows of major rivers.

Over the period 1961 to 2001 there was a doubling of demand and over the same period agricultural use increased by 75%, industrial use by more than 200%, and domestic use more than 400%. Humans currently use 40-50% of the globally available freshwater in the approximate proportion of 70% for agriculture, 22% for industry, and 8% for domestic purposes and the total amount is progressively increasing being about five times that at the beginning of the 20th century.

The path forward appears to lie in improving water use efficiency through: demand management; maximising water resource productivity of agriculture; minimising the water intensity (embodied water) of goods and services; addressing shortages in the non-industrialised world; moving production from areas of low productivity to those with high productivity; and planning for climate change.

Materials
With increases in population and affluence has come an increase in use of materials- their volume, kind and distance transported. Included here are raw materials, minerals, synthetic chemicals and products (especially plastic), manufactured products, food, living organisms and waste. .

Much of the sustainability effort with materials is directed at dematerialization, converting the linear path of materials (extraction, use, disposal in landfill) to a cyclical one that reuses materials indefinitely, much like the cycling and reuse of waste in nature. This is being assisted by product stewardship and the increasing use of material flow analysis at all levels, especially individual countries and the global economy.

Chemicals
Synthetic chemical production has escalated since the stimulus it received during the second WorldWar. Although most synthetic chemicals are harmless there has been concern expressed over the reliability of chemical testing before the introduction of new products and the possible long-term toxic effects of new chemicals on both humans and other organisms, of a host of domestic and commercial chemicals, agricultural pesticides, herbicides etc. International legislation has been established to deal with the global distribution and management of hazardous chemicals.

Waste
The average human uses 45-85 tonnes of materials each year. Industry, business and government are adopting the ideas of industrial metabolism, industrial ecology, ecodesign and ecolabelling to make use of materials more sustainable (see side bar). In addition to the well-established “reduce, reuse and recycle” shoppers are using their purchasing power for ethical consumerism.

Food
The American Public Health Association (APHA) defines a "sustainable food system" as "one that provides healthy food to meet current food needs while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can also provide food for generations to come with minimal negative impact to the environment. A sustainable food system also encourages local production and distribution infrastructures and makes nutritious food available, accessible, and affordable to all. Further, it is humane and just, protecting farmers and other workers, consumers, and communities."

Concerns about the environmental impacts of agribusiness and the stark contrast between the obesity problems of the Western world and the poverty and food insecurity of the developing world have generated a strong movement towards healthy, sustainable eating as a major component of overall ethical consumerism.

The environmental effects of different dietary patterns depend on various factors, including the proportion of animal and plant foods consumed and the method of food production. The World Health Organisation has published a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health which was endorsed by the May 2004 World Health Assembly. It recommends the Mediterranean diet which is associated with health and longevity and is low in meat, rich in fruits and vegetables, low in added sugar and limited salt, and low in saturated fatty acids; the traditional source of fat in the Mediterranean is olive oil, rich in monounsaturated fat. The healthy rice-based Japanese diet is also high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Both diets are low in meat and saturated fats and high in legumes and other vegetables; they are associated with a low incidence of ailments and low environmental impact.

At the local level there are various movements working towards more sustainable use of wastelands, peripheral urban land and domestic gardens. This includes permaculture, urban horticulture, local food, slow food, and organic gardening.