Erika Acosta Mrs.

Frank Senior Capstone, Period 6 November 2013

Our Only Hope

Sustainable development is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs ( Our Common Future), ultimately targeting the environment and its people. Ending world hunger and ensuring environmental sustainability are issues addressed by the Millennium Development Goals, goals to fulfill the needs of the less fortunate, set by the United Nations. These goals range from Reducing Child Mortality to Achieving Universal Primary Education (We Can End Poverty). As the deadline to these goals approaches in 2015, the urgency to make a change arises. With sustainable development as the targeted issue, the opportunity to take multiple routes of action was available. This factor only strengthened the desire to provide as much help as possible to decrease our usage of nonrenewable resources faster than they can be replaced, and to reduce our dependency on such resources. With nonrenewable resources straining in supply, children being burdened with poverty, and the need to have a stable planet for future generations, this is a crucial issue that needs to be addressed. In 1969, President Nixon began the framework for addressing sustainable development with the proposal for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency that addressed the publics concern for cleaner water, air and land. Soon after, President Nixon also signed the National Environmental Policy Act that requir es all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to undertaking any major federal action (Summary of the National Environmental Policy Act). The Stockholm Conference held between June 5-16 of 1972, however, was the

Erika Acosta Mrs. Frank Senior Capstone, Period 6 November 2013 first of its kind to address developed nations concern about the environmental consequences of increasing global development (History of Sustainability) while the developing nations raised concerns about the need for economic development ( History of Sustainability). This is where the term came about to meet human needs and not compromise the environment in doing so. From this conference, the United Nations Environmental Program arose to promote the concept of environmental development. In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, that was held as a successor to the Stockholm Conference, would ultimately lead to Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Here, the Declaration of Environment and Development and an agenda for the 21st century, were created to educate the public about the environment and development. Finally, in December 1997, more than 150 nations approved of the Kyoto Climate Agreement that aims to protect the earths atmosphere and climate (Sustainable Development Information) by placing limits to the heattrapping of greenhouse gases. Since then, there has been a second World Summit where water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity were backed by unknown government programs. All of these steps have played a role in raising awareness about sustainable development and taking action in its defense. Through the cooperation amongst nations, changes have been made, and will continue to be made. The increased dependence on fossil fuels have created a concern for the amounts of energy available to future generations. The fossil fuels are formed through the burying, and subsequent pressure and heating, of dead plant and animal matter or biomass (Non-Renewable Energy) after millions of year and include petroleum, natural

Erika Acosta Mrs. Frank Senior Capstone, Period 6 November 2013 gases, coal and uranium. If the time it takes to produce and replace the fossil fuels is slower than the rate at which they are being used, the supply will be strained. These fossil fuels are mainly composed of carbon and their widespread use can be directed towards the less expensive procedure to produce them . However, glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted (The Current and Future Consequences of Global Change) as a result of the fossil fuel usage that produces carbon compounds such as carbon dioxide, that have a negative effect on our environment. Alternative energy sources such as solar energy and wind energy can be easily replenished. Furthermore, the energy facilities require less maintenance and produce less waste products. It is imperative that we look into other sources of energy, particularly those that can be quickly replenished, because rapidly growing populations can increase the pressure on resources and slow any rise in living standard (Our Common Future, From One Earth to One World). Improvement for the environment can be through individual action or action from a government. Driving and flying less, recycling, and conservation (Air Pollution) are simple ways to reduce our own carbon-footprint. Meanwhile, governments around the world have taken measures to enforce the Kyoto Agreement or put taxes on carbon emissions or higher taxes on gasoline to provide motivation to consumers for conserving energy. Otherwise, such human activity will only worsen the current situation with an increase of global temperature from 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century (The Current and Future Consequences of Global Change).

Erika Acosta Mrs. Frank Senior Capstone, Period 6 November 2013 Another route of action is through targeting the fight to end world hunger. Global poverty is greater in numbers than previously believed, despite an overall reduced rate in the past 25 years. Children are the most vulnerable, and most affected with over 400 million of them living in extreme poverty, that is one-third of all people that fall under the same category, according to the World Bank.These children must rely on the care provided by a parent or guardian until they are able to become self-sufficient. Too often the cause of death of many children is simply the lack of basic needs such as food, shelter, healthcare and water (The Painful Reality of Children Facing Poverty). In more rural areas of many countries, long journeys are required to gain access to any type of useful resource. In the United States, however, many parents/guardians have low-pay jobs or unstable employment that leave the entire family struggling to make ends meet. The lack of basic essentials ultimately make the children very weak and vulnerable to sickness and disease (History of Sustainability). It is clear that children do not hold the capability to survive on their own after a long period of time. Also, in attempt to escape the poverty, many children are lured into human trafficking. Promises of this sense are made but instead these children are too often sent to work in restaurants, the agricultural industry, traveling carnivals, peddling/begging rings, and in traveling sales crews (End Child Trafficking). These children being put to work usually get little or no money and still must endure the dangerous jobs they are forced to do. They are deprived of a normal childhood they could be having, often must sell their bodies and are most importantly, robbed of an education that in the long run would free them of the

Erika Acosta Mrs. Frank Senior Capstone, Period 6 November 2013 circumstances they are living in. This is an unnecessary burden that children should not have placed on their shoulders simply because of their age and vulnerability. Although many claim that our planet is stable as is now, our current situation will ultimately bring negative consequences to our planet and its people. The need for the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations, and the urgency to meet these 8 goals by 2015, proves that our planet is in dire need of change. According to the World Health Organization, the second half of the seventh goal, to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to basic sanitation, has not been met on a global scale. In fact, people without access to decent sanitation in urbanized areas has increased because of the rapidly growing population in these areas. Despite this, the first goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, has been cut from 28% to 17% in terms of underweight children in developing countries (Millennium Development Goals). Although it seems that progress has been made through this percentage cut, the goal of the United Nations was to halve that percentage which has not been accomplished. The slow progress in Sub-Saharan Africa will prevent the goal of halving the proportion of underweight children by 30 million. In the United States alone, it is predicted that there will contraction of snow cover areas, increased thaw in permafrost regions, decrease in sea ice extent, (The current and future consequences of global change). Despite beliefs that poverty and global warming are no longer issues, it is evident that much work still needs to be done.

Erika Acosta Mrs. Frank Senior Capstone, Period 6 November 2013 The Earth works as a system where the choices we make today influence the future of our children on the concept of needs and limitation. Sustainable development is an issue of great importance, because there are multiple routes of attack, whether philanthropist or environmental. The 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development goals is rapidly approaching with much work left to be done, and there is a need to set a good example for our children to lead change in the future. The strained resources we use, whether itd be food or energy, could have a negative effect on our global development. Soon, we will be deprived of the nonrenewable resources that we have, children are helpless in fending for themselves, and the children of future generations need a stable environment free of pollutants. The overusage of our resources needs to be cut, because we rely heavily on them, children require this food and these health services on a daily basis, and future generations should not feel the effects of former generations actions on the environment. A change needs to be made.

Erika Acosta Mrs. Frank Senior Capstone, Period 6 November 2013

Our Only Hope (Works Cited Page)

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