A fairer world - The Tasmanian Center for Global Learning
Factory smoke, India. Source: www.imagesoftheworld.org

Did you know?
  • Acid rain now falls on a third of the Chinese landmass. *
  • There are an estimated 25 million ‘environmental refugees’, and the number could double by 2010. *
  • In the 1990s, an area of forest the size of Venezuela was destroyed. *
  • According to a recent survey, half of Japanese primary and secondary school students have never seen a sunrise or sunset. *




Take Action
Join a conservation organisation, such as The Wilderness Society or Friends of the Earth to promote environmental protection and lobby for change.



ENVIRONMENT


The Earth is our home, and it’s the only home we’re likely to have for a long time to come. It's bountiful, but it's finite. Our greatest challenge in the twenty-first century will be to find ways to live sustainably so that our descendants can live well, and so that the Earth’s myriad other life forms can continue to evolve and thrive.

At present, human beings – especially the wealthy – are consuming far more than the planet can sustain. As a result, forests are disappearing, oceans are dying and rivers and aquifers are drying up. According to a recent World Bank report, almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure.

The greatest single threat is climate change, caused principally by the burning of fossil fuels. Changing weather patterns and worsening storms could disrupt agriculture, wreck infrastructure and cripple the world economy. In the words of Britain’s former environment minister Michael Meacher, spiralling global warming could ‘make our planet uninhabitable’.

New technologies such as wind power are part of the answer. But the real problem is our addiction to material consumption. We need to find ways to live richly that do not cost the Earth.

This section contains information and links on Population, Energy and climate, Agriculture, Forests, Oceans, Biodiversity, Pollution and waste, Sustainability and Animal welfare.

Find out more about global environmental issues

  • The Worldwatch Institute publishes Vital Signs, State of the World and other seminal publications.
  • Clear and well-researched information on climate change, forests, oceans and sustainability is available on the David Suzuki Foundation website.
  • The Greenpeace International site provides information on climate change, oceans, forests, toxic chemicals, genetic engineering and other environmental issues.


Read about humanity’s ecological footprint

  • The World Resources Institute's Earth Trends section contains statistical data on a variety of environmental issues for countries worldwide.
  • The Global Footprint Networksite has information on the ecological footprint of the world's population, showing the extent to which our consumption can be supported by the ecological capacity of the Earth. It suggests that humanity is using about two fifth more resources and eco-services than nature can regenerate.


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