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LEARNING GUIDE
Week No.: __10_
TOPIC/S: TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
1. Environmental Crisis and Sustainable Development
a. The World’s Leading Environmental Problems
b. Man-Made Pollution
c. Catching Up
d. Climate Change
e. Combatting Global Warming
2. Global Food Security
EXPECTED COMPETENCIES: At the end of the week, the students must have:
1. reflected critically on the issues confronting the nation-state; and
2. worked effective in a group.
CONTENT/TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Environmental Crisis and Sustainable Development
• Development, especially economic development was hastened by the
Industrial Revolution. This is the period in human history that makes
possible the cycle of efficiency. Efficiency means finding the quickest
possible way of producing large amount of a particular product. This
process made buying of goods easier for the people. Then, there is an increase
demand. Ultimately, there is an increase of efficiency.
• This cycle harms the planet in a number of ways. Like for example, the
earth’s atmosphere is damaged by more carbon emissions from factories
around the world. Another example is the destruction of coral reefs and
marine biodiversity as more and more wastes are thrown into the ocean.
• Many experts do not think that the planet can sustain a growing global
economy. Deforestation, pollution, and climate change will not adjust for us,
especially if increases in living standards lead people to demand more
consumer goods like cars, meat and smartphones.
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• Sustainable development is the development of our world today by using the
earth’s resources and the preservation of such sources for the future. The
development has to be ensured in and for the future generations. One
significant global response or approach to economic globalization is that of
sustainable development which seeks to chart a middle path between
economic growth and a sustainable environment. The relationship between
globalization and sustainability is multi-dimensional; it involves economic,
political, and technological aspects.
• The continuous production of the world’s natural resources such as water
and fossil fuel allow humanity to discover and innovate many things. We
were able to utilize energy, discover new technologies, and make
advancements in transportation and communication. These positive effects of
development put our environment at a disadvantage. Climate change
accelerated and global inequality was not eradicated.
• Sustainable development as an idea and practice is the latest in a long line of
major approaches to economic development. Whether sustainable
development is the major paradigm in contemporary debates on development
or one approach among many is a moot point. It is, in its various guises, the
dominant solution to the problems of environmental degradation and poverty
in the South.
• Sustainable development represents a new justification for intervention in
the developing world. The terrain for intervention has been extended to
include governance, the role of civil society and the stewardship of
environmental resources. If earlier versions of development theory were
formed in the context of the Cold War sustainable development has been
articulated, for the most part, in the post-Cold War era. The geo-political
context is neither accidental nor irrelevant. The emergence of different forms
of conditionality is linked to considerations of global power. Intervention, in
the guise of concern for environmental degradation, becomes yet another
incursion by Western interests in the domination and subjugation of non-
western peoples (Escobar, 1995: 194).
• The goal of sustainability sometimes refers to the resource base itself, and
sometimes to the livelihoods which are derived from it.
• Some commentators refer to sustaining levels of production, while others
emphasise sustaining levels of consumption. The difference is important since
development at the global level has become unsustainable, largely due to
patterns of overconsumption in the advanced industrial countries.
• However, policies for sustainable development that have been put forward, to
date, are essentially production-oriented. Nevertheless, it is possible to discern
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several core assumptions in the various definitions of sustainable
development.
• First, sustainable development appears to require an inescapable commitment
to equity, specifically inter-generational equity. In other words, sustainable
development policies should ensure that the welfare of future generations is no
lower than our own.
• Secondly, sustainable development requires an entrenchment of environmental
considerations in policy-making. Efficiency in resource use entails the
internalisation of environmental costs in pricing decisions. That is, efficiency
is defined so that the full costs of goods and services are reflected in the price
of production inputs and consumer goods.
• Thirdly, there is concern with the inter-country and intracountry effects of
changes in economic policies. In the context of the international economy,
North-South relations are a prime site for discussions of equity. Finally, the
narrow focus on growth (and obsession with GNP per capita) is replaced with
greater attention paid to social aspects of development.
• Attention has focused over the years on improving the quantity, quality and
effectiveness of development assistance. Various studies have been conducted
to determine the role of external capital in development. Proponents of foreign
aid maintain that although aid has on a number of occasions failed to achieve
its goals, the overall record is positive
(https://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/ijps/vol3_2/Williams.htm).
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
Our Mother Earth is currently facing a lot of environmental concerns. The
environmental problems like global warming, acid rain, air pollution, urban sprawl, waste
disposal, ozone layer depletion, water pollution, climate change and many more affect every
human, animal, and nation on this planet. Over the last few decades, the exploitation of our
planet and the degradation of our environment has gone up at an alarming rate. As our actions
have been not in favor of protecting this planet, we have seen natural disasters striking us
more often in the form of flash floods, earthquakes, blizzards, tsunamis, and cyclones.
Different environmental groups around the world play their role in educating
people as to how their small actions, when combined together, can play a big role in
protecting this planet. If you look at the environment around us, you can see that there are a
number of issues that come to our attention. Here are 25 of the most important environmental
concerns that you must keep an on today.
Top 25 Brutal Environmental Concerns That You Should Definitely Know
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1. Air Pollution
Pollution of air, water, and soil takes a huge number of years to recover. Industry and
engine vehicle fumes are the most obvious toxins. Substantial metals, nitrates, and plastic are
poisons in charge of pollution. While water contamination is brought about by oil slicks, acid
rain, and urban sprawl; air contamination is created by different gasses and poisons
discharged by businesses and manufacturing plants and burning of fossil fills; soil
contamination is majorly created by mechanical waste that takes supplements out of the soil.
2. Water Pollution
Clean drinking water is turning into an uncommon thing. Water is turning into a
monetary and political concern as the human populace battles for this need. Waste from
industrial and agricultural activities pollutes the water that is used by humans, animals, and
plants.
3. Soil and Land Pollution
Land pollution simply means degradation of the earth’s surface as a result of human
activities like mining, littering, deforestation, industrial, construction, and agricultural
activities. Land pollution can have a huge environmental impact in the form of air pollution
and soil pollution which in turn can have an adverse effect on human health.
4. Climate Change
Climate change is yet another environmental concern that has surfaced in the last
couple of decades. Environmental change has different destructive impacts that include, but
are not limited to, the melting of polar ice, change in seasons, new sicknesses, and change in
the general climate situation.
5. Global Warming
Environmental asset abuse is also an important environmental concern. Fossil fuel
utilization brings about the discharge of greenhouse gasses, which causes environmental
change. However, individuals are taking endeavors to move to renewable energy sources.
6. Deforestation & Logging
Our woodlands create new oxygen and additionally help in managing temperature and
precipitation. At present, timberlands cover 30% of the area, but wooded areas are being lost
on a regular basis because people are looking for homes, food, and materials. Deforestation is
a huge problem and will just continue to get worse.
7. Increased Carbon Footprint
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Temperature increases, like climate change, are the consequence of human practices,
including the use of greenhouse gasses. When the atmosphere changes and the heat increases,
it can cause a number of problems and start to destroy the world we live in.
8. Genetic Modification
Genetic modification utilizing biotechnology is called genetic engineering. Genetic
engineering of food brings about expanded poisons and sicknesses as qualities from a
hypersensitive plant can exchange to the target plant. Some of these crops can even be a
threat to the world around us, as animals start to ingest the unnatural chemicals and such.
9. Effect on Marine Life
The amount of carbon in the water and the atmosphere is continuing to be a problem
in the world around us. The primary effect is on shellfish and microscopic fish, and it has
similar effects on osteoporosis in humans.
10. Public Health Issues
The current environmental concerns represent a considerable measure of danger to the
well-being of people and creatures. Dirty water is the greatest well-being danger of the world
and poses a risk to the health and lifespan of people and animals.
11. Overpopulation
The number of inhabitants on the planet is arriving at unsustainable levels as it
confronts a deficiency of assets like water, fuel, and food. Overpopulation is one of the most
important environmental concerns.
12. Loss of Biodiversity
Biodiversity is yet another casualty due to the impact of human beings on the
environment. It is the result of 3.5 billion years of evolution. Habitat destruction is a major
cause of biodiversity loss. Habitat loss is caused by deforestation, overpopulation, pollution,
and global warming.
13. Household and Industrial Waste
The overutilization of assets and the formation of plastics are making a worldwide
emergency of waste transfer. Developed nations are infamous for creating an unreasonable
measure of waste or junk and dumping their waste in the seas and, less created nations.
14. Ozone Layer Depletion
The ozone layer is an undetectable layer of protection around the planet that secures
us from the sun’s unsafe beams. The depletion of the critical Ozone layer of the air is credited
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to contamination brought about by Bromide and Chlorine found in Chlorofloro carbons
(CFCs). When these poisonous gasses reach the upper parts of the atmosphere, they cause a
gap in the ozone layer, the greatest of which is over the Antarctic.
15. Mining
Mining results in the extraction of minerals from the earth’s core. These minerals also
bring out harmful chemicals from deep inside the earth to the earth’s surface. The toxic
emissions from mining can cause air, water, and soil pollution
16. Natural Resource Depletion
Non-renewable resources are limited and will get expired one day. Consumption of
fossil fuels at an alarming rate can lead to global warming which can further result in the
melting of polar ice caps and an increase in sea levels.
17. : Natural Disasters
Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, cyclones, volcanic eruptions can
be unpredictable, devastating, and can cause irreparable damage. They can cause a huge loss
of life and property.
18. Nuclear Issues
Radioactive waste is a nuclear fuel that contains radioactive substances and is a
byproduct of nuclear power generation. The radioactive waste is an environmental concern
that is extremely toxic and can have a devastating effect on the lives of the people living
nearby, if not disposed of properly. Radioactive waste is considered to be harmful to humans,
plants, animals, and the surrounding environment.
19. Loss of Endangered Species
Human overpopulation is prompting the elimination of species and environmental
surroundings and the loss of various biomes. Environmental frameworks, which took a huge
number of years to come into being, are at risk when any species populace is huge.
20. Acid Rain
Acid rain happens because of the vicinity of specific poisons in the climate. Corrosive
downpour might be brought about because of the use of fossil fuels or volcanoes or spoiling
vegetation which discharges sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the air.
21. Agricultural Pollution
Modern-day agriculture practices make use of chemical products like pesticides and
fertilizers to deal with local pests. Some of the chemicals when sprayed do not disappear and
in fact, seeps into the ground and thereby harms plants and crops. Also, contaminated water is
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used for irrigation by farmers due to the disposal of industrial and agricultural waste in local
water bodies.
22. Light and Noise Pollution
Noise pollution is another common form of pollution that causes temporary disruption
when there is an excessive amount of unpleasant noise. Construction activities,
industrialization, an increase in vehicular traffic, lack of urban planning are a few of the
causes of noise pollution.
23. Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl alludes to the relocation of the populace from high thickness urban
ranges to low-density provincial zones which bring about the spreading of the city over the
more rustic area. Urban sprawl brings about expanded movement, environmental concerns,
and well-being concerns.
24. Disposal of Medical Waste
Medical waste is any kind of waste that is produced in large quantities by healthcare
centers like hospitals, nursing homes, dental clinics, and is considered to be of a bio-
hazardous nature. The waste can include needles, syringes, gloves, tubes, blades, blood, body
parts, and many more.
25. Littering and Landfills
Littering simply means disposal of a piece of garbage or debris improperly or at a
wrong location usually on the ground instead of disposing them at a trash container or
recycling bin. Littering can cause a huge environmental and economic impact in the form of
spending millions of dollars to clean the garbage of roads that pollute the clean air.
Landfills, on the other hand, are nothing but huge garbage dumps that make the city
look ugly and produce toxic gases that could prove fatal for humans and animals. Landfills
are generated due to the large amount of waste that is generated by households, industries,
and healthcare centers every day https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/top-25-
environmentalconcerns.php)
MAN-MADE POLLUTION
Humans aggravate other natural environmental problems (Claudio, 2019).
• In Saudi Arabia, sandstorm combined with combustion exhaust from trffic and
industrial waste has lead World Health Organization (WHO) to declare Riyadh as one
of the most polluted cities in the world.
• Coal fumes coming out of industries and settling down in surrounding areas
contaminated 20% of China’s soil with the rice lands Hunan and Zhuzhou found to
have heavy metals from the mines, threatening food supply.
• In 2015 Greenpeace India reported that air pollution in the country was at its worst.
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• WHO warned Nigeria that air pollution is reaching to its dangerous levels, which 94%
of its population is exposed.
• Waste coming out of coal, copper and gold mines flowing out into the rivers and
oceans is destroying sea life.
a. Copper mine (biggest) in Malanjkhand in India
b. Tailings of Gold in China (Shanxi Maanqiao Ecological Mining Ltd.)
• Pollution in West Africa has affected “the atmospheric circulation system that
controls everything from the wind and temperature to rainfall across huge swathes of
the region.
• Aerosol is tagged as the culprit in changing rainfall patterns in Asia and the Atlantic
Ocean.
• In 2013, as a result of climate change, uncontrolled urban growth, and rapid
industrialization 28,000 of the 50,000 rivers in China had disappeared.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. From
shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the
risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and
unprecedented in scale (un.org).
Global warming is the result of billions of tons of carbon dioxide coming from coal burning
power plants and transportation. Various air pollutants and other gases accumulating in the
atmosphere.
Greenhouse effect is responsible for recurring heat waves ang long droughts in certain
places, as well as for heavier rainfall and devastating hurricanes and typhoon in other places.
Global Food Security
The concept of food security is dynamic; it has been changing to incorporate new
ideas over the years since it was established. In this piece, it will argue that if cultural
acceptability is to be added as a tenant of food security then so must sustainability. Cultural
acceptability addresses the needs of various ethnicities, for example providing kosher foods
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for the Jewish population and halal foods for the followers of Islam. Since there is a new
focus on the environment with initiatives such as the Kyoto Protocol, this piece concludes
further that sustainability should also be an integral part of food security as a concept, if food
security is to maintain its legitimacy as a concept.
The five main tenets of the concept of food security
1. Quantity: energy
2. Quality: provision of all essential nutrients
3. Safety: free from toxic factors and contaminants
4. Palatability: taste, texture and so on
5. Cultural Acceptability
Until the mid-1990s, food security was only defined by the trio of quality, quantity
and safety. However, since then, the concept of cultural acceptability has worked its way into
the food security nexus. Culturally acceptability refers to the access to food stuffs that are
acceptable for a designated population, for instance access to kosher food for the Jewish
population. These elements encompass the major areas relating to food security, but there is
an extra dimension that needs to be incorporated: sustainability. The inclusion of
sustainability is necessary due to the changing geography of human society, with the ever-
increasing focus on globalisation and corporate integration.
Sustainability, for the purposes of this exploration, will be the inclusion of urban and
peri-urban agriculture, that is those outside the city limits but not in rural (i.e. suburban
areas), to supplement the prevalent food system in place today. The currently prevalent food
system is taken to refer to the corporate-centered, large-scale food production system which
predominates in the developed world.
The developed world is usually conceptualized as exempt from issues of food
security. Affluence and privilege supposedly indicate that people's "fundamental needs"
have been met clothing, shelter, clean water and adequate food. However, this is not the case.
For example, the Community Food Security Coalition's North American Urban Agriculture
Committee lament s that 'one of the worst paradoxes in human history and one of the
consequences of the economic structure of the current food system is hunger in the midst of
plenty. It is this "hunger" that needs to be explored (Barnes, William. Interstate Journal from
the International Affairs, 2014).
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PROGRESS CHECK:
Assessment: Choose three (3) items/questions to be answered. Discuss the
items/questions in 3 -5 sentences only.
1. How do you define sustainable development?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. Discuss the concept of global food security. What are the five main tenets, then,
explain each.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. What are the major environmental problems you are exposed to?
_____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. What are the 25 environmental concerns that we should definitely know? Discuss
each one.
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______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. What do you know about sustainable development? What makes it different from
economic development?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
REFERENCES
Textbooks
Aldama, Prince Kennex Reguyal,(2018) The Contemporary World, Rex Bookstore.
Barnes, William. (2014). Interstate Journal from the International Affairs.
Hunt, Chester, et.al. (2009), Sociology in the Philippine Setting, SIBS Publishing.
On Line
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/top-25-environmental-concerns.php
https://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/ijps/vol3_2/Williams.htm
This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas intended for
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas intended for
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
