Save the World!
Ensure Environmental Sustainability
United Nations Millennium Goal 7
Target 7.A:
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources
- Forests are a safety net, especially for the poor, but they continue to disappear at an alarming rate.
- An increase in afforestation, a slight decrease in deforestation and the natural expansion of forests have reduced the net loss of forest from an average of 8.3 million hectares annually in the 1990s to an average of 5.2 million hectares annually between 2000 and 2010.
- Between 1990 and 2012, global emissions of carbon dioxide increased by over 50 per cent.
- Ozone-depleting substances have been virtually eliminated, and the ozone layer is expected to recover by the middle of this century.
Target 7.B:
Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
- Protected ecosystems covered 15.2 per cent of land and 8.4 per cent of coastal marine areas worldwide by 2014.
Target 7.C:
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
- The world has met the target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water, five years ahead of schedule.
- Between 1990 and 2015, 2.6 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources.
- Worldwide 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation. Despite progress, 2.4 billion are still using unimproved sanitation facilities, including 946 million people who are still practicing open defecation.
Reverse the loss of environmental resources
- Issue related to food: Fertile lands have been transformed into highways, grazing fields, residences and commercial centers. Reducing vast agricultural areas will naturally deplete the production of food.
- Toxic chemical issue: The use of fertilizers and pesticides in the farms to boost food production causes air poisoning and pollution which are harmful to plants, animals and humans.
- Issue on the destruction of natural habitats: Wildlife needs a particular kind of environment to survive. For instance, some birds fly to warmer countries during winter season but when the habitat is destroyed by loggers, these birds will go somewhere else to which their body can't tolerate. Wildlife will soon be doomed for extinction.
- Issue on energy: Many countries rely on fossil fuel for their energy needs which is non-renewable. Fossil oil such as gasoline and diesel, pollutes the air, which results in global warming. Everyday, thousands of vehicles are clogging the highways, not only to ferry human passengers but to bring about smog, pollution and other toxins into the environment.
http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/68899.aspx
Reduce biodiversity loss
- Global Warming: Glaciers in Greenland are melting at an alarming speed. Approximately 186 gigatons of ice melted each year from 2003- 2010. This has caused the world's oceans increase by one inch.
https://newsela.com/articles/greenland-iceloss/id/13769/
- Endangered Species: With all of the environmental changes, many species are having difficulty surviving. Some endangered species in Kansas include: the gray bat, the prairie- chicken and black- footed ferret.
Improve access to safe drinking water
- Safe drinking water: Not everyone can walk into their house, go to the sink and turn on water. Some people need to go and get water from a well. In some places, this water can be contaminated with harmful bacteria.
http://kidsenvirohealth.nlm.nih.gov/subtopic/004/water-pollution/007/drinking-water/
Your Mission:
2. Choose a country that has a long way to go until your problem is solved.
3. You will need to find 5- 10 facts about the problem and 5- 10 facts about your country.
4. You will need to come up with a reasonable solution. A committee will vote on your solution to fund the project in the country of your choice.
5. Create a "smore" board that includes at least 3 pictures, your facts, solution and works' cited page.
6. Present your board to the class.
7. Vote on the solution you would fund!