Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

by Peacock, Kathy Wilson; Carl, Jeremy

• ISBN13: 9780816072156
• ISBN10: 0816072159
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-06-30
• Publisher: Facts on File

Summary

Natural Resources and Sustainable Development is part of the Global Issues series, which is designed to be a first-stop resource for research on the key challenges facing the world today. Each volume contains three sections, beginning with an introduction that clearly defines the issue, followed by detailed case studies of the issue's impact in the United States and several other countries or regions. The second section draws together significant U.S. and international primary source documents, and the third section gathers useful research tools such as brief biographies, facts and figures, an annotated bibliography, and more. A foreword written by an expert in the field complements each volume. A chronology, glossary, and index provide additional help.

Author Biography

Kathy Wilson Peacock is a professional writer and editor. She has contributed articles to Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns, Gale's Literature Community Newsletter, Poetry for Students, Shakespeare for Students, and Contemporary Authors Online

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. v
At Issue
Introduction	p. 3
Focus on the United States	p. 36
Global Perspectives	p. 64
Primary Sources
United States Documents	p. 117
International Documents	p. 176
Research Tools
How to Research Sustainable Development	p. 237
Facts and Figures	p. 252
Key Players A to Z	p. 264
Organizations and Agencies	p. 280
Annotated Bibliography	p. 303
Chronology	p. 341
Glossary	p. 361
Index	p. 375
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

There are more than 6 billion people living on Earth today, and the United Nations predicts that this number will surge to 9.1 billion by the year 2050. However, the natural resources necessary to sustain the world's population—including freshwater, arable land, and fossil fuels—are dwindling. In order to achieve sustainable development, the stress exerted on the environment by the world's population will have to be controlled through reduced rates of consumption.
What steps must be taken to reduce humanity's global footprint and keep within the boundary of the planet's carrying capacity? What are the strategies that governments can pursue to reduce population growth and energy consumption and to preserve and increase the supply of freshwater and energy resources? Natural Resources and Sustainable Development explores the impact that overconsumption has had on natural resources as well as possible alternative strategies in the United States, China, India, Germany, and Brazil.