The main threats to securing sustainability in the future in this country

There are many problems at present that are threatening sustainability in the future in this country. Although we have lots of goals we have set out to achieve there are many obstacles in the way. These issues need to be addressed in order to make sure our country is sustainable, ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1988)

At present the global economic crisis in our economy is becoming a serious threat to sustainable development initiatives. Research has shown that the slowdown could be damaging vital projects. For examples projects on bio-fuels and other environmentally friendly issues will be put to one side as there is no longer sufficient funding for them. Andy Wales, the director of sustainable development for the brewing giant SAB Miller, has stated that the economic slowdown will expose those businesses not taking the issue seriously enough.

For many the lack of government leadership remains a serious threat to achieving sustainable development goals. A recent survey of around 1,000 influential people, which included more than 400 business leaders, found that 25 per cent felt that national governments failure to take the lead on sustainable development ‘was the biggest obstacle facing such initiatives.’ (Prosser, 2008) Many people also felt that British politicians are too afraid of losing votes to offer effective leadership on sustainable development and the survey by YOUGOV also found that many people believe that the government will need to intervene in order to enforce more sustainable policies.

Our food chain also poses some key threats to sustainability. Greenhouse gas emissions result from consumer travel to supermarkets by car and it has been estimated that one in ten car journeys in the UK are for food shopping. The food and packing waste is another significant threat with an estimated 5.2 million tonnes of food related packaging waste and 6.7 million tonnes of food being sent to landfill from UK homes every year. At present the UK is reliant on landfill as a means of waste disposal and methane emissions from landfill heavily influence UK GHG emissions.

Agriculture may also be a growing threat to sustainability. The increase in agriculture has been accompanied by damage to the natural resource base, either to other agricultural or non-agricultural systems, or to the future agricultural potential of the area itself, so that the increased production is not sustainable.

Population growth is another underlying threat to sustainability. This is due to the increased consumption of energy and materials which are needed to provide for many more people. There is also more competition for resources and environmental degradation.
All these threats to sustainability need to be addressed in order for our country to not only meet our needs, but the needs of our future generations. It is all very well coming up with sustainable development goals, but these goals need to be followed through. We cannot just be sustainable in a few aspects of life and forget about the others. Just recycling our waste every now and then and switching of a few lights is not enough.


Prosser, D. (2008) Global Economic Crisis Imperials Sustainability, The Independent, London.

http://www.wdm.org.uk/news/archive/2002/wssd_threat.htm

http://www.sustainabilityatwork.org.uk/deliverables/food/7

Blog 9 – Sustainable Communities

A sustainable community is defined as a place where people want to live and work now and in the future. On the 5th February 2003 the Deputy Prime Minister launched the Communities Plan (Sustainable Communities: Building for the future). The Plan set out a long-term program of action for delivering sustainable communities in both urban and rural areas. The aim is to tackle housing supply issues in the South East, low demand in other parts of the country, and the quality of our public spaces. The Plan they have set out includes not just a significant increase in resources and major reforms of housing and planning, but a new approach to how we build and what we build.

At present my home is a small rural village in Norfolk, called Bircham. The village is in the super output area – 002C (King’s Lynn and West Norfolk). In 2006 my neighbourhood, King's Lynn and West Norfolk 002C, had an estimated 1,972 residents and 1,042 dwellings. The population density is 0.28 people per hectare. 77.35% identify themselves as Christian, 0.15% as Buddhist, 0.30% as other religions and 14.52% as no religion.

Figure 1




Figure 2

Figure 2 shows the percentage of people in various age groups that live in the King’s Lynn and West Norfolk 002C neighbourhood. It is clear to see that the area has a predominately ageing population with nearly 30% of the people being aged 60 plus.

In my neighbourhood 97.5% of the land use is green spaces, 0.1% water, 0.9% gardens, 0.8% roads, 0.1% non domestic buildings and 0.2% domestic buildings. My village is quite small and has very few amenities. We have one pub, one farm shop, a windmill, three churches, and very few buses making public transport almost impossible. However one thing we do still have is our post office! There is also a small school with around 30 students.

The area does have a relatively low crime rate compared to over parts of the country with low burglary numbers and wounding or endangering lives. People are also seemingly happy with the health care available, with 65% of people saying it is good and 25.3% saying it is fairly good. The average value of a detached property is around £220,655 and a semi detached is about £149.691, which are both slightly lower than the national average. However it does depend on the area in which you chose to buy, as house prices vary dramatically across the West Norfolk region. Education appears to be on par with much of the country with at least 58.3% of people gaining at least 5 plus A* - C grades in KS4.

Nearly 50% of the households in the area have at least one car or van and 32.38% have two cars or vans. This is most likely due to the poor public transport in many of the villages often meaning that a car is the only option.

Although I do feel I live in a sustainable community where people can live and work now and in the future it is also clear to see that there are some limitations from living in such a rural area. Many young people move away from the area as there are few opportunities for work or social lives, leaving the villages with ageing populations. The houses are often too expensive for first time buyers so they are bought by older people wishing to retire or people wanting to use the house as an escape from the city at weekends. If people want to live and work in these rural environments transport is often paramount as this is the only way to get to towns or cities were work is more readily available. To make many of the villages around me and in my supper output area more sustainable it is important that public transport is improved. Investment is also needed in many of the small schools as lots of them have very few students and are threatened with closure. This would lead to job losses and students having to travel out of their villages for their education. There is lots of available land for development, but this development needs to be controlled and with in keeping of the rural environment. By building new homes that are more affordable it may bring younger people back to the area which in turn will improve the sustainability of the community.

http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/NeighbourhoodProfile.do?a=3&c=PE31+6QR&g=470485&i=1001x1012&j=311024&m=1&p=1&q=1&r=0&s=1236078929803&enc=1&tab=2&inWales=false

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/sustainablecommunitiesbuilding

Blog 8 – ‘United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.’

In this ever changing world education for sustainable development seems like an increasingly bright idea. If we are going to make a difference and protect our planet for future generations now is the time to start. The United Nations have already set out their goal;

‘...to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning. This educational effort will encourage changes in behaviour that will create a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations.'

The United Nations have eight key action themes that they feel are a vital part of the goal. They want to pursue gender equality so that all members of society will respect each other and play roles which can fulfil their potential. Health is another important issue. If people are ill it hampers economic and social development.

‘Education and basic medical information are powerful ways to drive behavioural change.’

The UN wants people to behave responsibly and respect the environment as this lies at the core of education for sustainable development. Of course the environment covers a wide range of themes, such as water, climate change, biodiversity and disaster prevention, all of which need to be addressed. Rural development needs to be addressed, along with education and training in rural poverty and ensuring sustainable development in rural areas. We need to respect different cultural diversities and make sure education takes this into account when teaching about sustainable development.

Peace and security are also and important aspect of the UN’s goal. People require these basic needs in order to develop. Sustainable development of cultures that feel insecure or are experiencing conflict can be endangered and is not always a high priority when lives are at risk. Cities also play an important role in sustainable development. With half the world’s population now living in cities it has never been so important to try and reduce the urban threats that cities potentially play in sustainable development.

And lastly sustainable consumption, as I have mentioned in many of my previous blogs, plays a key role in sustainable development. We need to think about what we are consuming as this will ultimately impact the way in which people live their lives tomorrow. We need to try and harm the environment as little as possible and reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill.

Education for sustainable development has never been as valuable as it is right now. We need to change people’s attitudes and behaviour so that we can create a more sustainable future for generations to come. If we do not start trying to change the attitudes of the younger generations now, we will leave it too late and the damage will already be done.

Haigh (2005) has already said that Geography is the best place to deliver the sustainable development curriculum. I agree with this statement as it seems logical that a subject that already looks at humans and the environment should focus on the issues of sustainable development. Sustainable development is already one of the key geographical concepts that underpins geography. Studying sustainable development in geography can incorporate environmental, social and economic issues. Human geography engages directly with sustainable development as human geography already seeks to understand the interaction of complex economic, social and environmental processes. Geography also tries not to promote any particular view or solution to the problem. It is interested in opening students minds to sustainable development and ways of thinking constructively about it.

However I do not feel that geography is the only place where sustainable development should be taught. Issues surrounding sustainable development could also be touched on in science lessons, such as biology and chemistry as issues to do with green house gasses, biodiversity and ecology may be better understood by some students studying these subjects.

So far on my BSc Geography degree I have really enjoyed this module concerned with sustainable development issues. There have been some really interesting topics covered, such as the UN style debate, the Universities Green Travel Plan and much more. I personally feel this module is a very important part of the course and I am able to incorporate the knowledge I have gained from this module into many other modules I am studying, which just goes to prove that sustainable development really is at the heart of geography.

http://www.geography.org.uk/resources/pastthemes/undecadeforsd/

http://www.rgs.org/HomePage.htm

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27555&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Bad Crunch, Good Crunch?

Alistair Darling was accused of overreacting back in August last year when he claimed that Britain was facing the worst economic downturn in 60 years. Now it seems this may have been and understatement as bank after bank continues to fall. So it is clear to see that 2009 is going to be a tough year for many.




Official government figures have now confirmed that Britain is in its first recession since 1991 and already unemployment has risen to a staggering 1.92 million people. The housing market continues to be severely depressed and retail sales are weak. Travel agents battle it out as many people tighten their belts on such luxuries and car companies are looking at a difficult period as people choose to stick with their current cars and save their money for more important essential items.




But some people take the attitude that the more people that get laid off and the poorer people become, the greener this country will get. Co2 levels that were set to rise may see a decline as manmade greenhouse gas emissions start falling due to the declining western economies.

"This is an opportunity to think strategically about development," says environmental adviser Chris Baines. "Sites where biodiversity is being lost may have a reprieve, and this breathing space is the opportunity to think about establishing a green infrastructure ahead of a restart in building and to analyse the social implications to families of such high-density housing without significant green space. There are opportunities for tree-planting, wetlands for flood management, energy crops, adventure playgrounds."

Thanks to the recession there is likely to be a reduction in landfills. At present the world produces billions of tons of domestic waste each year. But during this time when people are spending less on food there is going to be less consumption, which means there will be less packaging and material to be dumped in landfills. Even when things are recycled this still uses energy which means more fossil fuels are burned. So all in all a reduction in the amount of food we consume can only be a good thing for the environment.




However I for one am not sure if I want millions of families to suffer and risk losing their homes or not having enough money to feed their children just because the environment might benefit. Many people who have lost their jobs or are finding it hard to pay their heating bills are likely to be very angry with the government for spending billions on such things as electric cars and investing in solar power and bio-fuels. These people will end up resenting the government’s missions to save the environment and may simply no longer care about trying to reduce their co2 emissions.




We need to remember that the recession isn’t all good for the environment. For starters many companies that are struggling will reduce their investments into research and development and green programmes. Secondly most average people will start buying cheaper products to save money, meaning that greener products will lose out. Also there were lots of small firms out there who were just starting up work on breakthroughs in greener technologies, but without bank loans and support many of these firms will find it difficult to get funding and will ultimately go bankrupt.




Of course I don’t want to see the environment suffer through this rocky economic period, but is it really humane to want to see the people around us suffering either? In desperate times we all need to pull together and try to make the best out of a very bad situation and ultimately keep the effects of this economic downturn on the environment to a minimum level.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7846266.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/23/conservation.greenbuilding

lets spend time....counting carssss!

Ok so last thursday we spent time conducting questionnaire and counting cars (hence the name.)The questionnaire was carried around park campus and involved asking students what their opinion was of car use, parking and what their attitudes were towards sustainable car use at Park Campus.

We, as our small group of 4, carried out our survey on park campus at 9:30 in the morning for an hour. A very cold and WET hour. Two members of our group stood by the barrier into the main student car park and counted the number of cars/passengers using the car park within 10 min blocks during the whole hour. As we wore high vis jackets, we were a prone target for motorist frustration, much-o fun-o.

The other 2 memebers of our group conducted their surveys somewhere between the car park, senate building and halls. This was a purposive sampling method (i think), in which they managed to collect 19 completed surveys.

Some memebers of our group felt that there would have been more people car sharing than observed, however, the time of day that we conducted this survey was a period in which most early lectures had already commenced, so not many students would have been turning up.

If we were to carry out this survey again, i think i would personally use a clip board and an umbrella next time, the sheets got soaked to the point where they nearly fell apart. As i was wearing one of the high vis jackets in the car park, i think i would also have a badge on explaining that i am just a student and have no idea where to get a barrier card.

I would also look at future weather forecasts and try to do the survey on a day where it isnt too cold, or raining, we found that not many people want to stop in the rain to participate in a questionnaire about sustainable car use. Also, i would look before hand at what the staff parking ticket looks like, otherwise we could possibly count members of staff as well as students using the car park.

Emily Bradshaw and Natasha Ayres

Blog 5- To what extent can individuals (i.e. you) make a difference?

At times there are many of us that feel there is little we can do as an individual to help with sustainable development. Some of have the attitude that if others are not going to do their fair share, such as reducing their CO2 emissions or recycling more, then why should they? But this is not the right attitude and if we carry on with this outlook on life we will slowly destroy the planet between us.

There are so many things we can all do to help. The fact is it does not have to be a massive thing. It can be something as simple as switching of lights or only boiling enough water as is needed to make a few cups of tea. These things are so simple and take no effort and yet they can make such a difference.

Recycling is one way we can all help to save the environment. There is so much emphasis placed on recycling at present that it is hard not to get involved. We can all do our part, making sure we recycle cardboards and papers, glasses, tins and plastics. Once you get into a routine it is very simple. In our house we have a bin for food waste, one for papers and cardboard, another for tins and one for plastics. Mum keeps all this out in the utility so it is out of the way and then once every few days we take it outside to the bins in the shed where it is ready to be collected. By making sure we recycle responsibly like this we can save the planet. Recycled bottles can be made into new bottles and old newspapers can be transformed into new ones. This helps to save money, time and reduce impacts to the environment.

Food waste is also a big problem. In Britain alone it is thought that we needlessly throw away £10 billion worth of food every year. This is a third of everything we buy. We all know that when we go shopping we cram our baskets and trolleys full of food, but the likelihood is we will not be eating all of it. According to recent research carried out by The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) one in three of the shopping bags, baskets or trolley loads of food we purchase are thrown away. This is quite a scary statistic, especially with the current economic issues; many of us can just simply not afford to be throwing this amount of food away as it is just money down the drain.

Perhaps the most shocking fact of all is that most of the waste goes to landfill where it rots down and produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more damaging than CO2 and much of the food wasted is still in date. The sad truth is all of this could be stopped if we just planned, stored and managed our food in a much more sustainable manner.

In my home county, Norfolk, the local councils are supporting the national Love Food Hate Waste campaign. The message is quite simple;

‘ If you want to save money and protect the environment, feed yourself, not the bin! ’

It is fair to say that in my home, with a family of five, there are times when mum will by too much and we end up throwing things away, such as yoghurts, meat and fruit and vegetables. Once again we need to educate people on storing food, looking at the ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ dates and look at showing people how to use their leftovers in recipes.

Another big issue in my family is the use of cars. With four of us in the family all having cars and driving most days we must be emitting lots of co2. Because of where we live we have very little choice as there is no public transport and no other means of getting to work of the surrounding villages or towns. For some people though this is not the case and using their cars is simply just a bad habit. We need to give these people reasons and incentives not to use their cars and to start using their legs or public transport.

So overall I believe there are lots of things we can do as individuals to help. We just need to be thinking sensibly everyday as we go about our daily routines. Do I really need that extra 5 minutes in the shower? Do I really need to use my car or can I walk or get a lift? Do I really need everything on my shopping list? Make sure I switch off any unnecessary lights, do not leave my T.V and laptop on standby all the time. Just silly things like this that I do not always do could make a huge difference to the current impact I personally am having on our one and only planet.

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

www.norfolk.gov.uk/recycling

United Nations Debate

I feel I learnt a lot from the United Nations style debate. The country I was allocated was Ghana so I felt sure there would be lots of information available to me. Before I carried out my research I knew very little about Ghana and next to nothing about any sustainable development policies they had in place, so I was quite excited to find out more about this country. As I had assumed there was masses of information about the country online. Much of it was of little use and I found myself reading through huge documents so that I could prize out the information I felt was most vital to use in the debate.

The main issues I found were desertification and drought, lack of sanitation and clean water and deforestation. I was not surprised to learn this though as from the previous knowledge I had of Ghana I had already considered issues like these being possible challenges for the country. I was however shocked by the number of small villages and towns who were still without clean, safe drinking water, something many of us take for granted every day. It is shocking to think that an issue so small, such as providing clean water, can be such a big challenge. But with little funding Ghana continues to struggle with such issues.

I really enjoyed the debate and was interested to see what issues other countries across the world faced. There was a good variety of approaches from all countries involved and I was quite surprised at just how many countries faced similar sustainable development issues to Ghana. America, China and South Korea faced very different issues to my country, so it was interesting to see what problems they had to overcome. Some of Americas Issues were gun crime, drugs and pollution and China was facing such issues as the loss of its Panda and severe pollution problems. After hearing some of the sustainable development problems from some of the MEDC I felt Ghana was still very deserving of the money, perhaps even more so than countries such as China.

Overall I feel my countries plea for the money was very successful. We had a clear introduction that followed through to our most important sustainable development issues at present and what we felt we most needed the money for. I feel there was sufficient information in our handout, just enough to let people know what we were going to be talking about and why we felt we deserved the money. It also gave them a brief insight into Ghana and hopefully grabbed people’s attention so that they would listen to our speech and take our plea seriously.

If we were to carry out the debate again I think I would shorten out introduction a bit and try to fit in more information about our present policies and how they are working for us and push the point that the money would have a huge beneficial impact on my country allowing us to carry on working towards a more sustainable future. I would also like to rehears my speech more so that I do not feel I need the sheets of paper to help me along.

However perhaps the biggest issue overall throughout the debate and the preparation was the lack of team work. I had very little support and was left to prepare the handout and speech by myself. I do not feel my partner pulled their weight; they did very little research and did not read the handout I had produced until the day of the debate. I feel this lack of team work let our country down and put pressure on me to carry out all the work in a short space of time. On this occasion team work was not beneficial and left me feeling disappointed.

On the bright side I do feel I learnt a lot more about Sustainable Development thanks to the debate. It was interesting to see how different countries faced multiple problems surrounding the issue. I liked finding out how they could use the money in their countries to improve various situations and what policies they had in place at present and what they were hoping for in the future.