Renewable Resources, Pollution, and Sustainable Development
Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources
Renewable resources can be replaced at the same rate they are consumed. However, some may cease to exist if they are overused, like animal or plant species, which, once extinguished, do not recover. Non-renewable resources require a long and complex formation process. Once exhausted, they are gone forever. This is the case with geological resources (minerals and fossil fuels).
Biomass Energy in Corn Crops
In a pilot plant with corn crops, biomass energy could be obtained. Biomass can be used for large-scale heating, steam production, or biofuel production. Its advantages include renewability, biodegradability, low environmental impact, and its usefulness as a method of waste disposal. Drawbacks include the production of pollutants, low efficiency, and the high cost of land use.
Effects of Air Pollution
Air pollution has various effects on the atmosphere, including:
- Reduced visibility
- Fog formation
- Reduction of solar radiation
- Destruction of the ozone layer (the ozone layer in the stratosphere forms when the sun’s ultraviolet radiation hits O2 molecules, transforming them into ozone, which absorbs radiation. Without this layer, life on Earth as we know it would not be possible. CFCs and other gases contribute to the destruction of this layer)
- Formation of acid rain (when emissions of certain gases like SO2 and nitrogen oxides combine with rainwater, they form sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3))
- Effects on materials (such as corrosion or soiling) and living beings
- Climate change due to the greenhouse effect
Waste Management
Waste is any material resulting from a process of manufacture, processing, use, consumption, or cleaning that the owner or producer discards due to lack of utility. A waste management plan should include evacuation, treatment, disposal, or recycling.
Deforestation: Causes and Effects
The main causes of deforestation include:
- Clear-cutting (both legal and illegal) without subsequent reforestation
- Conversion of forest areas into agricultural, livestock, or urban land
- Impact of other industrial sectors (oil, gas, mining, and agribusiness)
- Inappropriate forestry techniques, such as excessive stocking with non-native species, substitution by non-forest vegetation, opening forest roads in areas with a high risk of erosion, excessive clearing of undergrowth, and the use of heavy equipment and off-road vehicles in forest interiors, which damage or compact the soil
- Air pollution, particularly acid rain
The global effects are alarming degradation and disappearance of forest formations. 50% of the forest surface has been cleared, and only 6% of the remaining hectares enjoy some form of protection. The situation is particularly serious in tropical forests, which lose 1% of their total area each year.
Biodiversity Loss
Biodiversity, in current terms, refers to the whole variety of life forms on Earth, in all its manifestations and relationships. There are six main causes of species extinction:
- Destruction, degradation, and fragmentation of habitats
- Introduction of alien species
- Overexploitation of species and resources
- Pollution of air, soil, and water
- Climate change caused by the greenhouse effect
- Industrialization of agriculture and forestry, which promotes intensive monocultures, causing an accelerated process of deforestation
Development Models: Uncontrolled vs. Sustainable
Uncontrolled development is based on developmentalist and liberal theory and remains the dominant system in developed countries. It has been described as predatory, unsupportive, and unsustainable. Since liberal economists did not consider the environment as a system in their economic analysis, they were unable to establish the maximum dimensions of the economic system and raised the limits of its expansion (hence the goal of continuous growth).
Sustainable development considers the overall alteration of ecosystems (due to the degradation of renewable resources, the accumulation of emissions and waste, and the loss of biodiversity) as humanity’s main problem. It aims to show the compatibility of current production-consumption approaches with sustainability principles. It is based on two premises:
- No real development occurs without preserving and enhancing the environmental base on which it is sustained.
- It is not possible to maintain the ecological health of the planet without promoting comprehensive development (economic, social, and cultural) of mankind, especially of the many people marginalized by poverty.
Importance of the Brundtland Report
The report Our Common Future (1987), resulting from the work of the World Commission on Environment and Development (also known as the Brundtland Commission), formalized the concept of sustainable development, underpinned by the idea that economic growth and the environment are interdependent and complementary. It was used as a reference document for preparing the Rio Summit in 1992. Since then, both politically and economically, the full relationship between environment and development proposed by sustainable development has been accepted as a paradigm.