Overpopulation
• Provide education and birth control methods to developing countries• This would decrease rates of growth, and
reduce economic hardships
• Provide economic incentives for smaller families (tax breaks, etc.)
• Limit family size (China’s one child policy)
• Practice and Encourage replacement level fertility
Resource Depletion
• Practice wise use and conservation:• Use less of a resource (increase efficiency,
decrease waste- think of gas mileage) **easy• Attempt to find substitutes- renewable energy
sources• Increase the price of a resource to discourage
use (gas)• Recycle/reuse valuable resources
Toxic Wastes / Pollutants
• Do not utilize them- buy products made from safe, natural ingredients
• Proper disposal and treatment (sewage, chemicals, etc)
• Utilize methods to avoid fertilizer and pesticide use (no till, etc)• Biological pest control: using predators, pheromone traps,
etc to kill or sterilize a pest organism
• Outlaw the production and use of hazardous compounds (DDT- still being produced and used in India)
Deforestation
• Education in areas that are utilizing slash and burn
• Economic Incentives to leave forest intact (pay them to not cut trees down- Jobs, easements, etc.)
• Encourage sustainable forestry practices- selective cuts, replanting
• Reduce use of wood products, buy products made of sustainable wood
• Recycle paper and cardboard products
• Improve agriculture production
Biodiversity Loss / Overfishing
• Protect habitat- both at sea and land• From fragmentation, pollution, encroachment,
harvest
• Enact and enforce laws that protect species and limit harvests
• Buy forest/Eco friendly products• Eat less meat• buy Marine Stewardship Council sea food
(monteray bay list)
Global Warming
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Pass laws that would limit emissions• Cap and trade, kyoto- US refuses to participate
in these attempts
• Change lifestyles to reduce carbon footprint• Carbon footprint- the amount of carbon
dioxide that is produced from your activities
Overall- 3 R’s• Reduce: your usage and your waste. • Avoid excess packaging• repair instead of replace• Walk instead of drive
• Reuse: repurpose items• Don’t constantly think of everything as disposable- things just
don’t disappear. Instead challenge yourself to reuse items• Avoid water bottles and single use items
• Recycle: many materials can be processed and repurposed- this means that they won’t be harvested from the environment twice• Paper, plastic, metal, cardboard, glass• This can cut the amount of garbage you produce drastically
In the end
• You need to realize that you do harm the planet
• Every choice you make can either reduce your impact or ignore your impact• Learn about it• Do Research• Evaluate your actions
• You may not think small changes matter, but if 7 billion people all make small changes it adds up to a lot
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