Page 112 - Ai Book - 10

Let’s read about some problems related to sustainable development.

Population and Human Resources
Since the world population has experienced a very rapid growth and is likely to reach 8 billion by 2025, the
degree of consumption of resources per capita has also increased.

Food Security

There is widespread hunger today despite the dramatic increase in the world production of cereal, meat and
milk which have more than tripled since 1950. The increase in food production has been considerably affected
due to new methods of farming, including the use of new seed varieties, chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and
increased irrigation but the cost of these inputs is beyond the reach of most small farmers. These new methods
of farming have had detrimental effects on the environment.

Urban Challenge
Today almost half of the world’s population lives in urban communities. Population pressure has resulted in
inadequate urban infrastructure and services. The most serious problems are unemployment, poor housing
conditions and environmentally and socially related health concerns.

Energy
The global energy consumption has been increasing day by day. The most used energy sources for commercial
energy production and consumption are the fossil fuels. The renewable energy amounts to only 21% of the total
energy consumed worldwide. Solar, wind, geothermal and alternative energy sources, such as ethanol, have
found only limited, small-scale use.
The dependence on fossil fuels has resulted in three major problems:
u emission of carbon dioxide or Greenhouse Effect

u urban air pollution and acidification
u depletion of resources
Industry

Industrialisation brings economic growth but also leads to a shift in population from rural to urban areas and
escalating pollution of air, sea, land and rivers.
The ability of developing countries to deal with such problems as the disposal of hazardous wastes and industrial
pollution has not been as great as in the industrialised nations due to cost, trade and technological inequalities
between countries.
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