What is Sustainable Development?
Sustainable development is development that "meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs." Sustainable Development is often described as being built on
three, equally important foundations or pillars.
v
Social Development
To have a sustainable future, the needs of people must be met equally.
Needs are things like access to medical care, suitable housing, food, and
sanitation. Additionally, people will want as high a standard of living as
possible and this must be achieved in a way that does not harm or exploit
others. Sustainable development addresses these needs by promoting equality,
education and participation in local communities.
v
Environmental Protection
Planet Earth has a limited amount of resources. We all need clean air,
clean water, and land to live on that also is productive enough to provide good
quality food for all. Sustainable human activities look to protect the Earth’s
environment to make sure it is not damaged for future generations.
Current issues include global warming, overfishing the seas, and deforestation
on the land.
v
Economic Development
People throughout the world deserve the best standard of living that is
sustainable. Improving medical care, sanitation, education, and enabling people
to support themselves with a good standard of living
requires the generation of wealth by economic activity. Sustainable economies
also need to be competitive in a world market. Products that are too expensive
to buy cannot be sustainable, even if they are environmentally friendly.
COMPREHENSION
1. Decide if these statements are true or false; then, justify your
answer.
a. Sustainable Development is often described as being built on two equally
important foundations or pillars.
Truer Falser
………………………………………………...………………………...…......................…
b.
Planet
Earth has an unlimited amount of resources.
Truer Falser
………………………………………………...………………………...…......................…
2. Answer the following questions briefly, in your own words as far as
possible.
a. What do we need if we want to have
a sustainable future?
………………………………………………...………………………...…......................…
b. What do all people need?
………………………………………………...………………………...…......................…
3. Complete the following diagam.
4. Match the following words
with their definitions.
Word |
|
Definition |
1.
Pillar |
a.
The amount of
money and comfort people have in a particular society. |
|
2.
Sanitation |
b.
Catching too many fish in an area
of the sea so that there are not many fish left there. |
|
3.
Standard of living |
c.
The systems for taking dirty
water and other waste products away from buildings in order to protect
people's health. |
|
4.
Overfishing |
d.
A strong column made of stone,
metal or wood which supports part of a building. |
5. What do the underlined
words in the text refer to?
a.
It (Paragraph 3) :
…………………….……….…………
b. They
(Paragraph 4) :
…………………….….………………