| Popis: |
Sustainable Development is the ability of a people to meet the present goals using the natural resources, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable Development is a new method of development that takes cognizance of the environment in its development strides. The Industrial Revolution in Europe had taken off with the exploitation of resource. The industrial revolution led to the proliferation of industries which manufactured household and industrial goods on a large scale. The industrial base expansion led to higher demands for resources to power the industry. Coal, petroleum and biomass that had been hitherto required for space heating and on a small scale were required in large quantities. Large mines were established and coal was exploited on an industrial scale. Along came oil and gas exploitation with Rockefeller leading the pack (Standard Oil) in the USA. The greater access to energy led to greater exploitation of resources. Ores were extracted, processed and smelted as input for industrial processing/manufacturing, where there were shortages in the provision of energy, biomass was used. The industrial Revolution led to rising standards of living and increased economic growth and development. Cities expanded and wants increased. Whole rivers were damned or diverted for the construction of hydropower dams for the provision of electricity, where the hydropower dams were insufficient, coal was utilized for electricity generation, where coal and hydropower dams were insufficient, nuclear power was employed to. As the cities expanded, swamps were filled to accommodate the expansion. Whole hills and mountains were levelled in the course of development. And Europe did develop…then North America and more recently in the past half a century; Asia. Whole continents have been brought from pristine existence into the 21st Century and further. But at what cost? |
