#7 Ensure environmental sustainability

What does this mean:
Make sure that people take good care of the environment. This includes replacing renewable resources like food, trees, and clean water and air as we use them, and using non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels and minerals carefully. It also means that we need to dispose of waste so that it does not pollute resources that we-or others-need to survive.

Why:
The environment gives us the things we need to live. For example, air, water, trees, pastures, and energy. In the last 200 years or so, people have polluted the environment more than ever before. Some of this pollution comes from factories and cars, and other products that make life safer and more comfortable than before. Other pollution comes from the amount of waste created in providing basic needs-such as food, clothing, and shelter-for the world’s 6 billion plus people. In addition, all of these people are using up non-renewable resources at record rates.

Caring for the environment is especially important for poor people, because they really depend on the land around them. Many poor people are peasants who farm the land for a living, get their fuel from nearby tress, and get their drinking water from local rivers and wells. If all of the trees are chopped down, the poor have no way to build fires to stay warm, cook their food, or boil their water to make it safe to drink. If all of the water is polluted by waste-from people, farms, or factories-or if it is overused and dries up, the poor do not have water for drinking, washing, or watering their crops. In areas where the trees and water are scare, women and children spend entire days, day after day, just locating enough fuel and water to cook their meals.

Learning to manage natural resources is important not just to help the poor meet their needs today, but to help all of the world meet its needs in the future.