A resource for teaching and learning about consuming planet earth

A
SECTION A
Consuming the planet
Aims and overviews
In this unit students will explore defi nitions of sustainability and sustainable consumption
and consider the need for sustainable behaviour in their own lives, as well as in local and
global communities.
Key concepts
Sustainability, sustainable consumption, needs and wants, consumer culture, rights
and responsibilities of consumers, ecological footprint, thinking and acting globally.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the unit students should be able to:
– demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between consumer spending
and scarce natural resources by calculating their ecological footprint
– explain the environmental consequences of purchasing decisions
– assess their own ability to think about and infl uence the future.
Background information
There are many defi nitions of ‘sustainability’: ‘sustain’ originally comes from the Latin sustenare
which means to ‘hold up’ or support. While there is disagreement about the extent to which
the environment has been degraded and what measures should be taken to improve the
situation, the following facts and fi gures demonstrate that Planet Earth is under stress and
in need of support.
– According to a recent EPA report, the average Victorian household needs 8.1 global hectares
of land to sustain their lifestyle. If everyone on the planet lived like Victorians, we would
need four Planet Earths to support us.
– In 1954 an average Victorian household had only six appliances: kettle, radio, toaster, fridge,
lamp and heater. By 2004, the average home had collected 30 appliances.
– A recent CSIRO report shows that climate change could cut Melbourne’s water supply by 35
per cent by 2050.
– Approximately 15 percent of the planet’s land has been degraded due to deforestation,
overgrazing and mismanagement.
– Half the world’s rivers have been seriously depleted and polluted.
– Only 0.08 percent of the earth’s water is available for use and water demand has more
than tripled in the past 50 years.
– Oil consumption has increased sevenfold in the past 50 years.
– Around 12 percent of the world’s population is in North America and Western Europe and
accounts for 60 percent of household consumption.
– Households in developed nations throw away up to 800 kg of waste each year compared
to less than 200 kg in poorer nations. This ‘waste’ includes many goods that have simply
been discarded because a new, ‘improved’ model has been released.
– It has been estimated that by 2007 half the world’s population will be urban, which
will increase pressure on scarce natural resources and non-renewable energy sources.
Around 1.7 billion people have entered the ‘consumer class’ in recent years, according to the
WorldWatch Institute, adopting the diets, transport systems, and lifestyles of the developed
nations. In China, India and other developing nations, energy and resource use is rising
rapidly as more people gain access to goods and services that consumers in the wealthy
nations take for granted: cars, washing machines, refrigerators, computers and internet
access, mobile phones and so on.
consumer affairs victoria
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