Botkin Environmental Science Earth as Living Planet 8th txtbk

CHAPTER
24
Our
Environmental
Future
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
The learning objectives of this final chapter are to
put it all together and then ask yourself the following
questions:
How can we take what we have learned and apply
it to improving the environment?
How can we think about a future in which we use
our environment wisely—an “ecotopia”?
Can we do this in a way that is good for people,
human societies, and for nature?
Will our environmental future “self-organize,” or will
it require more laws and formal planning?
How have environmental laws affected people and
environment, and what guidance does that experience
provide for us in planning the future?
The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform on fire April 22,
2010. Eleven workers were killed.
People around the world are wearing masks
to protect themselves against swine flu.
(Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/
nation-world/ny-swineflu-photos,0,859331.
photogallery [Getty Images Photo / May 2,
2009].)