Unsustainability

All fossil fuels are considered unsustainable because someday they will reach a point of depletion when it becomes uneconomic to produce. Petroleum is the least sustainable because it is the most finite fossil fuel. Although levels of production are expected to begin declining no later than 2030 (U.S. production peaked in 1970), the U.S. and world resei ves could be further expanded by technological advances that continue to improve discoveiy rates and individual well productivity. The extraction of oils found in shales (exceeds three trillion barrels of oil equivalent worldwide) and sands (resei ves of at least two trillion barrels worldwide) could also significantly increase reserves. The reserves of natural gas are comparable to that of oil, but natural gas is considered a more sustainable resource since consumption rates are lower and it burns cleaner than petroleum products (more environmentally sustainable). 

This approach recognizes that the Earth does have a natural capacity for dealing with much of the waste and pollution which society generates it is only when that capacity is exceeded that our lifestyle becomes unsustainable. 

There is little point in defining standard of living here, because no two families have the same outlook or requirements, but the costing must be done in advance. Even the warmest glow of organic satisfaction is unsustainable when debt is mounting annually. 

In spite of some optimistic or not-so-pessimistic views (e.g. Penning de Vries et al. 1995 Avery 1999 Lomborg 2001), little doubt exists that conventional, high-input agriculture is on the whole unsustainable and that steps must be taken to curb the... 

Pesticides are considered a necessary evil however, it has been estimated that without their use food expenditure for western families would more than double (Zilberman et al. 1991) and, much worse, food shortage would be more acute in many third world countries about 40% crop production would be lost, according to FAO. Pest and pesticide control is probably the sector where a really integrated view of farm management is most required certainly, pest treatments by calendar as largely in use till a few years ago and still in use today here and there are unsustainable. The principles of targeting interventions according to real need as advocated... 

The principles of IPM are presently being objected in favour of a still more advanced view, somewhat integrating IPM, namely, the pro-active approach seeking to minimize pest outbreaks by avoiding conditions conducive to their growth and dispersal (Chellemi 2000). Lewis et al. (1997) state in fact that the attempted solution becomes the problem. .. application of external corrective actions into a system can be effective only for short term relief... the use of pesticides and other treat-the-symptoms approaches are unsustainable and should be the last rather than the first line of defense. 

Table 11.1 Characteristics of natural ecosystems, sustainable fanning systems and unsustainable...

Characteristics Natural ecosystems Sustainable farming systems Unsustainable farming systems... 

Further, Gleissman (2001), Odum (1984), Conway (1985), and Altieri (1995) observed differences between two types of farming systems and one natural ecosystem. Table 11.1 shows that sustainable farming systems have high diversity, resilience, and the autonomy of natural ecosystems, while unsustainable farming systems or conventional agroecosystems provide relatively lower and more variable crop production. Lower crop production is usually caused by reduction in external inputs and adverse environmental impacts. 

In addition to nitrate and other nitrogen compounds, guano contains phosphate and potassium, thus making it a good fertilizer. Deposits of guano were discovered and studied by Alexander von Humboldt in 1802 [11], This source of fertilizer had thus been known for some time before the development of the Haber process for producing ammonia. However, guano was and is limited and unsustainable as a source of fertilizer for crops, particularly on a worldwide basis. 

The need to provide accurate, timely, transparent and credible information so that decision-makers at least have a factual basis from which to operate. Without a continuing commitment from industry to far greater transparency -especially in matters that are perceived as impinging on public or environmental health - our industry will be unsustainable. Trust me - I m a businessman works about as well as Trust me - I m a politician . Even Trust me - I m a journalist works better ... 

Renewable resources are more evenly distributed than fossil and nuclear resources, and energy flows from renewable resources are more than three orders of magnitude higher than current global energy use. Today s energy system is unsustainable because of equity issues as well as environmental, economic, and geopolitical concerns that have implications far into the future (UNDP, 2000). 

Buxton AE, Lee KL, Fisher JD, et al. A randomized study of the prevention of sudden death in patients with coronary artery disease. Multicenter unsustained tachycardia trial investigators. N Engl J Med. Dec 16 1999 341(25) 1882-1890. 

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