2,658 words

Coral reef desertification: global threats and management challenges

Coral reefs are under threat worldwide. An estimated 58% of reefs are classified as threatened and 11% of the original amount of coral reefs has already been lost. The makeup of remaining coral reefs is also rapidly changing.

~14 min read

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679 words

Sustainability as an integrated framework for business, environment, and society

Across the globe there continues to be a crescendo in the discussion by political and business leaders, academics, the science community, and ordinary citizens regarding the notion of sustainability.

~4 min read

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908 words

Debating global warming: natural cycles versus human causes

As a scientific concept, global warming has both proponents and disbelievers. The evidence, which can often be construed one way or another, points to the fact that pollutants have a negative impact on the environment, and that these pollutants have begun to cause a massive global weather shift.

~5 min read

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1,529 words

Overpopulation and resource depletion as environmental crises

The world population is growing at an astounding rate. As the population clock is racing towards the 7 billion mark, we are faced with a huge problem. [U.S. Census Bureau] A problem of balancing the ever-increasing demands for the earth's natural resources and the fast depleting sources.

~8 min read

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1,622 words

Weather systems and the water cycle lesson plan

Grade Level -- Easily adaptable from 3-6 grades, depending on depth, vocabulary, and speed of lesson. Science, part of unit on Earth science and systems.

~9 min read

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1,655 words

Food security, political stability, and international cooperation

Is there Really an Elephant in there with those Blind Men? Food security has been defined as the ability of the population to obtain a safe, nutritionally sufficient food intake through a sustainable food system that amplifies community self-sufficiency and social justice (Bellows & Hamm, 2003).

~9 min read

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696 words

Corporate ethics codes and competitive lobbying practices

Would it be unethical for company "X" that has just constructed a new plant with pollution-emission restrictors to lobby the government for stricter anti-pollution laws that could affect company "X's" competition by forcing the competition to spend capital on upgrades?

~4 min read

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345 words

Sustainability classifications in engineering: discipline and approach

Sustainability classifications in engineering: discipline and approach," the author sifts through the plethora of definitions, theories, and political viewpoints in relation to the concept of sustainability.

~2 min read

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758 words

Political gridlock and denial delaying action on global warming

Despite the overwhelming evidence in support of the idea that global warming is a very real phenomenon, the political inconvenience of the hard steps needed to circumvent it, such as limiting fossil fuel and meat consumption, makes the issue politically unpopular.

~4 min read

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766 words

Does human activity cause global warming? A data analysis

Does the data available about the earth's average temperatures support the contention that the earth is getting warmer? Do the temperature data and data about carbon dioxide and fossil fuel emissions suggest that the warming trend is due to greenhouse gases, and is related to human activities?

~4 min read

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