Question

As human beings are the most intelligent inhabitants of earth, how can they ensure sustainable development?​

Answer 1

Answer:

For about five decades now, we have been able to examine photographs of Earth as viewed from space. Images from that perspective show that Earth is a spherical mass, with a blue oceanic surface, brownish-green landmasses, and a clear atmosphere except where visibility is obscured by whitish clouds. Such images also reveal that beyond Earth and its atmosphere is the immense, black void of space – an extremely dilute, universal matrix. If we divert our attention from this compelling image of spaceship Earth and focus instead on the unimaginably larger abyss of space, we cannot fail to be stirred by the utter isolation of our lonely planet, the only place in the cosmos that is known to sustain life and ecosystems.

With such a lucid image of Earth in mind, it is not difficult to understand that the resources necessary to sustain life are limited to those already contained on the planet. That is, with one critical exception – the electromagnetic radiation that is continuously emitted by the Sun. A tiny fraction of that solar energy irradiates Earth, warms the planet, and drives photosynthesis. With the exception of sunlight, however, Earth’s resources are entirely self-contained and finite.

It is an undeniable reality that all organisms must have continuous access to resources obtained from their environment. Plants and algae, for example, require sunlight and inorganic nutrients, while animals and heterotrophic microbes must feed on the living or dead biomass of other organisms. Because their organisms must be nourished by environmental capital, the concept can also be extended to ecosystems in their totality. The necessary resources must be available in at least the minimal amounts needed to sustain life, and in larger quantities in ecosystems that are increasing in biomass and complexity, as occurs during succession.