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Environment and sustainability in tropical regions
Published in Mike Riley, Alison Cotgrave, Michael Farragher, Building Design, Construction and Performance in Tropical Climates, 2017
Noor Suzaini, Mohamed Zaid, Brit Anak Kayan
There is a need for transitional economies to deal with issues of environmental impact and sustainable development, especially when cities are competing against each other to reach world-class status and achieve advanced development. The current world footprint is at a global overshoot – humanity currently uses the equivalent of 1.6 planets to supply the demand on natural resources, and that exceeds the biosphere’s supply or regenerative capacity. The condition of generating waste faster than waste can be turned back into resources is called an ecological overshoot, and it is estimated now that the Earth takes one year and six months to regenerate what we use in a year (Global Footprint Network, 2015). Figure 2.1 illustrates the overshoot of 1.6 planet earths needed to cope with humanity’s demand on resources and absorb waste, and calculated that the Earth Overshoot Day for 2016 was on 8 August, where humanity had exhausted the ecological supply and for the rest of the year we consume earth’s resources on an ecological deficit (Global Footprint Network, 2015).
Circular economy and sustainability pathways to build a new-modern society
Published in Drying Technology, 2021
Urbanization is driving the global economy via increased spending and consumption of products and services. Thus, the Earth needs to provide for more resources while bearing accumulating pollution and waste generated by the humanity as they continue the current ways of modern-society. Statistics confirm beyond doubt that the modern society consumes far more resources per person when compared to the pre-modern society. For example, in the year 1987, the Earth Overshoot Day was on October 23. It is advanced to July 29 in the year 2019. The Earth overshoot Day is defined as the date when human demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year (https://www.overshootday.org/about-earth-overshoot-day/). Current ways of modern society are not conducive to ensure sustainability of resources of the Earth for future generations. Hence the primary objective of circular economy vision and sustainability efforts is to deliver a new-modern society, in which the ways of the current society least compromise the needs of future generations. In simple terms, the envisioned new-modern society is to be based on an economic system aimed at eliminating waste while repeatedly reusing resources. A champion of this field, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation describes circular economy as a systemic approach to economic development designed to benefit businesses, society, and the environment (https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore/the-circular-economy-in-detail).