Greening existing communities

Abstract

In his book The Future of Life,1 E.O. Wilson points out that if the earth's 6 billion-plus inhabitants were to increase consumption rates to the level we maintain in the United States, we would require four planets to meet the world's demand for natural resources. Clearly, generating additional planets is not an option. Still, unsustainable development (and consumption) continues apace throughout the world, in the context of a scientific consensus that climate change effected in part by human activity (increased carbon dioxide emissions associated with deforestation, fuel combustion, and other sources) poses grave consequences for human civilization. © 2009 Springer-Verlag New York.