Tunza Vol. 8.3 - UNEP

EDITORIAL
Much of the impetus behind the growth of
environmentalism came from concern about
resources, catalysed by the Club of Rome’s
famous 1972 report Limits to Growth, which predicted that
many would run out before long. That perception proved
a bit too simple, and greens also got it wrong by asserting
that the main problem was with non-renewable resources,
like minerals and fossil fuels – which can be irretrievably
exhausted – rather than renewable ones which can be
replenished. In fact, overuse of such renewable resources
as forests, soils and water is plunging the world into a
grave environmental crisis long before the non-renewable
resources peter out, though of course it still makes sense
to use these wisely and efficiently.
Nowhere is this rethinking more necessary than over the
use of the most important resource of all: energy. The
issue is not, by and large, that we have too little fossil
energy on Earth. Overuse of oil may lead to demand
outrunning supply before long, and with highly disruptive
consequences, but the critical issue is that we cannot use
what we do have without causing climate change to run
out of control. We need urgently to reconsider and to
change course, switching as rapidly as possible to the
clean renewable energy provided by the sun, the wind,
the waves, the tides and the heat of the Earth itself, to
provide sustainable growth.
Resources can be used many times more efficiently without
any loss of living standards or well-being, mainly by
reducing waste. Key to this is observing the three Rs of
the waste hierarchy – reduce, reuse and recycle – which
are set out in order of priority. First the use of resources
should be reduced as far as possible in producing goods
and equipment without compromising standards. Then
when the product’s original work is done, it should be
reused whenever practicable. And when that is no longer
possible it should be broken up and the materials used
to make it should be recycled, wherever they can, rather
than thrown away. A fourth R is often added – ‘rethink’ –
indicating that the world needs to re-examine the whole
way in which it uses resources in the first place.
JOY TO THE WORLD
‘Waste papers and plastics have become the world’s most significant
pollution … trees has been severely damaged. That’s why I used
waste papers and plastic eggs in my design. The plastic
eggs were used to make the lighting decorations for
a big Christmas tree, to awaken people to care
for the trees and enjoy and cherish the limited
resources that we have on Earth.’
Yo Han Lam, 11, from Hong Kong,
Province of China, won UNEP’s
recycled art competition on World
Youth Day, 2010. ‘We were asked
to collect rubbish, and then
create something. I chose a tree
because they are so important
for the whole world. They give
us feelings of freshness, life
and hope.’
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