The UK Sustainability Challenge
The UK population keeps growing, and every person needs food, water and energy. Can the country meet these needs without wrecking the environment? Explore the pressures and the sustainable responses.
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More people, more demand 🌍
The UK population keeps growing and getting older, and every person needs food, water and energy. That puts the resources and wild places of the country under pressure. This module is about being **sustainable**: meeting our needs now without spoiling things for the future.
Words to know 🔑
Four ideas run through this topic:
What is sustainability? 🎯
What does being sustainable mean?
- Meeting needs now without harming the future
- Using up resources as fast as possible
- Ignoring the environment completely
- Stopping people from using anything at all
Pressure and response ⚖️
A growing population creates pressures, but there are sustainable responses.
Pressure to response 🔗
- Rising demand for energy
- Rising demand for water
- More building on green land
- More traffic and pollution
- Use more renewable energy
- Save water and cut waste
- Protect and restore habitats
- Improve public transport and cycling
Getting around greener 🌱
Cars cause a lot of pollution, so reducing car use is a key sustainable response. National options include better public transport such as buses and trains, safe routes for cycling and walking, electric vehicles, and integrated transport that links them all together.
Greener travel ✅
Which THREE are sustainable transport options?
- Better buses and trains
- Cycling and walking routes
- Electric vehicles
- More petrol cars on the road
- Driving for every short journey
From growth to future 🪜
An interactive activity.
True or not? 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Complete the idea 🧩
As the UK population _____, it needs more food, water and _____. This puts _____ on ecosystems. Being _____ means meeting our needs now without harming the future. Better public _____ is one sustainable response.
Why the pressure? 🔎
Why does a growing population put pressure on UK ecosystems?
- It needs more land, water and resources
- It needs far fewer resources
- It has no effect on the environment
- It automatically restores habitats
Transport and benefit 🔀
- More buses and trains
- Cycle lanes and walking routes
- Electric vehicles
- An integrated transport system
- Fewer cars on the road
- Less pollution and healthier people
- Lower exhaust emissions
- Easy to switch between kinds of transport
The greener city 🧭
An interactive activity.
Explain it ✍️
An interactive activity.