Open AccessUrban sustainability
Author(s) -
Showstack Randy
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/eo080i027p00302-02
Subject(s) - sustainability , planet , business , political science , environmental planning , economy , geography , economics , ecology , biology , physics , astrophysics
A new study indicates that while the world's cities take up 2% of the Earth's surface, they account for about 78% of the carbon emissions from human activities, 76% of industrial wood use, and 60% of the water tapped for use by people. “These figures suggest that the struggle to achieve an environmentally sustainable economy will be won or lost in the world's urban areas,” said Molly O'Meara, author of “Reinventing Cities for People and the Planet,” a report issued by the nonprofit Worldwatch Institute on June 19.