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B. Natural Resources Around the World: Use and Sustainability · Natural Resources Around the World: Use and Sustainability

Responding to Resource Challenges: Sustainable Choices

B3.5 B1About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can explain what sustainable development means.
  • I can describe responses to social and environmental challenges from resource use, such as renewable energy, using less, efficient appliances, fair trade, certification labels and boycotts.
  • I can judge whether a product is likely to be sustainable.

Words to know

sustainable development
Development that meets the needs of people today without making it harder for future generations to meet their own needs.
stewardship
Taking responsibility for caring for the environment and its resources.
certification
An independent check that a product meets certain standards, shown by a label.
boycott
Refusing to buy from a company or country to pressure it to change.
conflict diamond
A diamond sold to pay for war against a government (also called a "blood diamond").
energy efficient
Using less energy to do the same job.

Hook: what's in a label?

Next time you're at the grocery store, look closely at a can of tuna, a box of tissues or a new fridge. You may see small logos: a blue fish, a tree with a check mark, a star. Each label is a response to a resource problem. In this lesson you'll learn what these responses are and whether they work.

Sustainable development

In 1987 a United Nations commission (often called the Brundtland Commission, after its chair) described sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

In simple words: use resources today in a way that leaves enough, and a healthy planet, for people in the future. Sustainable development tries to balance three things: a healthy environment, a fair society, and a working economy (jobs and money).

A brick house has solar panels on its roof and a young tree and vegetable garden in its front yard.
Solar panels and a home garden are responses to resource challenges: they use a flow resource (sunlight) and cut down on energy and food transport. AI-generated image
EnvironmentEconomySocietydot = sustainable
Sustainable development is where a healthy environment, a fair society and a working economy overlap (the dot in the middle, where all three circles meet).

Responses to resource challenges

  • Renewable and flow energy: switching from fossil fuels to wind, solar, hydro and tidal power.
  • Reducing consumption: buying less, repairing, reusing, sharing and recycling. The resource you don't use is the most sustainable of all.
  • Energy-efficient appliances and buildings: the ENERGY STAR symbol marks the most efficient products; better insulation keeps heat in during Canadian winters.
  • Fair trade: you learned in Grade 6 that fair trade helps farmers and workers get a fair price.
  • Certification labels for resources: the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label means the wood or paper comes from forests checked against FSC's rules for responsible management. The blue MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) label means seafood comes from a fishery certified as sustainable. These are run by independent organizations.
  • Boycotts: people refuse to buy from companies they think are harming people or the environment, to pressure them to change.
  • Rules for "ethical" resources: in the 1990s, diamonds sold to pay for wars in countries such as Sierra Leone and Angola became known as conflict diamonds or "blood diamonds." In 2003 many countries started the Kimberley Process, a system meant to keep conflict diamonds out of the world diamond trade. Critics say it has gaps, for example it does not cover all human rights problems in mining.

Check the claim

Not every green-looking label means much. Some products use words like "eco" or "natural" without any outside check. This is sometimes called greenwashing. Trust labels that are checked by an independent organization and look up what they really mean.

Worked example

Let's judge a product: a wooden picnic table

Your family is buying a wooden picnic table. How can you tell if it's a sustainable choice?

  1. Look for certification: does it have an FSC label? That means the wood was checked against responsible forestry rules.
  2. Check where the wood came from: wood from a nearby managed forest needs less fuel to transport than wood shipped across the world.
  3. Think about how long it will last: a sturdy table that lasts 20 years uses fewer resources than a cheap one replaced every few years.
  4. Consider alternatives: a used table, or one made from reclaimed wood, uses no new trees.
  5. Watch for greenwashing: a label that just says "natural wood" doesn't tell you anything about how the forest was managed.

A sustainable choice is likely certified (FSC), made from local or reclaimed wood, built to last, or bought used. Asking these questions helps you look past marketing.

Can you buy it used ormade from reclaimed wood?yesno new trees neededDoes it have an FSC label(checked by an outside group)?yesresponsible forestryIs the wood from nearby?yesless fuel to transportIs it built to last 20 years?yesfewer replacementsCareful: "natural wood" alone is not a real label. That could be greenwashing.
Questions to ask before buying a wooden picnic table. Each yes makes the choice more sustainable.
Just for fun

A label that only says natural doesn't tell you much. After all, mud is natural too!

Hands-on activity

Label detective

With a grown-up, look through your kitchen, bathroom and laundry room (or the grocery store).

  1. Find as many sustainability labels as you can: FSC (on paper, tissues, boxes), MSC (blue fish on seafood), ENERGY STAR (on appliances or electronics), Fairtrade, recycling symbols.
  2. For each, write the product, the label, and what problem it responds to (forests, overfishing, energy, unfair pay, waste).
  3. Look for any "green-sounding" words with no independent label. Are they possible greenwashing?
  4. Pick one product you could switch to a more sustainable choice.

Look for: at least four labels found and correctly linked to a resource challenge. Don't touch cleaning products; just read the packaging.

Your turn

1

In your own words, what is sustainable development?

2

What does the FSC label on paper mean?

3

What is a boycott?

4

What is a conflict diamond?

5

What was the Kimberley Process meant to do?

6

Name two ways a family can reduce the resources it uses.

7

What is greenwashing?

More practice: warm-up

1

Which label shows an energy-efficient appliance?

2

Which label (a blue fish) is found on sustainable seafood?

3

Name one flow resource used to make electricity.

4

What are the three parts of sustainable development?

5

In what year did the Kimberley Process start?

More practice: on your own

1

Why is reducing often a better response than recycling?

2

Why might some people criticize the Kimberley Process?

3

How can an energy-efficient fridge help with resource challenges?

4

Why might a boycott not work?

5

Why is buying a used item a sustainable choice?

Challenge

1

Explain how one response, switching to wind power, could help the environment but create a challenge for society or the economy.

2

Two cans of tuna: one has an MSC label and costs more; the other has no label and says "ocean-friendly!" Which is the more trustworthy sustainable choice, and why?

3

Choose a resource problem from an earlier lesson and design a response that balances environment, society and economy.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which best describes sustainable development?

2.

What does the FSC label on a paper product tell you?

3.

What is a boycott?

4.

Which is an example of greenwashing?

5.

Which response uses the fewest new resources?

6.

What was the Kimberley Process created to stop?

For parents and teachers

How to help: Go label-hunting at the store. Ask "Who checked this claim?" Talk honestly about cost: sustainable choices sometimes cost more, and families must balance budgets. Repairing, reusing and buying less are free or save money.

Safety: In the label activity, read packaging only; don't open or handle cleaning products.

Common difficulties:

  • Believing every "green" word. Teach the difference between independent certification and marketing.
  • Thinking recycling is the best response. Reducing and reusing usually save more.
  • Forgetting the society and economy parts of sustainability (workers, communities, prices).