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EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE XXI CENTURY

Fernando Alcoforado

Abstract: This article aims to show the biggest environmental problems facing humanity in the contemporary era, to demonstrate the need to replace the current development model for the sustainable development model and to specify the necessary measures to overcome the biggest environmental problems, among which includes education for sustainable development..

Resumo: Este artigo tem por objetivo mostrar os maiores problemas ambientais enfrentados pela humanidade na era contemporânea, demonstrar a necessidade de substituição do modelo de desenvolvimento atual pelo modelo de desenvolvimento sustentável e especificar as medidas necessárias para superação dos maiores problemas ambientais, entre as quais se inclui a educação para o desenvolvimento sustentável.

Keywords: Sustainable development. Depletion of natural resources of planet Earth. Global warming. Environmental education. Palavras-chave: Desenvolvimento sustentável. Exaustão dos recursos naturais do planeta Terra. Aquecimento global. Educação ambiental.

1. Introduction

Humanity faces the XXI century with two huge problems: 1) the exhaustion of natural resources of planet Earth; and, 2) global warming and the consequent catastrophic climate change. These problems demonstrate the unsustainability of the current development model. The facts of life are showing more and more the need for the paradigm that has guided the development of human society since the 1st. Industrial Revolution be profoundly modified. This situation shows the need for there are changes in the paradigm that has guided the current development process because it is largely responsible for the compromising of environment of the entire planet Earth. To avoid the catastrophic future that portends for humanity resulting of exhaustion of natural resources of the planet Earth and global warming, it is essential to implement the sustainable development model, which aims to meet the current needs of the earth's population without compromising their natural resources and the environment, bequeathing them to future generations.

2. Depletion of natural resources of the planet Earth

Fernando Alcoforado, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor of Territorial Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, a university professor and consultant in strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is the author of Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de Barcelona, http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social Development-The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe Planetária (P&A Gráfica e Editora, Salvador, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012) and Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2015).

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An indisputable fact is that humanity already consumes more natural resources than the planet can replenish. The current rate of consumption is a threat to the future prosperity of mankind. In the last 45 years, demand for natural resources on the planet doubled due to the high standard of life in rich and emerging countries and the increase in world population. All available data point towards that planet Earth is now reaching its limits in the use of its natural resources. One of these data concerns the ecological footprint that is a good way to measure the impact of human beings on planet Earth. On the ecological footprint, it is worth noting that it is a methodology used to measure the amounts of land and water (in terms of global hectares - gha) that would be needed to support domestic consumption.

The ecological footprint is a calculation of what each person, every country and ultimately the world's population consumes natural resources. The measurement is made in hectares, and six categories are evaluated: farmland, pastures, forests, fishing areas, carbon demands and land for the construction of buildings. Considering five types of surface (cultivated areas, pastures, forests, fisheries and built environment), the planet Earth has approximately 13.4 billion global hectares (gha) of biologically productive land and water according to data from the 2010 Global Footprint Network and humanity's ecological footprint reached the milestone of 2.7 global hectares (gha) per person in 2007 for a world population of 6.7 billion people on the same date (according to the UN) [See the article A terra no limite (The land at the limit) of José Eustáquio Diniz Alves available on the website <http://planetasustentavel.abril.com.br/noticia/ambiente/terra-limite-humanidade-recursos-naturais-planeta-situacao-sustentavel-637804.shtml.>].

With humanity's ecological footprint of 2.7 global hectares (gha) per person means to say that to sustain the current population on earth of 7 billion inhabitants would require 18.9 billion gha (2.7 gha x 7 billion people) which is higher than the 13.4 billion global hectares (gha) of biologically land and water productive on Earth, a fact that indicates that already exceeded the regenerative capacity of the planet in the average level of current world consumption. Today, due to the current rate of consumption, the demand for natural resources exceeds 41% regeneration capacity of the Earth. If the escalation of this demand continues at this rate, by 2030, with an estimated global population of 10 billion people, two Earths will be needed to meet it. It should be noted that from 2050, when the world population will exceed 10 billion people, planet Earth cannot resist such demands on natural resources.

Currently, over 80% of the world population lives in countries that use more resources than their own ecosystems can renew. The core capitalist countries (European Union, USA and Japan), ecological debtors, have exhausted their own resources and have to import them. In the survey of Global Footprint Network, the Japanese consume 7.1 times more than they have and it would take four Italy to supply the Italians. The consumption pattern of developed countries disrupts this balance. An indisputable fact is that humanity already consumes more natural resources than the planet can replenish.

The water supply is under threat according to the UN [See the article 2,7 bilhões podem ficar sem água em 2025, diz ONU (2.7 billion may run out of water by 2025, says UN) available on the website <http://www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2002/020322_secaml.shtml>]. The United Nations (UN) announced that more than 2.7 billion people will suffer from water shortages by 2025 if the planet's consumption continues at current levels. The crisis

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oncoming is being attributed to mismanagement of water resources, population growth and climate change experienced by the planet Earth. The areas most at risk of facing water shortages are in the semi-arid regions of Asia and part of Africa south of the Sahara desert. In Brazil, there are more than 45 million people without access to safe drinking water and more than 90 million without access to the sewage system, according to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) data in 2004.

Today humanity uses 50% of the planet's fresh water. In 40 years use 80%. The geographic distribution of freshwater is uneven. Currently 1/3 of the world population lives in areas where it is scarce. The use of water unfit for consumption accounts for 60% of sick on the planet. Half of the world's rivers are contaminated by sewage, pesticides and industrial waste [See the article Cai do Céu, mas pode faltar (Falls from the sky, but may lack) available on the website <http://veja.abril.com.br/300108/p_086.shtml>]. Water is becoming a source of wars due to the international competition for water resources. Many countries build large dams deviating water from natural drainage systems of the rivers to the detriment of others. The main water conflicts in the world today involves Israel, Jordan and Palestine by Jordan, Turkey and Syria by the Euphrates River, China and India by the Brahmaputra River, Botswana, Angola and Namibia by the Okavango River, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan and Egypt by Rio Nile and Bangladesh and India by Ganges River.

Food production is threatened because only 12% of Earth's land is arable. In the last 30 years we have doubled the amount of arable land affected by severe droughts due to global warming. In China every 2 years an area equivalent to the state of Sergipe in Brazil turns into desert. The fishing industry is threatened because of the 200 species of fish with higher commercial interest, 120 are exploited beyond sustainable levels. At this rate, the available volume of fish will have declined by more than 90% by 2050. It is estimated that 40% of the ocean area is severely degraded by human activities. In the last 50 years the number of dead zones in the ocean grew 10 times [See the article O WWF alerta para o esgotamento dos recursos naturais (WWF warns of depletion of natural resources) available on the website <http://arquivoetc.blogspot.com.br/2008/11/o- WWF-warning-for-the-exhaustion-dos.html>].

It is going on today over oil extraction than the ability to replenish with new discoveries. Growth in oil demand will exceed the global supply in 2020 or 2025, pointing out that the world lives "the oil twilight," that is, a moment of transition between abundance and scarcity. Many scientists say the oil will run out around 2070 [See the article O esgotamento de alguns minérios (The depletion of some minerals) available on the website <http://www.brasilescola.com/geografia/o-esgotamento-alguns-minerios.htm>]. The competition for resources such as oil is currently the largest potential source of global conflicts. The dispute over the oil that remains will lead to a state of permanent war, characterized by the presence of major powers in their production regions.

In the past, large companies in the industry discovered more oil each year than they were able to extract, which does not happen anymore nowadays [See the article by Luciana Brafman Disputa por petróleo leva a estado de guerra permanente (Dispute for oil leads to a permanent state of war) available on the web site <http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/brasil/fc1710200520.htm>]. If the peripheral capitalist countries adopt the standards of the developed capitalist countries, the amount

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of fossil fuel currently consumed would increase 10 times [See the article O que é desenvolvimento sustentável? (What is sustainable development?) available on the website <http://www.wwf.org.br/natureza_brasileira/questoes_ambientais/desenvolvimento_sustentavel/>].

If the rate of extraction of mineral resources continues as it is, humanity will surely see some minerals become extinct. For two centuries the extraction of mineral resources has become more intense, removing increasing amounts of nature. The concern is that most of these resources are not renewable, ie they are not replenished by nature. If the peripheral capitalist countries adopt the standards of the developed capitalist countries, the amount of mineral resources currently consumed would increase 200 times [See the article O que é desenvolvimento sustentável? (What is sustainable development?) available on the website <http://www.wwf.org.br/natureza_brasileira / questoes_ambientais / desenvolvimento_sustentavel />]. Among the mineral resources, iron, aluminum and possibly titanium are abundant in the Earth's crust whose reserves may be considered unlimited. However, the non-renewable minerals too formed by geological processes over millions of years have reservations that reduce continually being so scarce and precious as fossil fuels (Meadows, Donella, Meadows et alli Beyond the limits. Vermont:. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 1992). Available data on reserves of mineral resources point in the direction that Planet Earth is now reaching its limits.

Estimate of exhaust of mineral resources of the planet Earth is presented in the article Quando os recursos minerais se esgotarão? (When the mineral resources will be exhausted?) published on the website <http://planetasustentavel.abril.com.br/noticia/ambiente/quando-recursos-minerais-se-esgotarao-648952.shtml>, based on the US Geological Survey information, the US government agency responsible for geological surveys that crossed information on the annual consumption, the mineral reserves available on the planet Earth and its probable extinction. The estimate is as follows: 1) Platinum (use in surgical materials) - Extinction in 2049 ; 2) Silver (use in the manufacture of mirrors and cutlery) - Extinction in 2016; 3) Copper (used in wire and cable and air conditioning ducts) - Extinction in 2027; 4) Antimony (use in remote controls and other materials to increase strength) - Extinction in 2020; 5) Lithium (used in cell phone batteries, laptops and video games) - Extinction in 2053; 6) Phosphorus (used in agricultural fertilizers) - Extinction in 2149; 7) Uranium (used for electric power generation) - Extinction in 2026; 8) Indian (use in touchscreen of smartphones and tablets) - Extinction in 2020; 9) Tantalum (use in cameras lenses) - Extinction in 2027; 10) Nickel (use in metal alloy coating of electronics such as cell phones) - Extinction in 2064; 11) Tin (use in coating metal alloys, as used in soft drink cans) - Extinction in 2024; 12) Lead (used in car and trucks batteries and welds and bearings) - Extinction in 2015; 13) Gold (use as jewelry and computer microchips) - Extinction in 2043; 14) Zinc (use to cover alloys, preventing rust destroy objects like coins) - Extinction in 2041.

For these reasons many Planet Earth ores are coming to an end, which may stop the use of various technologies currently used. As for oil, will run for 40 years according to data presented on the website <http://institutoparacleto.org/2013/05/23/o-futuro-do-petroleo/>. Natural gas has reserves that can guarantee their production up to 60 years according to the website <http://exame.abril.com.br/economia/noticias/os-10-paises-com-as-maiores-reservas-de-gas-natural-do-mundo>. Coal, in turn, has sufficient

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reserves to last 250 years according to the website data <http://carvaomineral.blogspot.com.br/2006/09/reservas-de-carvo-no-mundo.html>. The shale gas in recent exploration in the United States, which could meet the domestic demand of the country for natural gas at current levels of consumption for over 100 years, it is extremely bad for the environment because it generates half the carbon emissions produced by coal, and pollute the groundwater sheets.

What has just been described on the duration of fossil fuel reserves indicates that, given the longevity of coal, it could be the power source to be used in the future when other fossil fuels are depleted, a fact that would aggravate the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere. Humanity must become aware of the urgent need to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources to avoid the catastrophic scenario of using coal as an energy source as well as to replace the current model of development for sustainable development, which, by reverse logistics, with the reuse, recovery and recycling of materials, thus reaching the so-called closed production cycle, could delay the exhaustion of natural resources of planet Earth.

It seems that the XXI Century wars will have as fulcrum the battle for natural resources which tend not to meet human needs. Our development model is reaching its limits. With a lack of natural resources for their survival and the absence of global governance that is capable of mediating conflicts, humanity tends to a regression to barbarism and cruel behavior. To avoid this catastrophic scenario, it is necessary that all governments of all countries of the world celebrate a planetary social contract that enables economic and social development and the rational use of natural resources for the benefit of all mankind.

3. Global warming and the consequent catastrophic climate change

Global warming, which was a matter of exclusive interest of the scientific community, assumes today a much broader dimension being matter of preoccupation by the world's people and governments around the world. The media has contributed enough to the issue of global warming becomes an issue of general interest to disseminate information about the extreme climate change that has been recorded since the Industrial Revolution in England until today in various parts of the world as well as the opinion of many scientists and institutions attesting to the severity of the problem.

Global warming is a weather phenomenon to a large extent - an increase in the average temperature of the Earth's surface that has been going on for the past 150 years. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), established by the UN (United Nations) says that much of the observed warming on the planet is due most probably to an increase in greenhouse there is strong evidence that global warming is due to human activities. Many meteorologists and climatologists consider proven that human action is actually influencing the occurrence of the phenomenon.

Global warming result from the greenhouse effect caused by heat retention in low Earth's atmosphere caused by the concentration of gases of various kinds. Earth receives radiation emitted by Sun that is absorbed by the Earth's surface warming it. Much of this radiation is returned to the space and the other part is absorbed by the gas layer surrounding atmosphere causing the greenhouse effect. It is due to this natural phenomenon, the greenhouse effect that we have an average temperature of Earth at 15 °C range. Without this phenomenon, the average temperature of the planet would be -18 °C. Analysis of Figure 1 reveals that Earth receives radiation emitted by Sun that is

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absorbed by the Earth's surface warming it (A in Figure 1). Much of this radiation is returned to the space (B in Figure 1) and the other part is absorbed by the gas layer surrounding atmosphere causing the greenhouse effect (C in Figure 1).

Figure 1 Greenhouse Effect

Source: Larara, Dakir. Aquecimento Global e Mudanças Climáticas (Global Warming and Climate Change). Geography Course ULBRA - Canoas, <http://www.educacional.com.br>.

To be in climate balance, Earth must receive the same amount of energy that sends back into space. If imbalance occurs for some reason, the globe warms or cools until the temperature reach, again, the exact measure for correct heat exchange. The natural climatic balance was disrupted by the Industrial Revolution in England in 1786. Since the nineteenth century, carbon dioxide concentrations in the air increased by 30%, doubled the methane and nitrous oxide have risen 15%. Global warming is produced by human activity (anthropogenic) on the planet Earth and also by natural processes such as decomposition of organic matter and volcanic eruptions, which produce ten times more gas than man. For ages, the natural processes alone ensured the maintenance of the greenhouse effect, without which life would not be possible on Earth. The gases responsible for the global warming derived from human activity are produced by fossil fuels used in cars, industries and power plants, for agricultural production and the burning in forests (Alcoforado, 2010).

The main evidence for global warming comes from the temperature measurements in weather stations around the globe since 1860. The data below in Figure 2 show that the average temperature increase was 0.6 ± 0.2 °C during the twentieth century. The largest increases were in two periods: 1910-1945 and 1976 to 2000. From 1945 to 1976 there was stabilization in the growth temperature that caused temporarily scientific community was suspected that there is a slowdown in global temperature.

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Figure 2- Global temperatures

Source: SEED. Energia e mudança do clima global (Energy and global climate change) (www.seed.slb.com)

The figure legend:

Average of five years

Annual average

Anomalia de temperatura = Temperature anomaly

Mais frio = Cooler

Mais quente = Hottest

Due to global warming, it is likely that future climatic imbalances will be abrupt and catastrophic. There will be a rapid and destructive increase in global temperatures unless carbon emissions are cut. If current trends continue, between 2020 and 2070, the concentration of greenhouse gases could double and the average surface temperature of Earth could rise by about 4-5 degrees Centigrade. It is estimated that kept the current rate of increase in emissions of greenhouse gases, the planet's average temperature should raise from the current 15 degrees Centigrade to 16.5 degrees Centigrade at best, and 19.5 degrees in the worst assumptions in the year 2025. In the year 2100, the global average temperature will reach 18 degrees Centigrade, at best, and 29 degrees Centigrade at worst. The most likely value for the average global temperature by the end of the 21st century would be 19 degrees Centigrade (Alcoforado, 2010).

Figure 3 shows the temperature variations in the Earth's surface from 1000 to 2000 and its projections up to 2100. The figure for the year 1000 to 1860 was estimated and the 1860 to 2000 were based on global observations by instruments.

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Figure 3. Changes in temperature on the surface of Earth: 1000 2100

Source: Larara, Dakir. Aquecimento Global e Mudanças Climáticas (Global Warming and Climate Change). Geography Course ULBRA - Canoas, http://www.educacional.com.br.

Figure 4 shows the last record since 1900 and projections of global average temperature until 2100.

Figure 4- Global average temperature and projections

Source: .Magazine Veja Online, Aquecimento Global (Global Warming).

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All indications are that sea levels may rise due to the increase in global temperature. There may be the melting of ice sheets deposited in the polar caps and the summits of the great mountain ranges. By 2050, sea levels may rise to 1.17 meters, in the year 2075 to 2.12 meters and in 2100 to 3.45 meters disappearing large extensions of coastal lands, islands and coastal cities. A greater number of hurricanes would occur with increasing global temperature. Some scientists are preoccupied that in the future, the polar ice cap and glaciers melt significantly. If this happens, there may be an increase in water levels in many meters. Galileo magazine, no. 170, June 2006, published the text under the title O aquecimento global e a economia do país (Global warming and the economy of the country) in which informs that if the ice sheet of Antarctica disappear would be a catastrophe because the region has on its interior enough ice to do global sea levels rise by more than 65 meters (Alcoforado, 2010).

Taking into account the findings of numerous studies related to global warming, if nothing is done to reverse their current trends, its consequences are as follows:

• 2 to 4.5 ° C would be overall average temperature until the end of this century.

• The polar ice caps may disappear completely within 100 years.

• There may be decreased ice cover at the poles and in mountain ranges, rising sea levels submerging islands and coastal cities and changes in weather patterns that may influence not only human activities but also ecosystems.

• 40% of the trees in the Amazon could disappear before the end of the century if temperatures rise 2-3 degrees.

• Tropical forests will be replaced by savannas in regions where there is a reduction of groundwater.

• Scientists estimate that, when we get to 2050, millions of people living in river deltas will be removed due to flooding, if maintained the current rate of warming.

• The weather will be cooler just in the northern hemisphere. For the rest of the world average temperature will rise and droughts and rainfall patterns will change around the world.

• Global warming and also other damage to the environment are causing that natural selection go a rate 50 times faster than recorded 100 years ago.

• From 9 to 58% of species on land and at sea will be extinct in the next few decades under different assumptions.

• Increasing global temperature allows that an ecosystem change, some species may be forced out of their habitats (possibly to extinction) because of changes in conditions while others may spread, invading other ecosystems.

• About 20% to 30% of all species will face a "high risk of extinction" if global average temperature rising more 1.5 and 2.5 degrees Celsius compared to 1990 levels. This may happen by 2050.

• The greenhouse effect will help to reduce the rainfall in some areas of the planet causing those occurring higher temperatures and increased evaporation.

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• Rains are expected to increase by about 20% in the higher latitudes.

• Several areas of the globe may become flooded because of the overabundance of rainfall, resulting in extensive flooding.

• 2,000 square kilometers will become desert due to lack of rain.

• The river flows may decrease by 50% or more that can some of them dry completely.

• Important groundwater could be severely reduced, causing the irrigation wells to dry.

• Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is making the oceans more acidic. This weakens the corals, sea nurseries, and the plankton, the basis of the underwater food chain.

• Coral reefs are likely to suffer sharp declines.

• Mangroves savory and pantanal forests may disappear with rising sea levels.

• Migratory birds and mammals will suffer as vegetation zones change in the Arctic.

• The Arctic due to higher heating relative, small island states in the Pacific with rising sea levels, the area south of the Sahara Africa due to drought and the deltas of densely rivers villages in Asia because of floods will suffer enough with climate change.

Figure 5 below shows that industrialized countries have emit most of the anthropogenic CO2 (78.8%) from 1900 to 1999.

Figure 5 industrialized countries emitted most of the anthropogenic CO2 - Area proportional to historical emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels (1900-

1999)

Source: Larara, Dakir. Aquecimento Global e Mudanças Climáticas (Global Warming and Climate Change). Geography Course ULBRA - Canoas, http://www.educacional.com.br.

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In recent times, especially during the course of the Rio + 20 Conference of sustainable development sponsored by the UN, there were numerous attacks against the global warming thesis and its effects on the climate defended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) questioning their reports produced with the participation of 2,500 scientists from 131 countries, bringing together observations, conclusions, forecasts and recommendations of several thousand climate scientists from around the world. What we are witnessing today is a real media war over the issue of catastrophic climate change and its relation to the predatory human activities such as the emission of greenhouse gases.

Sabotage of science has become a routine component of the moment in which we live. Hire mercenaries of science is a practice of large corporations responsible for the use of fossil fuels to disqualify the evidence of global warming. The mission of skeptics and pseudo scientists artificially is to inflate the uncertainties associated with scientific evidence, preventing or delaying so any measure to protect the environment of serious consequences for humanity. All sciences are vulnerable to this type of attack, since dealing with uncertainty is its intrinsic character. Any study is subject to criticism, legitimate or not. The strategy adopted to weaken even the most robust scientific conclusions is simple, just selectively highlight the uncertainties, by addressing the key studies one by one and, most importantly, systematically ignoring the weight of their evidence.

In contrast to the views of skeptics and pseudo scientists, more than 255 scientists members of the US Academy of Sciences defended the theory of climate change in an article published on May 6, 2010, in the Science magazine. In an article entitled As Mudanças Climáticas e a Integridade da Ciência (The Climate Change and Science Integrity), 255 scientists claim that "there are consistent evidence that humans are changing the climate in a way that threatens our societies" [See the article EUA: cientistas defendem existência das mudanças climáticas (US: scientists argue existence of climate change) published on the website <http://noticias.terra.com.br/ciencia/noticias/0,,OI4419952-EI238,00-EUA+cientistas+defendem+existencia+das+mudancas+climaticas.html> and the article Climate Change and the Integrity of Science published on the website <http://www.sciencemag.org/content/328/5979/689.full.pdf?sid=967ede4e-da58-4209-be61-4523bca2cca3>]

The journal Science text also condemns the attacks by so-called "climate skeptics" in relation to the experts and institutions who warn both the existence, and for the possible effects of global warming. The researchers say many of the attacks have been boosted by specific interests of large corporations or dogma, not by honest effort to provide an alternative theory. According to the article, the increase in temperature of the planet is due to the higher concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which in turn are caused by human activities. At the conclusion of the article, the climatologists said humanity has two options: Omit the scientific data and rely on luck or act quickly to reduce the threat of climate change.

It should be noted that the controversy over climate change is established among scientists who support the theory that global warming results from natural causes and those who argue that it results from human activities. This is a matter that is still under debate in the scientific community, although many meteorologists and climatologists recently stated publicly that they consider proven that human action has really

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influenced the evolution of this phenomenon. Most of the scientific community defends the thesis that global warming is man's responsibility. The paradigm of natural causes of climate change is being put into question by the new paradigm that assigns greater responsibility to the man.

4. Sustainable Development Policy to prevent the depletion of natural resources of the planet Earth

Traditionally, the production processes are characterized by use of natural (raw material) in the manufacture of products for human consumption whose resulting waste is taken to a landfill. This operational dynamics that can be termed as Linear Economy, which is shown in Figure 6 below, tends to contribute to the continued depletion of natural resources of the planet Earth.

Figure 6. Linear Economy

Unlike the Linear Economy model, the Circular Economy is concerned with sustainable development by seeking efficiency in manufacturing products and reusing waste contributing in this way to avoid the exhaustion of the planet's natural resources. The Circular Economy concept is to transform waste into raw materials for new products production (Figure 7).

Figure 7 Circular Economy

Human consumption

Manufacturing-Production

Final Disposition

(Landfill site)

Waste

Natural resources

(Raw material)

Natural resources

(Raw material)

Manufacturing-Production

Human consumption

Waste

Secondary raw material

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As in nature, in which the remains of fruit consumed by animals decompose and are transformed into fertilizer for plants closing the loop, automobile parts and home appliances used, for example, can be reprocessed and reintegrated into the production chain. In Figure 7, it can be seen that in Circular Economy, natural resources, which are used as primary raw materials in the manufacturing process, are transformed into products going for human consumption generating waste that, after its transformation in secondary raw material, are used in manufacturing products, and so on.

This new way of thinking about supply chains brings micro and macro economic benefits, as well as stimulates innovation. Products and materials are now developed to return to production chain. Thus, the extraction of raw materials decreases and the natural resources that go into the production cycle are used for longer, preserving the environment. The need to recycle and reuse materials promotes the development of new relationships between companies, which are now also suppliers and consumers of materials that will be reincorporated to the production cycle [Nat.Genius. Economia Circular (Circular Economy) posted on the website <http:. // Www. .natgenius.com / EconomiaCircular.aspx>].

In Circular Economy is applied what is called Reverse Logistic which is the field of logistics that deals with the return of products, packaging or materials to their production center, as is shown in Figure 8 below.

Figure 8- Reverse logistics

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The Reverse Logistic in the recycling process causes the material to return to different production centers in the form of raw material. Reverse logistics management activities provide for the recycling and removal of waste and management of returns. With a circular economy, where everything can be reused, can reduce the extraction of raw materials and waste disposal on the environment.

To improve and expand the cycle of closing experience is essential that consumers, retail businesses, industries and government understand their role. This also means changing the way of creating and using the products: they will no longer be consumed and discarded, but used and processed into new products. Reverse logistics is a way to break with the Linear Economy where the raw material is extracted, transformed into products and discarded after use to landfill site.

Adopt the principles of Circular Economy is critical because of the human being need to make better use of their natural resources to avoid their future exhaustion and not cause so many negative impacts on the environment. To achieve its objectives, the Circular Economy is primarily concerned with the following topics: 1) product development using easily recyclable materials and non-hazardous; 2) environmental laws that encourage the sector; 3) the return of solid waste to the production chain; and, 4) treatment and reuse of waste. Numerous universities in Europe now offer degrees in Circular Economy as is the case in Germany that form masters and doctors in Circular Economy, also known as Waste Economy (Portal Resíduos Sólidos. Economia Circular (Circular Economy). Posted on the website <http: //www.portalresiduossolidos .com / economy-circular />].

The Brazilian Institute for Public Law Advanced Studies reports that in 2012 about 62 million tons of solid waste were produced in Brazil. According to the Ministry of Environment, only 2% of the material returned to the production chain. Residues which are not recycled end up in dumps (17.8%), controlled landfills (24.2%) and landfills (58%). Failure on reuse of solid waste costs the country US$ 8 billion a year. According report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation - nonprofit organization that studies and encourages the adoption of circular economy - 65 billion tons of raw materials were inserted in the productive system worldwide in 2010. Institute projections indicate that by 2020, amount of raw materials will rise to 82 billion tons per year [Instituto Brasileiro de Altos Estudos de Direito Público. Sustentabilidade: Resíduos sólidos: Economia Circular: Novo negócio: Embraco (Sustainability Studies in Public Law:. Solid waste: Circular Economy: New business: Embraco). Published on the website < http://www.altosestudos.com.br/?p=52902>.

Nat. Genius advises that the implementation of Circular Economy is not a task that involves only the companies. It is necessary that everybody involved in the life cycle of a product to understand their role in this new model. In a world where the relations of production and trade are becoming more global, the need to disseminate the concept of Circular Economy becomes increasingly present, large-scale, including the consumer population. The spread of the concept of Circular Economy has occurred in several countries. Among them, China, where the Circular Economy is part of the Promotion of Clean Production Law, enacted in 2002. Among the public awareness measures are eco-labeling of products, the dissemination of information on environmental issues in the communications vehicles and the Cleaner Production courses offered by educational institutions, which are designed to train professionals familiar with the Circular

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Economy [Nat.Genius. Economia Circular (Circular Economy). Published on the website <http://www.natgenius.com/EconomiaCircular.aspx>].

Nat. Genius also reports that, in Brazil, was established the National Policy on Solid Waste (2010 law) which aims to ensure shared responsibility for the lifecycle of products, reverse operation and the sectoral agreement. The shared responsibility for the lifecycle of products provides that all agents of the production cycle, consumers and public services have responsibilities to minimize the volume of solid waste and environmental impact.

5. Sustainable Development Policy to combat global warming

The year 2014 was the hottest on the planet since records began in 1880, inform the report released by Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States. December 2014 also recorded an average temperature on Earth's surface and oceans unprecedented in the last 134 years for this time of year. Overall, the average surface temperature of the sea was the highest on record, 0.57 °C above the average of the twentieth century, while the Earth's surface exceeded by 1 °C this same average. The polar regions of the Earth are places where climate change is having visible and significant impacts. Sea ice in the Arctic has decreased dramatically in recent years. Antarctic ice platforms are crumbling and breaking. Antarctica is the largest frozen bulk with 90% of the Earth's ice. The bulk of the ice is in East Antarctica which is higher, cooler and less prone to melt. West Antarctica, part of the ice is melting in vulnerable depressions. Data from the European Space Agency indicate that the Antarctic continent gives off 160 billion metric tons of ice per year from 2010 to 2013.

Humanity faces a temporal border that is not 2100, but much earlier, in 2030! This date is not arbitrary. By 2030, we will live on a planet that will have around 9 billion people of which two-thirds living in a saturated Earth of pollution and waste already affected by a sensitive high temperature. By 2030, we will be entering a phase of oil dearth and strong tension on other fossil fuels, in a context of reduction of natural resources and depletion of arable land. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that was 280 ppm (parts per million) by volume at the beginning of the industrial age can achieve in the twenty-first century values between 540 and 970 ppm. This increased concentration of carbon dioxide is responsible for 70% of global warming in progress. The world is facing a challenge that is to not allow global warming in the twenty-first century more than two degrees centigrade without which will have to assume the catastrophic consequences of climate change. To prevent global warming exceeds 2 °C will need a radical decarbonisation of the global economy. It is a task difficult to perform, but still possible. In this sense, the world must limit all emissions of carbon dioxide (CO) to one trillion tons.

A global commitment aimed at limiting the increase in global warming to 2 °C should be signed in December this year, the Paris Climate Conference, COP 21. The studies of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) of the UN recommend reducing emissions of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming in the range of 60% to 70% by mid-century. To accomplish this objective will need to be in every country in the world a huge effort to drastically reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Until October, the countries submitted emission cut proposals, known as INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions).

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This can only be achieved if the COP 21 to adopt policies that contribute to: 1) reform the energy and transport sectors; 2) promote the use of renewable energy sources; 3) eliminate financial and market mechanisms inappropriate to the purposes of the Convention; 4) limit emissions of greenhouse gases in the waste management and energy systems; and 5) protect forests and other carbon absorbers. The effort of the international community should be focused on eliminating or reducing the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by the following factors: 1) Thermoelectric generation (22%); 2) Deforestation (18%); 3) Agriculture and Livestock (14%); 4) Industry (14%); 5) Cars and airplanes (13%); 6) Residential and commercial fuel use (11%); 7) Waste decomposition (4%); and, 8) Refineries (4%). These data were extracted from the article Apocalipse Já (Apocalypse Now) published by Veja Magazine, 1961 Edition, June 21, 2006.

The elimination or reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by thermal plants using fossil fuels requires their replacement by renewable energy sources (solar, wind and biomass) and, ultimately, for nuclear power plants. Deforestation must be addressed with appropriate surveillance of forest areas and the exemplary punishment of those responsible. One should encourage the replacement diesel oil used in agriculture for biodiesel, reducing the size of the bovine population responsible for the emission of methane to the atmosphere, the replacement of the fuel oil used by industry for cleaner natural gas, the use of ethanol by automobiles in place of gasoline and the manufacture of electric cars to replace the vehicles that use fossil fuels. Should be promoted the replacement of LPG used in households and trade with cleaner natural gas. The emission of greenhouse resulting from waste decomposition gases can be prevented with the use of methane produced in landfills to generate electricity as well as in the production of fertilizer. In refineries, there should be an effort to reduce the production of oil products in parallel with the adoption of measures aimed at reducing the consumption of oil products. Refineries should be fundamentally used to the production of derivatives more noble use, ie as industrial raw material.

Therefore, to eliminate or reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and prevent catastrophic climate change on our planet, it is urgent to reduce oil consumption by adopting policies aimed at implementing programs that contribute to their replacement by other energy resources. In this sense, we need to make: 1) electricity generation using renewable energy sources (solar, wind and biomass); 2) substitution of gasoline by ethanol and diesel by biodiesel in the short term in the transport sector; 3) substitution of gasoline and diesel by hydrogen in the medium and long term in the transport sector; 4) replacement of fuel oil by natural gas and biomass in industry; 5) replacement of coal by natural gas in industry; 6) replacement of diesel oil by biomass and natural gas in the energy sector; and 7) replacement of LPG by natural gas in the residential and services sectors.

Additionally, it is necessary to adopt energy policies aiming at the implementation of programs that contribute to reducing oil consumption through energy saving actions. Energy saving policies consist of the following: 1) to produce steam and electricity in industry using cogeneration systems; 2) encourage automakers and trucks in order to raise the efficiency of motor vehicles to reduce fuel consumption; 3) expand rail and waterway systems for cargo transportation to replace the trucks; 4) expand the public transportation system, especially the mass transport of high capacity as the subway or tramway to reduce the use of cars in cities; 5) restrict the use of cars in the centers and other areas of cities; 6) encourage manufacturing machines and more efficient

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equipment as well as electric vehicles to save energy; and 7) use oil products mainly for non-energy purposes, especially as industrial raw material.

Recently, meeting in Lima, Peru outlined the main elements of the next global climate agreement to be signed in Paris in December this year. The final text, "Lima Calling for Action on Climate Change", points out the main elements of the next global climate agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the post-2030 period. It is expected that in Paris, the world comes, finally, to an agreement. The goal is to prevent the rise in average global temperature does not exceed 2 °C making carbon emissions fail to grow in the next five or ten years and bring them to zero in 2100. In addition to the reduction of greenhouse gases, it is expected that in Paris is initiated the formulation of a new world order, a new civilization, to be built that will help to organize relations between people on Earth and their relationship with nature.

6. Education policy for sustainable development

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a particularly important dimension of quality education. It provides people of all educational levels the skills, competencies and knowledge required to transmit values indispensable for behavior and practices that lead to sustainable development. Education for sustainable development enables all human beings acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to form a sustainable future at the local and global levels. The scale and diversity of its natural resources make Brazil a country of key importance in terms of environmental preservation and sustainable development.

It is crucial to prepare citizens to adapt to a changing physical environment and to abolish production patterns and unsustainable consumption like that happen right now. ESD should be strengthened and promoted at all levels and in all educational settings throughout the life of citizens. This requires the integration of education for sustainable development in educational policies and relevant practices of education, demand the development of effective mechanisms to link the objectives of increasing the green labor market to educational programs, especially through technical and vocational education and vocational training and calls for reform formal and non-formal education systems, in order to prepare men and women for the green labor market and retrain the existing workforce.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of Education for Sustainable Development for the period 2005-2014. The proposal was approved in December 2002, during its 57th Session. UNESCO is the lead agency of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) to establish quality standards for education aimed at sustainable development. Its main objective is to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning. Education for sustainable future means including key issues on sustainable development in teaching and learning, for example, climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, poverty reduction and sustainable consumption. It also requires participatory teaching and learning methods to motivate and empower students to change their behavior and take action for sustainable development. The Education for Sustainable Development promotes skills such as critical thinking, reflection on future scenarios and taken collaboratively decision.

This requires profound changes in the way education is often practiced today. This educational effort will encourage changes in behavior that will generate a more

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sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society for present and future generations. This represents a new vision of education that can help people of all ages better understand the world in which they live, addressing the complexity and interconnectedness of problems such as poverty, wasteful consumption, environmental degradation, urban decay, health, conflicts and violation human rights that threaten our future.

Sustainable development will only be victorious if there is the understanding and the shared responsibility of different generations. UNESCO is the UN system agency tasked to follow up on Chapter 36 of Agenda 21, which deals with environmental education at all levels, training of educators and public information. To achieve a sustainable future on planet Earth, it is necessary to promote among the population, awareness of the importance of the environment. One way people acquire this awareness, knowledge and skills necessary to improve their quality of life is through the Environmental Education (EE) that should not be done only in schools. Their vehicles should be formal and non-formal education and the mass media.

A society structured on the basis of sustainable development is an educated society in all its dimensions. Investing in education is critical to achieving sustainable development, poverty eradication, equity and social inclusion. Education has the key to productivity and sustainable growth, and improve levels of health and nutrition, income and livelihoods, creating an ideal condition for the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs ) and Education Commitment targets for Everybody. No country has ever raised its level of human development without steady investment in education.

Environmental education should be a public policy priority in the in search for sustainable development, being one of the cheapest options, and easy to be carried out in line with one of the key environmental principles which is the precautionary and prevention. Sustainable development is a process in which economic, fiscal, trade, energy, agricultural and industrial policies are organized to produce an economic, social and environmentally sustainable development. Sustainable development implies a new concept of economic growth, which proposes justice and opportunity for all people of the world and not just for a privileged few, without further destroy the finite world's natural resources and put in doubt the Earth's sustainable capacity.

The environmental education aims to form personality awakening environmental awareness in children and young people, in addition to adults, to value and preserve nature, because, according to generally accepted principles, so that we can prevent adequately necessary is to raise awareness and educate. Environmental education is one of the privileged mechanisms for the preservation and conservation of nature, teaching that is to be mandatory from pre-school, through the schools of 1st and 2nd degree, especially in the countryside, continuing in higher education.

From the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the concept of sustainable development gained momentum, according to the forecast contained in the heading of art. 225, which provides that everyone is entitled to an ecologically balanced environment and of common use and essential to a healthy quality of life, imposing to the Government and the community shall have the duty to defend it and preserve it for present and future generations. In the first paragraph, item VI, of that article, there is forecast to order the Government to promote environmental education at all levels of education and public awareness to preserve the environment.

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