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Protecting the World’s Resources
The Record | The Challenge | The Plan | The Opportunity
THE RECORD
Since the 1960s, the National Academies have been expanding our understanding of how ecosystems work, identifying human activities that harm the environment, and addressing ways we can adapt those activities to protect the Earth. Many of the National Academies’ studies have led to the development of environmental policy approaches that balance sound science with the economic needs of industry and working communities, and in recent decades the United States has achieved significant, cost-effective environmental improvement. The Academies have focused on dozens of specific issues, including --
- Analyzing regional, national, and international efforts to reverse depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer and making recommendations on the measurement of ozone status.
- Assessing new technologies for fuel-efficient vehicles and evaluating the environmental impact of fuel pricing and composition changes, of automotive fuel efficiency regulations, and of expanded metropolitan transportation and traffic management systems.
- Developing metrics by which industries can assess the environmental impact of their operations and evaluate the total cost implications of creating and using environmentally supportive technologies.
- Reviewing developments in conservation biology, population genetics, and ecological theory that should help guide policies on endangered species and the preservation of survival habitats; these include assessing the economic implications of wetlands preservation and developing standards to guide decisions on wetlands conversion.
- Improving our understanding of worldwide marine ecosystems and enhancing analysis of the health of marine fisheries and fish stocks.
- Setting out a 50-year framework for harnessing the talents of the globe’s scientific and technological communities in the quest for a more sustainable world, in part through the landmark report Our Common Journey, which identifies key actions and research needing immediate attention by scientists, business leaders, and policymakers.
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THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE
Projections suggest that the Earth’s current human population of 6 billion will grow to 9 billion by the mid-21st century. Given the current widespread malnutrition in many regions of the world, global food output will have to increase three-fold to properly nourish a population of that size. And housing the growing urban populations projected for 2050 will require constructing the equivalent infrastructure of 400 new urban centers the size of New York City.
Meeting the basic needs of a growing world population implies greater production and consumption of goods and services, an increased demand for land, clean water, energy, and materials -- and much greater pressures on the environment. Achieving an improved standard of living for most of the world’s population will further intensify those pressures.
The scale of the challenge is staggering -- from building new infrastructure to enhancing food production and managing water use. How do we reconcile increasing human needs with the imperative of protecting the ecosystems that provide for those needs? How can the current generation meet its needs while also enabling future generations to meet theirs?
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THE PLAN
The National Academies are guiding creation of scenarios for a livable future and bringing the global players together to shape it while exploring new communication technologies to promote the wise use of science and technology across the world. The Academies will undertake or extend these efforts by --
- Encouraging policies that may slow the predicted growth of the Earth’s human population and promoting technology-based infrastructures that can support an enhanced quality of life for a larger global population.
- Helping global markets recognize the full environmental costs of fossil fuels and pollution; initiating studies of energy and material alternatives that involve lower total costs; and addressing global climate change by fostering improved assessment, policy analysis, and research.
- Encouraging land-use initiatives that promote sustainable agriculture with increased food productivity -- including new pest management strategies, water-use planning, and the application of biotechnologies -- in a manner that fully considers their social and economic implications for individual nations and the globe.
- Forging global alliances of industry, government, and academic leaders whose goals will be to ensure strong investments in global health, evaluate global health risks and disease trends, and promote coordinated responses.
- Working with leading international science and technology organizations toward a global consensus on sustainable development -- including joint actions with the academies of other nations.
- Increasing our understanding of factors that may promote or inhibit the loss of flora and fauna species across the globe.
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THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE THE FUTURE
The National Academies need your assistance to implement their plans for meeting the World Resources challenge. You might consider --
- Underwriting the cost of creating and distributing a fully illustrated, general-audience edition of Our Common Journey -- a groundbreaking study of issues surrounding sustainable development -- and supporting related seminars and workshops ($250,000 for the publication; $100,000 annually for ongoing programs).
- Supporting the work of a visiting scholar to help lead the Academies’ efforts on the challenges facing the world food supply and food security, including work on the safety, regulation, and use of genetically modified food crops ($100,000 annually).
- Funding to convene experts to analyze current challenges in safeguarding endangered species. This work could include studies that track threats to biodiversity and science policy workshops that consider priorities, new challenges, and the best uses of research funding ($100,000 annually).
As the defined needs change and our programs evolve, so too will your opportunities to help. To learn about more ways you can shape the future through the work of the National Academies, visit the Giving Opportunities page or contact us at giving@nationalacademies.org. We welcome your ideas, too.
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_______________ T h e . P l a n . f o r . t h e . F u t u r e _______________
Providing Information for a Free Society
Educating Our Children
Protecting the World's Resources
Promoting Quality Health Care for All
Prospering in the 21st-Century Economy
Securing a Safer World
Guiding Science, Engineering, and Medicine 
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