期刊名称：International Journal of Sustainable Engineering
印刷版ISSN：1939-7038
出版年度：2012
卷号：5
期号：1
页码：2-2
DOI：10.1080/19397038.2012.648419
语种：English
出版社：Taylor & Francis Group
摘要：In 2011, the human population surpassed 7 billion (http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2011/worldpopulation-data-sheet/population-bulletin.aspx) raising fresh debate as to the ability of the earth to support our ever increasing numbers and levels of consumerism. However, the majority of this growth in population is occurring in the poorest countries, with the highest mortality rates and lowest levels of consumption. In fact, the greatest pressure on resources will come from increased consumerism in the developed and developing countries. Birth rates generally decline as populations become wealthier and healthier. Hans Rosling argues that by eliminating poverty, we can stabilise world population size (http://www.gapminder.org/videos/ population-growth-explained-with-ikea-boxes/), but we will require new sustainable technologies to enable and maintain these improvements. Therefore, the main challenge for manufacturing is to meet the growing needs of these new consumers, whilst minimising the impact on the earth’s resources through sustainable technologies. It was originally intended to publish a special issue that would focus entirely on bio-based polymers and oils. However, the scope has been expanded to include a wider range of approaches for improving sustainable polymer use to include methods and technologies in remanufacturing and recycling.
