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Question 1

All human populations are competing for the ___________ of the Earth.

Answer 1

productive capacity (biocapacity)

Question 2

Ecological Footprint

Answer 2

Refers to the area of land and water ecosystems required, on a continuous basis, to produce the resources that the population consumes and to assimilate its (carbon dioxide) wastes, wherever on Earth the relevant land/water is located.

Question 3

Measures of the ecological footprint

Answer 3

….

Question 4

Vulnerabilities that exist today (mike)

Answer 4

• Increasing global interdependence has enormous implications for security of urban populations
• Increasing concern for reliable food supplies
• “Peak oil” could impact price and availability of food, urban transportation, and future size of cities
• Human-induced climate change could end peaceful global integration

Question 5

Vulnerabilities that exist today (Akemi)

Answer 5

• Dependence on technology

- Increasing dependence on a global system (food security)

Question 6

Peak Oil

Answer 6

The hypothetical point in time when the global production of oil reaches its maximum rate, after which production will gradually decline (2008)

Question 7

Implications of peak oil in 2008

Answer 7

As we ran out of conventional oil in 2008, we have now been looking or unconventional oil ever since.

• Our systems are so dependent on oil
• impact price
• availability of food
• urban transportation
• size of cities

Question 8

Notes on Climate Change

Answer 8

• 2.5 degree increase over the next thirty years
• Extreme drought, forest fires
• Cities face unprecedented challenges to their functional integrity, even survival

Question 9

Ecological Stage

Answer 9

Global ecological change is accelerating

Facing unprecedented challenges to functional integrity even survival

We need a better understanding of cities as ecological entities subject to biophysical laws

We need to think of our cities as organisms

- To have a healthy long-term garden: variety of species, heallthy ecosystem
- Otherwise society will not be sustainable

Question 10

We need to think of our cities as

Answer 10

organisms

Question 11

How has our connection to the land changed?

Answer 11

• Cities are an emergent phenomena [ 5-600 years (in North America)]
• Shift from hunter-gatherer to agriculture-based settlement centred way of life and urbanisation
• As a result: more unsustainable and disconnected to nature

Question 12

How are cities disconnected from the land?

Answer 12

• Critically reshapes spatial relationships and psychological sensitivities to nature
• Cities insulate city dwellers from the negative consequences of their own ecological dysfunction
• Diminishes urbanites sense of connectedness to the land
• Urbanization is still viewed as a demographic or economic phenomenon

HOWEVER, urbanization does not reduce dependence on productive ecosystems

Question 13

How are cities disconnected from the land?

Answer 13

• Critically reshapes spatial relationships and psychological sensitivities to nature
• Cities insulate city dwellers from the negative consequences of their own ecological dysfunction
• Diminishes urbanites sense of connectedness to the land
• Urbanization is still viewed as a demographic or economic phenomenon

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: HOWEVER, urbanization does not reduce dependence on productive ecosystems

Question 14

Despite urbanization disconnecting us (spatially and psychologically) from nature…

Answer 14

Urbanization does not reduce dependence on productive ecosystems

Question 15

Despite urbanization disconnecting us (spatially and psychologically) from nature…

Answer 15

It does not reduce our dependence on productive ecosystems and nature.

Question 16

Urbanization transforms _______ systems into a_____________ system

Answer 16

Urbanization transforms local, cyclical ecological production systems into:

global, horizontally-disintegrated, unidirectional, throughput systems

Question 17

Biocapacity

Answer 17

Refers to the capacity of a given biologically productive area to generate an on-going supply of renewable resources and to absorb its spillover wastes

Question 18

Productive Capacity

Answer 18

The ability of an ecosystem to produce the raw materials necessary for economic activities.

Question 19

The ecological footprint measures _______ compared to _________________

Answer 19

How fast we consume resources and generate waste

How fast nature can absorb our waste and generate new resources.

Question 20

why is “sustainable city” an oxymoron?

Answer 20

Ecological dependence of urbanites on the hinterland is almost an absolute.

Question 21

there can be no ____ sustainability without _____ sustainability

Answer 21

urban

rural

Question 22

Cities are virtually all in an ____ defecit

Answer 22

ecological .

we are not regenerating as fast as we need to

Question 23

Toward One Planet…

Answer 23

• The world has exceeded its long-term global carrying capacity.
• Wealthy countries must free up ecological space for needed growth in the developing world.
• It is economically and technologically possible to transition to manage without growth.

Question 24

How has efficiency increased consumption?

Answer 24

We have created ways to produce more, faster.

Commodification of goods (natural goods in particular) is exploding.

Example: amazon wants to be retailers for everything

Question 25

Population on earth

Answer 25

7.7 billion people on earth right now

90% of people are moving to cities

Question 26

Solutions

Answer 26

Intergovernmental programs of sustainability planning are needed

• Population reduction
  - Articulation of less material intense lifestyle
  - Reshaping cities in the image of natural ecosystems

Question 27

Things to plan for

Answer 27

Expect greater loss of ecosystem function and biodiversity

Energy, material and water throughput is increasing with modernization.

Question 28

Throughput

Answer 28

The amount of material or items passing through a system or process.