8.2 resource use in society

Question 1

economic natural capital

Answer 1

• fossil fuels, timber, food crops, gemstones
• have economic value and can be sold on the global market
• no value in a society that doesn’t use money for its economy

Question 2

aesthetic and intrinsic natural capital

Answer 2

• stream, mountains, meadow
• appreciation for natural beauty
• brings wellbeing and inner peace
• value simply because it is there
• subjective to the individual

Question 3

cultural and spiritual natural capital

Answer 3

• famous religious buildings, ancient sites, monuments, spiritual places for indigenous people
• only valuable for certain people

Question 4

environmental natural capital

Answer 4

• the environment provides all other capital
• different opinions on what should be done

Question 5

natural capital and technology

Answer 5

• value of resources changing over time
• current devices useless in the future

Question 6

non-renewable natural capital

Answer 6

• how long it takes to replace vs how fast we use it
• geological time scales to form, irreplaceable in our lifetimes, finite

Question 7

case study
soil degradation: sub-saharan africa

Answer 7

• poor soil management, accelerated hunger crisis, more than 240 million africans impacted
• crop yields falling, more dependent on outside aid
• savanna being lost, impacting habitat for wildlife and tourism
• farmers dependent on agriculture for income

causes of soil mismanagement
- abandonment of traditional farming methods, soil not time to recover rapidly growing populations
- topsoil lost to wind and water erosion
- no money for fertilizers to replenish nutrients, more expensive in africa

solution
green revolution
- aid workers to teach farmers methods to improve agricultural productivity
- better road networks to travel to remote areas
- credit farmers to pay for better seeds and fertilizers
- better irrigation
- make fertilizers and seeds needed accessible and affordable, better roads
- combating corruption of officials trying to take funds for personal gain

Question 8

renewable natural capital
living

Answer 8

• all living species
• use solar energy directly or indirectly to regenerate
• must be carefully/sustainably managed
• treated wrong can destroy and remove the source

Question 9

renewable natural capital
non living

Answer 9

• renewable energy resources, remain unchanged no matter how much we use them, can’t be used unsustainably
• water resources, impacting the hydrological cycle, polluting bodies of water, over extracting from groundwater
• ozone, we don’t directly use it but we are managing it unsustainably causing depletion

Question 10

tragedy of the commons

Answer 10

• over harvesting renewable natural capital to the extent it is no longer renewable
• individuals acting in their own self interest, not in the interest of the group

Question 11

case study
collapse of the newfoundland cod fishery

Answer 11

• lots of cod
• small boats and traditional fishing methods, allowed replenishing of cod stocks, sustainable
• delicately balanced ecosystem
• technological advancement, trawlers, large nets, froze out at sea, not needing to return home as often
• government ignored warnings to reduce fishing quotas
• government supported big corporations to maximize revenue at the expense of local communities
• catching too many, cod catch declining each year, complete collapse in 1995

consequences
- still not fully recovered
- 42,000 people lost jobs
- small communities left as their livelihoods were gone