8.4 human pop and carrying capacity Flashcards
1
Q
effective recycling order
A
- reduce
- reuse
- recycle
2
Q
reduce
A
- reducing amount of waste produced and material used
- if reduction starts in design phase there’s less use of raw materials, lower energy consumption, and less waste
- e.g. disposable diapers: super-absorbant polymer (decreases amount of paper pulp used BUT gel is petroleum based so a renewable resource is replaced with non-renewable = material is reduced with sustainability
3
Q
reuse
A
- glass: customer pays deposit on bottle and its returned when bottle is collected to be sent back to factory, cleaned, and re-filled
4
Q
recycling and recycling benefits
A
- easily recyclable mats: glass, paper, metal textiles, electronics, some plastics
- benefits: prevents loss of useful raw material, reduces consumption of raw mat, reduces energy used, reduces pollution at extraction phase, lowers release of greenhouse gases
- govs offer tax incentives to companies to set up recycling industries and running education programs to encourage recycling
5
Q
curbside recycling
A
- residential districts have a day where they put out their recyclables for collection –> downside is collection trucks are operational most days so increase in fossil fuel consumption
6
Q
recycling centers
A
- several large bins are placed in publicly used areas
7
Q
strategies for the 3Rs
A
- choose products with returnable/reusable/refillable containers
- rechargeable batteries - reduces # of batteries going to waste
- shop at 2nd hand stores
8
Q
composting
A
- early times: piling up orgaic mat and leaving until next growing season (worked well when no space or time issues)
- now: composting means reducing amount of waste that ends up in landfills and incineration
- the decomposed organic matter is reused and recycled as soil fertilizers
9
Q
improvements in composting
A
- reducing the size and composition of compost
- controlling carbon-to-nitrogen ratio
- monitoring and controlling moisture levels
10
Q
dealing with waste: educate
A
- lowest cost
- aim = alter activity producing pollutant
- MEDCs have the 3Rs embedded into people’s minds + have the money and tech to apply the strats but LEDCs apply the 3Rs from need (job opportunities from landfills or searching through bins to resell or reuse)
- economic pressure = most likely to reuse and less likely to waste
11
Q
dealing with waste: legislate
A
- aim = to control the release of pollutants
- economic incentives (subsidies) are used to encourage use of the 3Rs
- Europe: political ban of landfill use for hazardous waste encouraged adoption of incineration
12
Q
dealing with waste: remediate
A
- used if nothing works
- environmental damage and high financial cost
- reclaiming landfill, waste to energy programs, implementing initiatives to clean up env. –> e.g. removal of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch + can only reclaim landfill if no toxic waste managed
13
Q
political and economic pressure
A
driving people towards incineration and waste-to-energy projects
14
Q
human carrying capacity
A
= way to access if a pop or species is living sustainably in an area
- if pop exceeds carrying capacity there will be a crash that brings numbers back to sustainable levels (J-curve)
15
Q
causes of difficulty defining CC
A
- we produce non-biodegradable waste which can cause env. degradation + reduce ability of area to provide resources
- resources we use are more varied& there are necessities and luxuries to take into account
- human pop can transport goods
- we employ tech to change env.
- we produce waste faster than the env. can assimilate it
