Chapter 2 Flashcards
Malthusian hypothesis
the theory proposed by Thomas Malthus in 1798 that population would eventually outgrow available food supplies
real GDP
gross domestic product corrected for inflation using a price index
nominal GDP
gross domestic product measured using current dollars
capital stock
the existing quantity of capital in a given region, including manufactured, human, and natural capital
natural capital
the available endowment of land and resources including air, water, soil, forests, fisheries, etc.
population momentum
the tendency for a population to continue to grow, even if the fertility rate falls to the replacement level, as long as a high proportion of the population is in young age cohorts
intensification of production
increasing production rates with a limited supply of resources, such as increasing agricultural yield per acre
resource recovery
mining or extraction of resources for economic use
open-access resources
a resource that offers unrestricted access such as an ocean fishery or the atmosphere
global commons
global common property resources such as the atmosphere and the oceans
cumulative pollutants
pollutants that do not dissipate or degrade significantly over time
industrial ecology
the application of ecological principles to the management of industrial activity
energy supply augmentation
an approach to energy management emphasizing increase in energy supplies, such as building more power plants or increasing oil drilling
demand-side management
an approach to energy management that stress increasing energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption
biomass
an energy supply from wood, plant, and animal waste
