Drivers Of Environmental Change Flashcards
List 3 primary factors affecting environmental change.
Population, standard of living, & technology.
Standard of living is usually measured in economic terms, such as?
Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
Assessing environmental impacts is done using what 2 things?
Mathematical models and data.
Mathematical models used to assess environmental impacts are based on principles of what 3 areas of study?
Physics, biology, and chemistry.
Science-based models of environmental processes are also dynamic, meaning they can predict what?
How factors like pollutant concentrations will change over time in response to a specified input or stimulus.
Assuming a constant annual growth rate r, what formula gives the population after t years?
P = P0 (1 + r)^t
What factors play a role in population growth estimation?
Fertility age, age structure and age-specific birth/death rates.
The GDP of a country is the monetary value of what?
All final goods and services produced during a year.
When normalized on the country’s population, the GDP per capita offers a measure of what?
The average affluence of the population.
Name a major indicator of overall economic growth?
Change in GDP per capita.
Year-to-year GDP changes is larger for what types of countries?
Developing countries, as opposed to industrialized countries.
GDP growth indicates improved standards of living.
False - not if the population grows as fast or faster than the GDP.
GDP per capita growth indicates improved standards of living.
True.
What model is used to capture the interactions between economic sectors?
Input-output models.
The economic input-output model quantifies the value of what?
Goods and services that each economic sector requires from other sectors.
Any increase in economic activity also increases environmental emissions.
True.
Environmental emissions are quantified relative to what when considering the relationship between economic growth and emission rates?
We quantify the environmental emissions per unit of production.
An input-output model accounts for the direct impacts of an activity.
False - indirect impacts along the supply chain are accounted for as well.
What is a major limitation of the input-output framework?
Economic and environmental parameters of the model reflect historical data for a particular year.
When are the assumptions of the input-output framework reasonable?
When considering short time periods and small growth increments.
For long-term analysis, the input-output model can be used to assess the overall environmental implications of economic growth.
False - input-output models are effective for near-term analysis.
