ESS Topic 8 Flashcards
demographic tools for quantifying human population
crude birth rate (CBR)
crude death rate (CDR)
total fertility rate (TFR)
doubling time (DT)
natural increase rate (NIR)
impacts on human population dynamics
national & international development policies
cultural, historical, religious, social, political, economic factors
CBR and CDR calculation
population size / no. births x 1000
or
population size / no. of deaths x 1000
Natural increase rate calculation
CBR - CDR / 10
doubling time
time in years it takes for population to double in size
70/NIR
Natural capital
resource which has some value to humans (goods and services)
renewable - can be generated and or replaced as fast as its being used
non renewable - either irreplaceable or only replaced over geological timescales
Natural income
the rate of replacement of a particular resource or natural capital
recyclable resources example
iron ore is non renewable but we can manufacture it into iron which can be broken down - becomes renewable resource
dynamic nature of natural capital
importance of types of natural capital varies over time
our use of natural capital depends on cultural social economic environmental technological and political factors
examples of dynamic nature of natural capital
hydrogen fuel cells replacing hydrocarbon based fuel
arrowheads made from flint rocks no longer in demand
uranium in demand as raw material but may not if we can harness energy of nuclear fission
cork forests - to seal wine but now there are biodegradable alternatives
lithium - used to not be useful now used to make mobile phones
ways to value natural capital
valuation - natural capital with price
non use valuation - natural capital that is impossible to put a price on
Solid domestic waste
rubbish from residential or urban areas
collected from homes and shops - only waste we can control
LEDCs tend to produce less SDW - less consumeristic society
waste disposal options
landfill - unsustainable impacts environment and seeps into neighbouring ecosystems
incineration - emissions
recycling
composting - plastic cannot be composted
different types of SDW
biodegradable
recyclable
waste and electronic equipment
hazardous
toxic
medical
inert
mixed
waste is created by
energy production
transport
industrial processes
construction
selling of goods and services
domestic activities
linear economy
take make dump
find raw materials or natural capital
use energy to produce goods
these good become redundant or break down and we discard them and replace them with others
global economy built on linear - natural capital will inevitably dwindle
circular economy aims
be restorative of environment
use renewable energy sources
eliminate / reduce toxic waste
eradicate waste through careful design
circular economy done by
manufacturers retain ownership of their products and refurbish them to be returned to market
theoretically eradicates all waste
difficulties in measuring human carrying capacity
use far greater range of resources than others
use substitute resources thus cannot easily use resources to estimate carrying capacity
resource use can also vary depending on lifestyles, culture and economic situation
we import resources from outside our immediate environment - can’t just look at local environment
developments in technology - leads to changes in resources we use
ecocentric way to change carrying capacity
reduce use of non renewable resources and minimise use of renewable ones
may try to become self sufficient to varying degrees
technocentric way to change carrying capacity
may argue carrying capacity can be expanded through technological development
reduction of environmental demands
reuse, recycle, remanufacture, absolute reduction
ecological footprints defined
area of land and water required to support a defined human population at a given standard of living
ecological footprint facts
unsustainability indicated when EF is large than area available to population
may vary from country to country and person to person depending on lifestyle choices, productivity of food production systems, land use, and industry
