ESS Topic 8

Question 1

demographic tools for quantifying human population

Answer 1

crude birth rate (CBR)
crude death rate (CDR)
total fertility rate (TFR)
doubling time (DT)
natural increase rate (NIR)

Question 2

impacts on human population dynamics

Answer 2

national & international development policies
cultural, historical, religious, social, political, economic factors

Question 3

CBR and CDR calculation

Answer 3

population size / no. births x 1000
or
population size / no. of deaths x 1000

Question 4

Natural increase rate calculation

Answer 4

CBR - CDR / 10

Question 5

doubling time

Answer 5

time in years it takes for population to double in size

70/NIR

Question 6

Natural capital

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Natural income

Answer 7

the rate of replacement of a particular resource or natural capital

Question 8

recyclable resources example

Answer 8

iron ore is non renewable but we can manufacture it into iron which can be broken down - becomes renewable resource

Question 9

dynamic nature of natural capital

Answer 9

importance of types of natural capital varies over time
our use of natural capital depends on cultural social economic environmental technological and political factors

Question 10

examples of dynamic nature of natural capital

Answer 10

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

Question 11

ways to value natural capital

Answer 11

valuation - natural capital with price
non use valuation - natural capital that is impossible to put a price on

Question 12

Solid domestic waste

Answer 12

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

Question 13

waste disposal options

Answer 13

landfill - unsustainable impacts environment and seeps into neighbouring ecosystems
incineration - emissions
recycling
composting - plastic cannot be composted

Question 14

different types of SDW

Answer 14

biodegradable
recyclable
waste and electronic equipment
hazardous
toxic
medical
inert
mixed

Question 15

waste is created by

Answer 15

energy production
transport
industrial processes
construction
selling of goods and services
domestic activities

Question 16

linear economy

Answer 16

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

Question 17

circular economy aims

Answer 17

be restorative of environment
use renewable energy sources
eliminate / reduce toxic waste
eradicate waste through careful design

Question 18

circular economy done by

Answer 18

manufacturers retain ownership of their products and refurbish them to be returned to market
theoretically eradicates all waste

Question 19

difficulties in measuring human carrying capacity

Answer 19

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

Question 20

ecocentric way to change carrying capacity

Answer 20

reduce use of non renewable resources and minimise use of renewable ones
may try to become self sufficient to varying degrees

Question 21

technocentric way to change carrying capacity

Answer 21

may argue carrying capacity can be expanded through technological development

Question 22

reduction of environmental demands

Answer 22

reuse, recycle, remanufacture, absolute reduction

Question 23

ecological footprints defined

Answer 23

area of land and water required to support a defined human population at a given standard of living

Question 24

ecological footprint facts

Answer 24

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