Exam 2

Question 1

Know approximately how many times more resources middle class goods require to produce as opposed to basic or essential goods like food

Answer 1

The production of middle class goods like cars requires 6 times as many resources as basic (essential) goods like food.

Question 2

Carrying Capacity

Answer 2

the maximum amount of people that a resource base can support

Question 3

Proven Reserves

Answer 3

oil, gold, amts of resources that we KNOW exist AND are economically feasible to extract. Current price will make us profitable. Make money out of taking it out of the ground. Economically feasible part can change, so can cost of extraction. If you bring cost of extraction down, projected reserves could become viable

Question 4

Projected reserves

Answer 4

Could be viable if proven to exist in amounts that are cost feasible (guessing might be 10b barrels of oil under the arctic national wildlife refuge. We don’t even know if anything is there) OR we develop technology to exploit them (mineral resources dissolved in ocean water, if we developed dirt cheap electricity we could get into mining those; potential.

Question 5

Renewable resources

Answer 5

Capable of yielding output indefinitely without impairing their productivity

Question 6

Flow Resource

Answer 6

water, sunlight

Question 7

Stock Resources

Answer 7

Soil, vegetation, animals

Question 8

Be able to explain how the renewal of renewable resources is not automatic

Answer 8

these can be damaged, depleted, or permanently reduced by misuse.

Question 9

maximum sustainable yield

Answer 9

yield that can maintain consistent future productivity

Question 10

Be able to explain the concept known as The Tragedy of the Commons (preferably in the context of an example)

Answer 10

Coined by Garrett Hardin in 1968. Refers to public resources ruined by the actions of individuals. Occurs when costs of actions are not captured by market prices; a market failure, essentially
“If I don’t use it, someone will.”
Plot that can hold up to 100 sheep, if you have 4 people surrounding the land who all have 100 sheep and they all decide to use it, you get 400 sheep on land that can only support 100. Tragedy of the commons. This is the cause of traffic jams.

Question 11

Be able to explain why an examination of only daily caloric intake is not sufficient when looking at human food consumption

Answer 11

2,000 calories/day- we can’t automatically assume that person is healthy. Why? You can hit 2,000 calories a day JUST DRINKING VODKA. Are you going to be healthy? We have to look at dietary balance

Question 12

Know which continent has NOT seen food production outpace population growth

Answer 12

Africa

Question 13

Be able to briefly explain how urbanization has contributed to the food problem (think about what rural-to-urban migration means in terms of agricultural production and demand)

Answer 13

When rural people move to Urban areas they go from being food producers to food consumers. Economically speaking, their food production goes down, and their food consumption/demand goes up.

Question 14

Be able to explain some of the complications that arise during famine (especially in a capitalist system), particularly those that can be extremely disastrous for the poor

Answer 14

Under capitalism, food goes to those who can afford it, not to those who need it the most. Food prices skyrocket during famine, which results in disaster for the extremely poor, scarcity makes it worse. As a result of higher prices, food that is often in the country is exported for profit because developed countries will pay.
Sometimes we find food is hoarded waiting for prices to go up. Spoilage happens in many developing countries due to improper storage, loss to pests/rodents/insects.
Food aid is at its lowest in famine, because prices/profits are high

Question 15

Be able to explain why price fixes for agricultural products rarely work as solutions to food problems

Answer 15

When a government “fixes” price for a food, they’ll do it at a low price IOT placate urban populations who HAVE to buy their food, which ruins incentive for farmers to grow, which can cause shortages.
Debt prevents people from investing in ag. Ag is expanding for cash crops to be exported, not grown to eat at home

Question 16

Be able to explain what the Green Revolution was, and some of the problems or flaws it had

Answer 16

best described as a mixed success
}	1960s initiative to solve world hunger
}	Introduction of grain seeds specially bred to:
◦	Increase per-acre yields
◦	Grow more quickly
◦	Be more resistant to pests and disease
◦	Have higher protein content
It DID increase food supply, but
}	Requirement of capital investment 
}	Ecologically unstable monocultures
}	Benefits went to Western wealthy farmers
}	Machinery increased agricultural unemployment, leading to increased rural-to-urban migration

Needed lotsss of fertilizer, machines, ag capital
Biggest flaw of the Green Revolution was that it didn’t do anything to help poor people buy food.
Small, carefully formed plots yield better crop

Small farmers are being ignored globally

Question 17

Be able to explain why we consume far more nonmetallic mineral resources than metallic ones

Answer 17

Non-metallic would be carbon, nitrogen, Sulphur, oxygen, phosphorous, right hand side of periodic table

The only metallic that we consume that’s even close to non-metallic is Iron. Iron is the most common metallic resource on earth
Sand clay limestone, we are not worried about running out of them anytime soon

Question 18

Be able to explain some of the issues with having to go to lower-grade ores for extraction of mineral resources

Answer 18

• The problems of going to lower-grade ores
• The copper example: 1900 – ores had 4% copper content; 2000 – ores had 0.4% copper content.
• This increases the environmental degradation and scale associated with mining. 10x more rock has to be mined a century later for the same amount.

Question 19

Know the percentage of the volume of world trade that oil accounts for

Answer 19

25%

Question 20

Know the four major problems associated with coal as a fuel source

Answer 20

Coal burning releases more than just greenhouse gases.

• Oil and natural gas you basically just stick a straw in the ground, coal, a solid material, has to be extracted. Much more dangerous to mine coal, overburden of removal is also environmentally devastating
• We can’t just put coal in a pipeline, more expensive to transport bc it’s bulkier
• Coal is not as good a fuel source for transportation like cars. Not great for US. You can make gasoline out of coal, the Nazis invented that process bc they were always on the verge of running out of gas. Germany still has massive coal reserves in the Ruhr Valley. South Africa used that process as well when they were alienated during Apartheid. You do not want to do this unless you are absolutely desperate. It is an expensive process

Question 21

Know some of the major issues or problems associated with nuclear energy

Answer 21

Nuclear Fission. Accidents are not common, but when they happen they are catastrophic. Chernoble in Ukraine in 86. Fukishima facility from 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Safety concerns, waste. Where is nuclear waste being stored in US today? Being stored on site. We do not have a permanent disposal facility. Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and Panhandle of texas were suggested. Even if you open a permanent waste facility, you’re either putting it on a truck or a train, which never crash, right? Plants themselves are extremely expensive to build, capital requirements are astronomical. If we ever figure out how to take hydrogen and fuse it into helium, “Fusion,” that would be a game changer.

Question 22

Be able to generally describe the locational restrictions regarding geothermal power

Answer 22

Harnessing the heat from within the earth. Iceland, western united states, Ethiopia, Japan, New Zealand, all these places have plants. Near tectonic plate edge or heat center if in the middle of the plate. Fully renewable resource. Location restrictions, we can’t tap into it everywhere

Question 23

Know some of the issues and controversies with wind power

Answer 23

Place where you’re getting constant wind power of over 15 mph. Wind machines are less expensive per unit. Environmental issues such as birds. Aesthetic concerns

Question 24

Know the energy source that accounts for 14% of global energy use, particularly in the developing world; be able to briefly describe the ethical issue associated with growing crops for fuel

Answer 24

Biomass- Ethanol made from corn. Need a LOT of crops to produce one gallon of fuel. Not very efficient. Ethical issue. Food crops are competing in terms of price with fuel. Inflates food prices which makes it more difficult for poor pops to afford food.

Question 25

issues with air pollution at the local scale

Answer 25

health impacts. Things we shouldn’t be breathing in large volumes. Personal health

Question 26

issues with air pollution at the regional scale

Answer 26

Acid precipitation. Have seen acid rain or sleet that has as low a pH as vinegar. Bad for rivers & things

Question 27

issues with air pollution at the global scale

Answer 27

Pollution of ozone and global warming/climate change

Question 28

Know what the leading cause (generally speaking) of species endangerment and extinction is

Answer 28

Habitat destruction

Question 29

Be able to generally describe the difference between preservation and conservation

Answer 29

Preservation involves not using it at all

Conservation means we’re using it but it’s managed use. Trying to keep it sustainable.

Question 30

Know the two forms of agricultural settlement that the Europeans brought with them to the New World

Answer 30

Farm and Plantation

Question 31

Know the four key elements of industrial agriculture

Answer 31

• Extreme capital intensity
• High energy use
• Concentration of economic power
• Quest for lower unit costs of production

Question 32

know the major distinction between the peasant (preindustrial) systems of agriculture and the capitalist (commodified) systems of agriculture

Answer 32

The MAJOR distinction between the two is the labor commitment to the enterprise.

Question 33

Know the 3 characteristics of regions where subsistence or preindustrial agriculture dominates

Answer 33

◦ Majority of workers are engaged in agriculture instead of manufacturing or services.
◦ Agricultural methods and practices are technologically primitive.
◦ Agricultural produce harvested on the farm is used primarily for direct consumption.

Question 34

Know the regions of the world where shifting cultivation (slash-and-burn) agriculture dominates; be able to explain the nature of this type of agriculture

Answer 34

• The Tropics. Amozonia, Central Africa, Southeast Asia. Field is typically cleared w axes or machetes (slash) then you’ve got the stumps that can only be rid of my burning (burn). Then when the rain comes that burnt plant ash goes back into the soil. Plot of land that has been slashed and burned is known as swidden. Reason it’s called shifting cultivation is because it’s taking place in stage 1 &2 areas. You gotta move on. Clear another field and another until you can go back to the og field. Typically only survives in areas w low production needs and low pop pressure. Only 5% of world’s pop is engaged in this type of agriculture, but it takes place on 25% of world’s land mass. Major crops vary from area to area, SE Asia, rice, portions of Africa you’ve got sorgum and millet. Shifting cultivation is fading away because local governments deem it economically unimportant, and start to displace people doing this.

Question 35

• Be able to define swidden

Answer 35

Same as Shifting Cultivation- slash-and-burn

Question 36

Be able to provide the main reason why shifting cultivation is fading away

Answer 36

Shifting cultivation is fading away because local governments deem it economically unimportant, and start to displace people doing this.

Question 37

Know the MAIN reason why pastoral nomadism takes place in the particular areas of the world that it dominates

Answer 37

Dry areas! Semi-arid or Arid areas. Dry Steppe, N Africa, SW and Central Asia, parts of northern Asia as well. Growing crops is to risky because it’s too dry. Only 15 mil people on planet still practice pastoral nomadism, but they’re doing it on ~20% of earth’s land mass. Grazing trails. . Modern boundaries do complicate things because their routes go for hundreds or thousands of miles. Has contributed to overgrazing.

Question 38

Know the major modern complication for nomadic herders as they still attempt to practice traditional pastoral nomadism

Answer 38

Modern boundaries do complicate things because their routes go for hundreds or thousands of miles. Has contributed to overgrazing.

Question 39

Know the characteristics of intensive subsistence agriculture; know what crop is dominant for this type of agriculture

Answer 39

Major crop is rice. Most work is done by hand by all family members. No mechanization because of lack of capital. Small plots, but cultivated intensively, almost no land goes to waste.

Question 40

Be able to define physiological density

Answer 40

of ppl per arable land per sq unit

Question 41

Know the two main reasons why subsistence agriculture yields have not risen much

Answer 41

• Being at the mercy of the elements and

- lack of modern technology mean net yields have not risen much.

Question 42

Know the term that we used to describe the “seeding to supermarket” model of production typical of commercial agriculture

Answer 42

Vertical integration- a corporate structure concept. We find that a lot of the agri-business controls almost every aspect of production and sale of these products, except for the farms themselves. I.E. seeds, pesticides, ag products, process, package, sale, “seeding to supermarket,” every aspect of the process

Question 43

Be able to explain the relationship between crops and livestock in terms of amount of land needed for each and the amount of profit generated by each on mixed farms

Answer 43

producing both crops and livestock, not an equal relationship though. Majority of land on a standard mixed farm will be devoted to growing crops, but a majority of the profit is generated by the livestock. Because 1) most of the crops are generated to feed the livestock 2) the price of meat is higher than price of grain (higher profit in meat). Great example of this is the corn belt. 4 field rotation system, rotating annually. Top left Grain, (corn). Top right Legume (soybeans). Bottom right forage for animals to graze (clover or hay). Bottom left let lay fallow. Corn is primarily grown as feed for livestock, corn however is a “soil robber,” so legumes, “soil givers” will put nutrients back into the soil, putting nitrogen back into the soil, forage crops are also helpful for this. Forage, ¼ of land is devoted to livestock. Derived from 3 field style in Europe. Number 1 crop in mixed farms here in US is Corn, Soybeans are number 2.

Question 44

Know which two crops are most significant for U.S. mixed farms

Answer 44

Corn and soybeans

Question 45

Be able to explain why most fluid-milk-producing dairy farms are located near major population clusters

Answer 45

Perishability. The need to get that fluid milk to market quickly.

Question 46

Know which crop is the dominant one in global cash grain farming operations

Answer 46

Wheat

Question 47

Know the major climate factor influencing the development of cattle ranching in particular areas (same as pastoral nomadism above); know the action taken by farmers that resulted in stationary ranching

Answer 47

just like pastoral nomadism, is concentrated in areas where it’s too dry to grow crops. farmers started putting up barbed wire fencing so that their crops wouldn’t get destroyed. Ranchers then made stationary ranches.

Question 48

Be able to define viticulture

Answer 48

cultivation, protection, and harvest of grapes into wine

Question 49

Know the major threat to Mediterranean agriculture operations, and why it is a major threat

Answer 49

Human encroachment, we love living in the attractive climate. Huge explosion in Cali has priced out a lot of orange groves.

Question 50

Be able to briefly explain why many horticulture and fruit farming operations are so labor-intensive; know the foreign regions that provide this inexpensive migrant labor to U.S. horticulture/fruit farming regions

Answer 50

Very human labor intensive operations. Picking tomatoes is a delicate process, you don’t want machines squishing em. Reliant on cheap migrant labor under brutal exploitative labor practices. Migrant labor from central America and Mexico in Cali and Texas, Florida gets them from Caribbean. Cheap fruit comes at cost of labor.

Question 51

Be able to explain what we mean when we say demand for food products is price-inelastic

Answer 51

just because the price gets lower, doesn’t mean our demand continues to increase. There’s only so much demand that we have, because there’s only so much we can eat. Perishability. Milk: instead of being $4/gallon it drops to 1cent a gallon, you could buy 400 gallons. Is your demand going to go up?? Where would you keep all that milk? Would you even increase it by one? Just because ag products become cheaper doesn’t mean our demand is going to increase.
As a result of this, production has greatly outpaced demand.

Question 52

Be able to explain the concept of the technological treadmill

Answer 52

In order to increase profit, farmers invest in new technology to increase per-acre yields or decrease production costs. BUT, this increases supply, which causes price drops, causing more investment, etc.

Question 53

Parity Price

Answer 53

equality between prices farmers could sell products for and the price they would spend on goods and services to run the farm

Question 54

Price Floor

Answer 54

a guaranteed price above market level, you’re gonna get at least this. If it’s higher than the floor, great for you, but here’s the absolute minimum. Govt would buy wheat and corn at floor prices and sell at market price, which more often than not was lower than floor price.

Question 55

Target Pricing

Answer 55

In 1994 govt is tired of being the middle man, and introduced target pricing set by govt, where they’ll write a check after the sale to pay the difference in market price to farmers.

Question 56

Be able to list the four main effects of U.S. agricultural subsidies

Answer 56

• Market cannot arrive at equilibrium price through normal supply and demand
• Farmers produce surplus, more than consumers can buy
• Buyers pay more and buy less than if market conditions prevail
• Farmers’ incomes are artificially raised by subsidies, and consumers’ incomes are artificially lowered.

Question 57

Know the general qualities of goods for which water transportation is still ideal

Answer 57

Low value- does not equal low quality. Cheap! Inexpensive. Bulk steel, Raw materials, oil, nonperishable or low perishability foods, grains, textiles, processed lumber
It’s a slow moving form of transportation compared to other forms

Question 58

• Be able to define agglomeration economies

Answer 58

Geographic concept- all aspects of production and consumption of a good or service in one area.

Question 59

and explain agglomeration economies in the context of why factories concentrated in large cities like New York and Chicago

Answer 59

Factories concentrated in NYC, Philly, Chicago for a variety of reasons:
◦ Proximity to large labor pools
◦ Easy access to rail and waterways to get resources from Appalachia (coal) and Lake Superior area (iron ore)
◦ Proximity to industrial suppliers of machines and intermediate products, lowering transportation costs
◦ Proximity to major markets for finished goods

Question 60

Know the MAJOR reason why the textile industry was attracted to the American South

Answer 60

Cheap labor

Question 61

Know what event kickstarted the process of deindustrialization in the developed countries

Answer 61

The oil shock of the 1970s

Question 62

Know the four major reasons why deindustrialization occurred in the developed world

Answer 62

• Cost of wages; keep in mind skill level, pension costs, employer-based health care costs in the U.S.
• Technological changes
• Failure to invest in research and development to stay competitive
• Inadequate investment in infrastructure and education led to labor shortages and higher transportation costs

Question 63

Be able to describe the nature of Fordism by listing several the aspects associated with that type of manufacturing, including knowing the nature of the vertical integration at some of Henry Ford’s automobile plants, specifically

Answer 63

Named after Henry Ford’s mass producing automobile approach
Standardized job tasks, installing carburetors on model Ts, that’s what you did all day long
Moving assembly line, interchangeable parts
Took mass production to a new level in specialized jobs, identifying who should do what job
Made many tasks suitable for unskilled labor
} Named after Henry Ford and his approach to mass producing automobiles.
} Standardized job tasks, interchangeable parts, the moving assembly line.
} The division of labor led to each worker doing highly repetitive tasks suitable for unskilled labor.
} Well-paid unskilled labor became the basis for social mobility for the growing working class.

Question 64

Be able to define economies of scale

Answer 64

the cost savings derived from producing goods in large volumes by spreading fixed costs over a higher quantity of output: If you sell a hundred cars, a dollar out of each car comes out to pay rent on the land the factory is on, if it’s 200 cars the amount that comes out is 50 cents. By the mid 20th century we reach social and technical limits.

Question 65

Know how the rise of electronics/computerization helped contribute to the rise of Post-Fordism

Answer 65

Highly computerized, can make a small amount and be profitable, selling to smaller/more niche markets

Question 66

Be able to identify the most important quality of the Post-Fordism manufacturing process

Answer 66

The flexibility is the most important part, not just within the factory, but with customers and suppliers as well. Buying instead of making and forming relationships with those suppliers.

Question 67

Be able to explain just-in-time inventory systems (Toyotaism)

Answer 67

No more large, expensive warehouses full of parts; now we organized immediate manufacturing and supply relationships among companies to reduce inefficiency and delivery times.
Essentially, stages in the manufacturing process are completed as needed by the market.

Question 68

In terms of the “make or buy” decision firms face, be able to explain which choice Post-Fordist firms made, and the MAIN reason why they made that choice

Answer 68

The “Make or Buy” decision became almost a universal “Buy”, which pushes risk to the subcontractor making the parts.
In the event of an economic shut down you can stop buying and don’t have as much overhead.

Question 69

Be able to explain why quality control becomes so critical in Post-Fordist manufacturing

Answer 69

Quality control becomes a thing. In the fordist approach you can see everything and identify problems immediately. Subcontracted out it’s harder to see and fix if it’s someone else- post-fordist makes it a team effort. If their quality falls off they can break that contract.