Global Perspective Flashcards
Define carrying capacity.
The number of people, animals, or crops which a region can support without environmental degradation.
OR
The number of planets needed to support all life on earth.
What can carrying capacity be abbreviated to?
K.
At current what is the carrying capacity of all life on earth?
140% of the planet’s capacity - meaning we’re draining more resources than a planet can provide.
What carrying capacity does the USA make up?
4.5 x the capacity of the planet.
What does MSY stand for?
Maximum sustainable yield.
Define MSY.
The maximum level at which a natural resource can be routinely explored without long-term depletion.
What is meant by “Limiting Factors”?
Limiting factors are environmental conditions that limit the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism or a population in an ecosystem.
Give an example of a limiting factor.
Food, water, shelter, mates, space, predators and pollution.
What can limiting factors result in?
Competition between individuals of a species population.
Define “complexity of factors”.
The complexity of factors refers to the complex nature of limiting factors e.g. the genetic gene pool - if this is too small it will limit the growth of the population.
Give an example of Ecocide.
Easter Island;
Over exploited maximum sustainable yield, the carrying capacity was exceeded, resulting in complete loss of the forest ultimately leading to cannibalism and extinction of the Rapa Nui people.
Outline Malthus’ theory surrounding population growth.
Left ‘unchecked’ the population will outgrow resources.
What were Malthus’ checks?
Preventative: postponing marriage.
Positive: famine, disease and warfare.
What is the impact of affluence in today’s society?
More disposable income.
What are the 6 stages of human society?
- Proto Hunters.
- Hunters.
- Early agriculturalists.
- Advanced agriculturalists.
- Industrial society.
- Technological society.
Throughout the stages of human society how has the amount of energy we use changed?
Increased from proto hunters 100W to Technological society 11,000W.
What impact does moving through the 6 stages of society have?
Increased use of extra somatic energy.
Which 3 factors have an impact on the planet?
Population, Affluence and Technology.
How are environmental impacts distributed globally?
Not evenly for example there are likely to be more negative impacts in lower income countries.
Why are there a higher proportion of impacts distributed in lower income countries?
- Lack of infrastructure in place.
- Raw materials are ordinarily found in the Eat rather than the West.
What does consumption lead to?
Increasing demand for the extraction of substances.
What does production lead to?
Increasing quantities of waste and harmful substances released into nature.
What are the 3 different levels of impact?
- Local Level: The immediate Vicinity.
- Regional Level: Across political borders and geographic areas.
- Global Level: Planet wide effects.
Define delayed, spatial, cumulative and irreversible impacts.
- Delayed: long lag between cause and effect.
- Spatial: separation between location of cause and resultant effect.
- Cumulative: individual actions have a little effect, but collectively a large effect.
- Irreversible Impact: Impacts that are fundamentally impossible to repair.
