Module 4 - Growth and the Environment Flashcards
What is historical ‘coupling’ of growth and environmental degradation?
‘Economic growth comes with environmental degradation and depletion’
Examples
- GDP growth and CO2 emissions
- Expanded agriculture and species depletion/habitat loss
- macroplastics in the surface ocean
What is an example of steady environmental degradation theory?
Aral Sea
- once the 4th largest freshwater lake, is now 80% dried up
- slow degradation decreased productivity
- quality of life is now very poor
Air Pollution
- In 2023, Edmonton saw most smoke hours ever on record
Ecological Carrying Capacity
the natural limit of a population set by resources in a particular environment
What did Thomas Malthus believe would happen?
Believed humans were too immoral and undisciplined to be able to control their ‘urges’.
Human populations would inevitably grow larger than available food supply and eventually collapse due to ‘overshooting’ Ecological Carrying Capacity.
Malthusian Growth
Thought there would be these massive collapses in population
What are 4 occurrences that collapse theories have been based on?
- Environmental collapse due to overconsuming a renewable resource (such as fish)
- Economic collapse due to the rapid decline of important ecosystem fxns
- Economic collapse due to the rapid decline of a non-renewable resource
- Conflict and societal breakdown due to the impacts of the above factors
What is the key element of collapse theories?
At some point in time terrible consequences occur without a great deal of prior warning.
What is an example of a collapse?
Atlantic Cod Fisheries
- catching lots of fish one yr, the next yr there were none
What did Paul Ehlrich predict?
Believed in the 1970s hundreds of millions of ppl would starve to death in spite of any crash programs.
- didn’t happen, but concerns like this were widespread
What was the ‘Limits to Growth’ report based on?
Based on simulations at MIT. Studied the ‘predicament of mankind in the face of a technology growing at an exponential rate’. Pointed toward environmental and economic collapse if “business as usual continued”.
The collapse based mostly upon source issues where shortages of fossil fuels and fertilizer cause a food supply collapse (and associated conflict).
What was the Business as Usual Scenario presented by the Limits to Growth report?
If present economic and population growth trends continued then GLOBAL COLLAPSE would occur within 100 yrs.
What were the alternative scenarios to the ‘Business as Usual Scenario’? What movement did this start?
All sustainable scenarios by this group have both population and industrial output flatlining. Concluded that sustainability required a steady state economy (an economy with zero growth).
This started the Degrowth Movement- a movement that suggests that we cannot endlessly grow the economy, but indeed, we need to shrink it.
What is the Degrowth Movement?
A movement that suggest that we cannot endlessly grow the economy but indeed, we need to shrink it.
- economy is bigger than the host (planet)
- burning through capital and stealing from the future
- unstable economy
Those promoting Degrowth argued that we needed to do what 3 things?
- Accept the Limits to Growth and integrate the finite ecological limits of our planet into governing the economy.
- Refocus the economy in wealthy nations towards material sufficiency and non-consumptive human well made (and away from an obsession with GROWTH).
- Tackle systematic economic inequality to address issues of poverty through processes of redistribution as opposed to growth.
Decoupling
Decoupling refers to breaking the link btw economic growth and environmental degradation allowing growth to continue without additional environmental harm.
Can be understood as making efficiency improvements to a level where growth does NOT cause environmental harm, indeed growth could occur while environmental conditions improve.
