Part 5: Global trends in demand for resources

Question 1

1. How can TNCs exploit the biosphere globally?

Answer 1

a) Farming e.g. cattle ranching for beef
b) Growing cash crops e.g. cocoa-beans for chocolate
c) Mining
d) Deforestation for wood
e) Building Hydro-Electric dams for electricity

Question 2

2. What happens in the long term after biomes have been exploited by TNCs?

Answer 2

a) Biome cannot grow back
b) Ecosystem services destroyed.
c) Forests cannot store carbon
d) Forests cannot prevent flooding

Question 3

3. What are natural resources?

Answer 3

a) Materials found in the environment used by humans

Question 4

4. What are some examples of natural resources?

Answer 4

a) Land
b) Water
c) Fossil fuels
d) Rocks and minerals
e) Timber
f) Fish

Question 5

5. What are biological resources?

Answer 5

a) Living things we use

b) E.g. timber and fish

Question 6

6. Why is the demand for natural resource rising?

Answer 6

a) Countries are developing
b) Industrialisation e.g. China and Brazil
c) People are getting richer e.g. Europe and America
d) Population is rising

Question 7

7. How is an increase in demand for natural resources impacting the biosphere?

Answer 7

a) Destroyed e.g. by deforestation
b) Overfishing and overhunting of animals damages food webs
c) Increase in pollution
d) Burning wood and fossil fuel causes global warming

Question 8

8. What are the two theories about population and resources?

Answer 8

a) Malthus

b) Boserup

Question 9

9. What was Malthus’ theory?

Answer 9

a) Population will increase arithmetically
b) Resources will increase geometrically
c) There will not be enough resources to supply everyone
d) There will be a crisis
e) Population will reduce

Question 10

10. What sort of crises did Malthus say would stop population growing?

Answer 10

a) Famine

b) War

Question 11

11. Give an example of a time when Malthus’ view was correct

Answer 11

a) The Ethiopian famine 1984

Question 12

12. What is wrong with Malthus’ view?

Answer 12

a) The world’s population has continued to grow

Question 13

13. What was Boserup’s theory?

Answer 13

a) As population grows people invent new ways of producing more resources
b) The population can continue to grow

Question 14

14. How do people produce more resources?

Answer 14

a) Technology e.g. farm machinery, GM crops

Question 15

15. What is the argument in favour of Boserup?

Answer 15

a) The world’s population has continued to grow

b) Renewable resources will prevent damage to the environment

Question 16

16. What is the challenge for the future?

Answer 16

a) The world’s population may grow to 12 billion people

Question 17

17. What is the problem with Boserup’s theory?

Answer 17

a) Population growth has damaged the biosphere e.g. global warming
b) Environmental problems might stop the population growing