RESOURCE CONSUMPTION-GROWTH OF THE NGMC Flashcards
Situational poverty
is caused by a sudden crisis or loss and is often temporary. Causes might include environmental disasters, divorce, or severe health problems.
Absolute poverty
involves a lack of basic needs such as shelter, clean water, and food. People in absolute poverty will probably focus on day-to-day survival.
Relative poverty
is where people’s incomes fall significantly below the average for the place where they live. They may have access to basic needs and more but will be poorer than other people and families in the same place.
what is The New Global Middle Class
- The global middle class are the non-manual workers (white collar workers), middle management and small business owners.
- They earn more money than the working class but less than the upper middle and upper classes.
- The middle class is characterised by people who have approximately 33% of their income ‘left over’ after they have paid for the essentials in life: food, shelter and basic services.
- The leftover income is described as discretionary and can be used to buy consumer goods (clothes, cars, etc.) or improve their health care and their children’s education opportunities.
- As mean global income increases and absolute poverty falls the balance between rich and poor shifts and the global middle class grows.
What is biocapacity?
The capacity of an area to provide resources and absorb wastes.
What occurs when an area’s ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity?
An ecological deficit occurs.
What is a global hectare?
The measurement of biocapacity and ecological footprint.
What is an ecological creditor?
A country whose whole ecological footprint is higher than their biocapacity.
What is an ecological debtor?
A country whose ecological footprint is lower than their biocapacity.
What is ecological overshoot?
The day when human demand for ecological resources exceeds the Earth’s capacity to regenerate them in a whole year.
True or False: An ecological creditor has a lower ecological footprint than its biocapacity.
False.
What is physical water scarcity?
When physical access to water is limited and demand outstrips a region’s ability to provide the water needed by the population.
This type of scarcity can lead to significant challenges in water management and access.
What is economic water scarcity?
When the population does not have the necessary monetary means to utilise an adequate source of water.
This often affects low-income communities and can lead to health and sanitation issues.
Define ‘pattern’ in the context of geography.
A characteristic or feature that repeats over space, within and between places or regions.
Patterns can help in understanding geographical and environmental trends.
What does a trend indicate?
A characteristic or feature changes over time.
For example, the population growth in Canada since colonisation is a trend.
AGRICULTURE (the causes of water shortage and the likely future impacts)
- Agriculture, which accounts for 70% of water withdrawal, is facing a significant water demand due to the growing demand for livestock products.
- The global food demand is expected to increase by 70% by 2050.
- The main challenge is to make 70% more food available, with future global agricultural water consumption estimated at 19% by 2050.
- Responsible water management is crucial for global water security.
ENERGY PRODUCTION (the causes of water shortage and the likely future impacts)
- Water is crucial in energy production processes, including extraction, cooling, cleaning, and hydroelectricity.
- Over one billion people lack access to clean energy, and global energy consumption is expected to rise by 50% by 2035.
INDUSTRIAL USE (the causes of water shortage and the likely future impacts)
- Water is crucial in industrial processes, with increasing demand due to economic activity.
- Virtual water, embedded in goods and services, is traded globally, causing countries to inadvertently engage in water trading.
HUMAN CONSUMPTION (the causes of water shortage and the likely future impacts)
- Urban communities demand water for drinking, sanitation, and drainage, with the global urban population expected to grow to 6.3 billion by 2050.
- A 20% backlog of unserved urban populations has emerged since the Millennium Development Goals.
Likely impacts of climate change on future water supplies and vulnerable populations.
- Climate change is expected to exacerbate water resource stress due to population growth, land use, and increased droughts and floods.
- Changes in rainfall distribution, soil moisture, glacier melt, and river flows will affect water availability.
- Water-related hazards account for 90% of natural hazards, impacting economic development.
- South Asia and Southern Africa are vulnerable to climate change-related food shortages by 2030.
- Water stress is expected to increase in central and southern Europe, with summer flows dropping by up to 80%.
What is a water footprint?
a measure of the amount of fresh water utilized in the production or supply of the goods and services used by a particular person or group.
What is embedded water
A measure of water used in the production and transport to market of food and commodities (can also be known as ‘virtual water’ or ‘water footprint’)
Nutrient transition
Nutrient transition means a change in diet from staple carbohydrates towards meat, fish, proteins and dairy products. This typically happens when incomes rise from US$2 a day to US$10 a day.
Food intake (measured by calorie intake) has gone up dramatically in most regions of the world. This has been due to our ability to increase crop production in the following ways:
- Expanding the areas that we farm (clearing rainforest for pasture for cattle grazing)
- Better use of irrigation (potatoes being grown in Egyptian desert)
3. Using HYVs (high yield varieties) and the use of GM (genetically modified) crops (e.g. drought resistant corn)
In what ways are the diets of the rising middle class changing?
Urbanization, globalization and economic development have led to dietary and lifestyle changes that encourage the consumption of high-value foods, including processed foods and food consumed outside the home.
Evidence of changing dietary trends and the type of changes that have occurred in China and Brazil
Brazil
- GDP Annual Growth Rate in Brazil averaged 2.49 percent from 1991 until 2024
- Traditional diets to ultra processed food
- Brazil has had doubled sales in 10 years of malnutritional food company products reaching remote parts of the company.
- Farmers abandoning crops to stuff like soy, sugar cane etc.
China
- Meat consumption has changed from 15% 1980 to 70% in 2023
- Consumes half the world’s pork
Consequences of the changes to diet - economic, environmental, health, social in China and Brazil
Brazil
- More obese people
- 1 million new case annually
- More obese than underweight adults in the world
- Spread of high calorie-pure nutrient food is the cause of the rise
China
- Pushes prices of soy and grain for feeding pigs and chicken
- Sheer size and growth of china means that their consumption is big if everyone turns to more meat diets etc
- More greenhouse emissions
Causes of the changes to diet - economic, demographic, social in China and Brazil
Brazil
- More money they have more choices
- Companies like nestle expanding their reach
- Brazil has had doubled sales in 10 years of malnutritional food company products reaching remote parts of the company.
China
- Farm labor wages increased, and more problems with animal diseases increased pressure to move farming to large commercial operations.
- Urbanization and improved living standards have also played a big role, with 63% of the population predicted to be living in urban areas by 2023. Rising incomes support the growing purchase and value of meat.
- Chinese nutrition trends are characterized by increased consumption of meat and dairy, sugar, oils, and refined grains. Sugar intake has increased 40-fold since 1989, with cooking methods shifting towards frying. Processed grains replace whole grains, and salt intake is high. Overall calories have nearly doubled, and trends continue towards home-based eating.
