Unit 3 - Global Resource Consumption and Security Flashcards
Between 1990 and 2015, how did the number of people living in poverty change?
- decreased
- fell from 1.9 billion to 840 million
How did the amount of people living in poverty change in LICs from 1990 to 2015?
- fell from 50% in 1990 to 14% in 2015
How did the amount of middle-class population change in LICs from 1990 to 2015?
- increased from 18% in 1990 to to nearly 50% in 2015
How many middle-class people were there in 2009 worldwide?
- 1.8 billion
Why is the increasing number of the middle-class sector an important economic feature?
- helps to increase sales of consumer goods such as electrical goods, mobile phones and cars
By how much did sales of cars and motorbikes increase from 2009 to 2015?
- increased by over 800%
Is it true that not all the middle class has economic securtiy?
- yes
- many middle class people remain vulnerable to unemployment and underemployment, especially those working in informal activities
Approximately how many global workers work in unsafe conditions?
- approximately half
What is the middle class?
- those living on at least $4/day
What is an ecological footprint?
- the hypothetical area of land required by a society, a group or an individual to fulfil all their resource needs and assimilate all their wastes
What would it mean if a country had an ecological footprint of 3.2 gha (global hectares)?
- it is consuming resources and assimilating its wastes on a scale that would require a land area 3.2 times larger than the actual size of the country
What can ecological footprints act as a model of?
- as a model for monitoring environmental impact
What does it mean if populations are living with a larger footprints than their land area?
- living beyond sustainable limits
What is the available biological capacity for the population of the Earth?
- about 1.3 gha per person
- if marine areas are included as a source of productivity, then 1.8 gha
How many people worldwide do not have access to safe water ?
- 780 million people
Why will demand for clean water increase?
- due to population growth
- due to rising standards of living
What else, except for people, will further stretch the Earth’s water resources?
- increased demand for water for renewable energy
How is water availability likely to change in many regions worldwide?
- decrease
For what will more water be required for in the future?
- to produce food for the world’s growing population(, partly because of changes in diet)
What are some of the number of trends increasing the pressure to manage water more efficiently?
- population growth, which is predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050 and may eventually peak at 11 billion
- the growing middle class - increasing affluence leads to greater water consumption
- the growth of tourism and recreation
- urbanisation - urban areas require significant investment in water and sanitation facilities
- climate change
What does the concept of virtual (or embedded) water refer to?
- the way in which water is transferred from one country to another through its exports, such as in foods, flowers or manufactured goods
- allows countries with limited water resources to “import or outsource” their water from countries that have more water resources
- allows a country to reduce the use of its own water resources by importing goods
How has food intake (measured in calorie intake) changed?
- steadily increased as the world’s population has increased
Where has calorie intake remained steady?
- sub-Saharan Africa
Where has calorie intake increased dramatically?
- East Asia
- Middle East
- North Africa
Why has land availability/person declined in many areas?
- due to a combination of:
- rapid population growth
- land-use changes
- land grabs by foreign companies
(- increasing urbanisation)
By how much did meat consumption per capita in LICs increase between 1964 and 1999?
- by 150% in LICs
By how much did dairy products consumption per capita in LICs increase between 1964 and 1999?
- by 60%
How will global meat production change from 1998-9 to 2030 (predicted)?
- 218 million tonnes to 376 million tonnes
Since 1961, how did the total fish supply and consumption change?
- increased by about 3.6% per year
Why has the production from the world’s ocean fisheries levelled off since the 1970s?
- overfishing
Why have the growth rates of food production and crop yields been falling?
- some of this reduction can be put down to:
- natural hazards (fires, floods, drought)
- global climate change
- use of land to produce biofuels
What are the three mains ways of increasing crop production?
- extensification - expanding the area farmed
- multicropping - harvesting two or more crops a year
- intensification - e.g. using high-yielding varieties or genetically modified organisms
According to the FOA, how will the growth in the demand for food change?
- likely to fall from 2.2% per year to 1.5% per year
- however, this is still an increase
What was the period from 1985 to 2003 an era of?
- energy security
Since 2004, what kind of era was there?
- energy insecurity
Following which two events, was there a period of low oil prices and energy security?
- the energy crisis of 1973
- the Iraq War (1990 - 91)
What are some reasons why energy insecurity has risen?
- increased demand, especially from newly industrialising countries (NICs)
- decreased reserves as supplies are used by
- geopolitical developments, for example, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
- global warming and natural disasters have increased awareness about the misuse of energy resources
- terrorist activity such as in Syria
What offers the best energy security for most countries?
- a diversified energy mix
When is a country more likely to lead to energy insecurity?
- when depending on a single source, especially from a single supplier
What can energy be generated from?
- both renewable and non-renewable resources
What are non-renewable energy supplies?
- fossil fuels (such as coal, gas and oil)
- provide most of mankind’s energy supply and their use is expected to increase to meet global energy demand
- cannot be renewed at the same rate as they are used (this results in depletion of the stock)
Why can nuclear power be considered non-renewable?
- uranium is a non-renewable resource
What are renewable energy supplies?
- solar, hydroelectric, wind and tidal schemes
- large scale or small scale, within single houses or communities
- sustainable because there is no depletion of natural capital
What kind of energy is expected to increase?
- renewable energy
Why is nuclear power controversial?
- tough it is low-carbon, low-emission, it is controversial due to the problem of storing radioactive waste, the cost of decommissioning nuclear power stations, and the potential scale of any accident
What are the major consumers of energy?
- the HICs and NICs
- has been increasing rapidly
What are energy resources used in large quantities for?
- manufacturing and transport
Why does the world continue to use fossil fuels despite the growth in renewable energy sources?
- resources are still available
- the infrastructure is already in place
- in some cases, the energy companies are important sources of revenue for governments
What does the water-food-energy nexus refer to?
- the close links between the three sectors and the ways in which changes in one sector have an impact on one or both of the other sectors
What does the nexus approach stress?
- the need for stewardship of these resources
What is water security defined as?
- the SDGs definition: “access to safe drinking water and sanitation”
What is food security defined as?
- the FAOs definition: “availability and access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet the dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”
What is energy security defined as?
- having access to clean, reliable and affordable energy sources for cooking, heating, lighting, communications and productive uses
What is an example of interactions between food, water and energy?
- water is essential for the mining, refining and transport of energy sources, as well as being necessary to produce crops and rear livestock
What is the world’s largest single use of water?
- food production
- accounts for about 70% of water usage
How could food production affect water quality and quantity?
- through water extraction
- through water pollution (eutrophication and salinisation)
- through land-use changes
For how much global energy use does agriculture account for?
- about 30%
What are the positive implications for water (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from increasing water use efficiency (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for water: reduced water per capita
- potential for synergies across the nexus: increased availability of water for energy and agriculture
What are the positive implications for water (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from switching from use of freshwater to waste water (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for water: reduces freshwater use per capita
- potential for synergies across the nexus: increased availability of freshwater for food, energy and other uses
What are the positive implications for water (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from switching from wet to dry cooling at thermoelectric power plants (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for water: reduces water use and and associated thermal pollution
- potential for synergies across the nexus: increased availability of water for energy and agriculture
What are the positive implications for water (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from desalinisation (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for water: increase in brackish and freshwater supplies
- potential for synergies across the nexus: increased availability of freshwater and overall water supply for energy and agriculture and other uses
What are the positive implications for water (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from new storage and conveyance of water to serve new demands (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for water: increased water supplies to meet demand
- potential for synergies across the nexus: increased availability of freshwater and overall water supply for energy and agriculture and other uses
What are the positive implications for water (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from watershed management (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for water: increased water supplies to meet demand
- potential for synergies across the nexus: increased water supply for energy and other uses, improved water quality, reduction in flood potential
What are the positive implications for land (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from switching to drought-tolerant crops (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for land: increased/maintained crop yields in drought areas
- potential for synergies across the nexus: reduced water demand
What are the positive implications for land (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from using waste or marginal lands for biofuels (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for land: increase in renewable energy
- potential for synergies across the nexus: reduced pressure on non-renewable energy as some fossil fuels are replaces with biofuels
What are the positive implications for energy (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from increasing transmission capacity (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for energy: reduced economic and social impacts
- potential for synergies across the nexus: potential for reduced emissions if new transmission and wind/solar power supplied to the grid
What are the positive implications for energy (the sector) and what is the potential for synergies across the nexus from increasing renewable energy, for example, solar, wind, biogas, bioenergy, (sector-specific adaptation measure) have?
- positive implications for energy: increased clean energy and reduced pressure on energy
- potential for synergies across the nexus: reduces GHG emissions, reduced water demand for cooling, thermal power
How does reducing the amount of waste (waste management option) work?
- producers think more about the lifespan of goods and reduce packaging
- consumers consider packaging and lifespan when buying goods
How does reusing goods to extend their lifespan (waste management option) work?
- bring-back schemes where containers are refiled (e.g. milk bottles)
- refurbish/recondition goods to extend their useful life, e.g. use of old car tyres to stabilise slopes/reduce soil erosion
- used goods put to another use rather than thrown out (e.g. plastic bags used as bin liners; old clothes used as cleaning cloths)
- charity shops pass on goods to new owners
How does recovering value (waste management option) work?
- recycle goods such as glass bottles and paper
- compost biodegradable waste for use as fertiliser
- incinerate (burn) waste - collect electricity and heat from it
How does dispose of waste in landfill sites (waste management option) work?
- put waste into a hole (natural or the waste of quarrying) or use to make artificial hills
How much waste plastic does China import each year?
- 3 million tonnes of waste plastic each year
How much paper and cardboard does China import each year?
- 15 millions tonnes of paper and cardboard each year
How much of UK’s waste plastic and paper is exported to China each year?
- a third of UK’s waste plastic and paper is exported to China each year
Why can waste be sorted much more cheaply in China, despite the distance it is transported?
- low wages
- large workforce
How much e-waste did China generate in 2012?
- over 11 million tonnes of e-waste
How much e-waste did the USA generate in 2012?
- around 10 million tonnes of e-waste
How much e-waste did each American produce in 2012?
- each American generated 30kg of e-waste
How much e-waste did each Chinese produce in 2012?
- each Chinese generated less than 5kg of e-waste
How much of used electrical products are shipped out of the EU every year, as estimated by the European Environment Agency?
- between 250,00 tonnes and 1.3 million tonnes of used electrical products
- shipped mostly to west Africa and Asia
How may electrical products did the USA discard in 2010?
- around 260 million computers, monitors, TVs and mobile phones
- only 66% were recycled
How long is the life of a mobile phone nowadays?
- less than two years
How many phones were collected for recycling in the USA in 2011?
- 12 million, although 120 million phones were bought
What place has been described as the e-waste capital of the world?
- Guiyu, China
How much is the e-waste energy industry worth in Guiyu, China?
- $75 million each year
What is the problem with Guiyu’s, China, population?
- has high rates of lead poisoning, cancer-causing dioxins and miscarriages
What factors did the Club of Rome model (1970) examine (that determine and therefore ultimately limit growth on the planet)?
- population
- agricultural production
- natural resources
- industrial production
- pollution
What does the Club of Rome model (Limits to Growth model) suggest?
- that food output and population grow exponentially until the rapidly diminishing resource base forces a slowdown in industrial growth
- because of delays in the system, both population and pollution continue to increase for some time after the peak of industrialisation
- population growth is finally halted by a rise in the death rate due to decreased food production
What did the team of the Club of Rome model conclude?
- if present trends continued, the limits to growth would be reached in 2070, probably resulting in a sudden and uncontrollable decline in population and industrial production
- it is possible to alter these growth trends and establish a condition of environmental and economic stability that is sustainable
What are the criticisms of the Limits to Growth model?
- it is a world model and does not distinguish between different parts of the world
- it ignores the spatial distribution of population and resources, of agricultural and industrial activity, and pollution
- the model emphasises exponential growth and not the rate of discovery of new resources or technologies
What is optimum population?
- the number of people who, when working with all the available resources, will produce the highest per-capita economic return
- highest standard of living and quality of life
What is overpopulation?
- occurs when there are too many people, relative to the resources and technology locally available, to maintain an adequate standard of living
What is underpopulation?
- occurs when there are far more resources in an area than can be used by the people living there
What are some ways in which the carrying capacity could be increased?
- new innovations - irrigation, terracing, wetland drainage, high yielding varieties, chemical fertilisers
What does resource stewardship suggest?
- that humans can use resources in such a way that hey will be available to future generations
- that there will be not only environmental sustainability but also social equity over access to resources
What do global commons refer to?
- areas that lie outside the political reach of any nation state(: the high seas, Antartica, the atmosphere and outer space)
- require management and protection
What does the quote by Garrett Hardin, an American ecologist, “the tragedy of commons” refer to?
- explain the lack of control over the way common resources are used and how the selfish acts of a few countries/individuals can destroy the resource for others
- explains the tendency to over-exploit shared resources and the need for agreements over common management
What does the resource stewardship evaluation programme developed by the US Department of Agriculture do?
- helps farmers identify their conservation goals and improve their outcomes
- it enables them to monitor progress in achieving their goals in relation to soil management, water quality, water quantity, air quality and wildlife habitat
What is a circular economy?
- one that preserves natural capacity, optimises resource use and reduces loss through managing finite stocks and renewable flows
- an economy that restores and regenerates resources, and keeps products, materials and components at their highest utility and value always
What does a circular economy aim to do?
- rebuild capital, whether it is financial, manufactured, natural, social or human
What happens in a completely circular economy?
- consumption only occurs in bio-cycles, in which resources can be recovered and restored
What are the three principles behind the circular economy?
- preserve and enhance natural resources by controlling non.renewable resources and balancing renewable resources
- optimise resource yields by recycling and remanufacturing products, materials and components
- improve effectiveness by eliminating negative externalities such as pollution and climate change
In a circular economy, what is minimised?
- waste is minimised by biological materials
(- artificial materials are designed for repeated use, systems are designed to run on renewable energy, e.g. agriculture could be run on solar energy)
