Week #2 Flashcards
What is the biocentric worldview?
• all of life is important, and humans are just as equal as other organisms on the planet
What does the biocentric world view believe about resources?
Earth’s resources are limited and to be sustainably used by all species
What does the biocentric world view believe about the relationship between the environment and the economy?
- Not all economic growth is beneficial
- Earth-degrading growth should be discouraged/ prohibited
- Healthy economy depends on a healthy environment
What is the ecocentric world view?
- All living and non-living components of Earth have right to exist in a natural state (no human interference)
- Moral values and rights for all organisms and ecosystems
What is the difference between the biocentric world view and the ecocentric world view?
- Bio was about life being equal
* Eco centric says all living and non-living things are equal, and that humans shouldn’t interfere with systems
Who advocated for environmental awareness in the 1800s?
– John James Audubon, John Muir, Aldo Leopold
Who inspired the modern environmental movement?
- Rachel Carson
- DDT – mostly banned globally, used for mosquito control
- Recognizing that we can’t just do what we want to environment and not have consequences
- She was writing about consequences
How old is the earth?
4.6 Billion years
How long have humans been around?
40-50,000 years
How long were humans hunter gatherers?
• Spent ~30,000 years as hunter-gatherers
Explain lifestyle of hunter gatherers in relation to resources?
- Move where resources are – nomads
- No migratory patterns, use seasonal resources
- As a result of the need to follow those resources, they maintain a small population
Why did hunter gatherers maintain low populations?
Understand that if they grow their population, they have potential of limiting survival ability
When did the agricultural revolution begin?
10-12,000 years ago
What occured in the agricultural revolution?
Domestication of plants and animals
Subsistence farming; reliable supply and trade
Irrigation,
What significance did the agricultural revolution have on inventions?
Inventions as a result of harnessing animal power, plow invention
What did the agricultural revolution do to the population?
We had more food, it came with a larger population
What did the agricultural revolution do to the population?
- domestication meant individuals no longer had to be nomadic, they had control, and ability to manage
- Resulted in urbanization, higher incidents of conflicts with people living together in cities
what did the agricultural revolution do to domestic duties?
Change in domestic duties
Often think of men as hunters and women as gatherers, but both were doing both roles
In agriculture revolution the divide of labour began, women stayed at home
what impact did the the agricultural revolution have on energy and the environment?
Same sources of energy, plus animal power, and because population was growing and how they were producing food which wasn’t necessarily sustainable, they started to have an increasing impact on environment
When did the industrial revolution begin?
mid 1700s-1800s
what did the industrial revolution do to resources?
Substitution of coal for wood
Non-renewable fossil fuels use
Steam engine, oil, natural gas
how did the industrial revolution impact agriculture?
Cross breeding of plants, point of it was to make more food in same amount of space
More production equals more consumption
what did the industrial revolution do to the population?
From ~400,000 YBP to 1800’s pop’n increased to 1B
From 1800’s to present pop’n increase to 7B
Exponential growth – result of the addition of new energy sources like fossil fuels, and metals
what was the industrial revolutions impact on the environment?
Population growth resulted in Significant and dramatic impact on environment resulting in degradation
what is the prediction on the population in the future?
Surpass 9 B by 2050 (UN population division)
what is the highest estimate of population?
At the highest estimate we have 16 B people, but most people say that earth can’t sustain 16B people
We don’t have enough resources for the current population and lifestyle, so 16B people means a dramatic change in economic and sustainable living
what will limit population size?
- Decreased reproduction
2. Increased mortality
what is effect decreased reproduction?
Socio-economic and cultural factors contributing to declining birth/fertility rates
where does most population growth occur?
Most of that population growth will continue to happen in developing countries
what factors effect women in declining birth rates?
Higher education and affluence (esp. female)
Postpone/control childbearing
Female employment status
what happens to the population when there is high infant mortality?
If you know most of your kids will die, you’ll have more children
Knowing you will be financially stable in old age, less likely to have kids
what are the 4 stages of demographic transition
Stage 1: Pre Industrial
Stage 2: Industrialization
Stage 3: Mature Industrial
Stage 4: Post Industrial
Explain Stage 1: Pre Industrial demographic
Population growth: Very Slow
Net difference between birth rate and death rate is small that’s why the population didn’t grow
Death rates high due to infant mortality
High birth and death rates
Explain Stage 2: Industrialization
Population growth: Rapid
Things start to change and shift dramatically
One of the things that starts to cause that is death rates
Decrease in death rates, but birth rates stay fairly high
Health care, Drugs, prenatal care
Birth rates stay high because of Socio-economic factors, those take longer to change than the implementation of factors that decrease death rates
The net difference gets bigger, birth rates are much higher than death rates
Explain Stage 3: Mature Industrial
Population Growth: Slowing
Still have exponential growth rate but death rates while they still decrease they start to even out and birth rates drop as well
The net rate is much smaller than the beginning of the mature industrial stage
Explain Stage 4: Post Industrial
Population growth: very slow
Birth and death rates fluctuate but the net difference is minimal
And now death rates and both rates are both low
