Week #2

Question 1

What is the biocentric worldview?

Answer 1

• all of life is important, and humans are just as equal as other organisms on the planet

Question 2

What does the biocentric world view believe about resources?

Answer 2

Earth’s resources are limited and to be sustainably used by all species

Question 3

What does the biocentric world view believe about the relationship between the environment and the economy?

Answer 3

• Not all economic growth is beneficial
• Earth-degrading growth should be discouraged/ prohibited
• Healthy economy depends on a healthy environment

Question 4

What is the ecocentric world view?

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

What is the difference between the biocentric world view and the ecocentric world view?

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

Who advocated for environmental awareness in the 1800s?

Answer 6

– John James Audubon, John Muir, Aldo Leopold

Question 7

Who inspired the modern environmental movement?

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

How old is the earth?

Answer 8

4.6 Billion years

Question 9

How long have humans been around?

Answer 9

40-50,000 years

Question 10

How long were humans hunter gatherers?

Answer 10

• Spent ~30,000 years as hunter-gatherers

Question 11

Explain lifestyle of hunter gatherers in relation to resources?

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

Why did hunter gatherers maintain low populations?

Answer 12

Understand that if they grow their population, they have potential of limiting survival ability

Question 13

When did the agricultural revolution begin?

Answer 13

10-12,000 years ago

Question 14

What occured in the agricultural revolution?

Answer 14

Domestication of plants and animals
Subsistence farming; reliable supply and trade
Irrigation,

Question 15

What significance did the agricultural revolution have on inventions?

Answer 15

Inventions as a result of harnessing animal power, plow invention

Question 16

What did the agricultural revolution do to the population?

Answer 16

We had more food, it came with a larger population

Question 17

What did the agricultural revolution do to the population?

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

what did the agricultural revolution do to domestic duties?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

what impact did the the agricultural revolution have on energy and the environment?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

When did the industrial revolution begin?

Answer 20

mid 1700s-1800s

Question 21

what did the industrial revolution do to resources?

Answer 21

Substitution of coal for wood
Non-renewable fossil fuels use
Steam engine, oil, natural gas

Question 22

how did the industrial revolution impact agriculture?

Answer 22

Cross breeding of plants, point of it was to make more food in same amount of space
More production equals more consumption

Question 23

what did the industrial revolution do to the population?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

what was the industrial revolutions impact on the environment?

Answer 24

Population growth resulted in Significant and dramatic impact on environment resulting in degradation

Question 25

what is the prediction on the population in the future?

Answer 25

Surpass 9 B by 2050 (UN population division)

Question 26

what is the highest estimate of population?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

what will limit population size?

Answer 27

1. Decreased reproduction

2. Increased mortality

Question 28

what is effect decreased reproduction?

Answer 28

Socio-economic and cultural factors contributing to declining birth/fertility rates

Question 29

where does most population growth occur?

Answer 29

Most of that population growth will continue to happen in developing countries

Question 30

what factors effect women in declining birth rates?

Answer 30

Higher education and affluence (esp. female)
Postpone/control childbearing
Female employment status

Question 31

what happens to the population when there is high infant mortality?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

what are the 4 stages of demographic transition

Answer 32

Stage 1: Pre Industrial
Stage 2: Industrialization
Stage 3: Mature Industrial
Stage 4: Post Industrial

Question 33

Explain Stage 1: Pre Industrial demographic

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Explain Stage 2: Industrialization

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Explain Stage 3: Mature Industrial

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Explain Stage 4: Post Industrial

Answer 36

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