Week 2: Overview Natural Resources Flashcards
Target 7.C
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (water)
Life-cycle assessment
- evaluate effects a product has on the env. over entire period of its life, thereby increasing resource-use efficiency and decreasing liabilities
cradle-to-grave analysis
1) identify and quantify env. loads involved (evergy, raw materials consumed, emissions and wastes generated)
2) Evaluate potential env. impacts on these loads
3) Assess options available for reducing these impacts
Material flow accounting
Measuring material flows (excl. air and water) between env. and the economy
measurement unit: metric tons per year
Material flow accounting boundaries
- btw. natural and socioeconomic system
- btw. national economies
social metabolism
monitor physical flow btw socioeconomic and natural system (input/ output)
Carrying capacity
the maximum population a given area can sustain; pop growth is rapid when density low
Carrying capacity: measure
no of individuals or total biomass of a population => depends on differences in physiological & age structure
By what is pop size/ density determined
- resource availability
- influence of enemies
ecological Carrying capacity
limitation of pop due to resources
Role of forest
- moderate climate
- absorb pollutants
- regulate carbon
Problems of dams
- habitat destruction
- displacement of communities
- high costs
- flooding
- dries out areas
nuclear power
10% of electricity
Electricity use grown around … by 2020 but capacity growth of nuclear power just by …
75%
5%
water-energy-food nexus
- Interconnectedness of the three
