Population and Resources: Concepts, Classifications, and Theories

Flashcards covering key resource definitions, classifications, reserve categories, the McKelvey Box, the Scarcity-Development Cycle, and demographic theories.

Resource

A naturally occurring material judged to have potential value, whether or not it has been located, and whether or not it is currently usable.

Reserve

The portion of a resource that is known, accessible, and economically and technically viable to extract right now.

Erich Zimmerman's Resource Concept

The core proposition that 'resources are not, they become; they are not stable but expand and contract in response to human wants and actions.'

1P Proven Reserves

Reserves with approximately 90%+ confidence that are reasonably certain to be recoverable under today's economic and technical conditions.

2P Probable Reserves

Reserves with approximately 50% confidence that are more likely than not to be recoverable (calculated as Proven + Probable reserves).

3P Possible Reserves

Reserves with approximately 10% confidence that are less likely than not to be recoverable, but still plausible (calculated as Proven + Probable + Possible reserves).

McKelvey Box

A diagram used to categorize resources and reserves by plotting increasing geologic assurance along the horizontal axis against increasing economic feasibility along the vertical axis.

Oil in Place

The total estimated quantity of oil contained within an oil reservoir, encompassing both producible and non-producible oil.

Recovery Factor

The ratio of producible oil reserves to the total amount of oil present in a given reservoir (oil in place).

Reserves Growth

The observed phenomenon where early estimates of an oil field's reserves tend to expand over time due to technological advancements and improved geological understanding.

Ubiquitous Resource

A natural resource that is available everywhere across the earth, such as air or water.

Localized Resource

A natural resource that is found only at specific locations on earth, influenced by factors such as topography, climate, and altitude.

Non-renewable Resource

A resource characterized by a fixed physical stock that is depletable because its natural rate of replenishment is too slow for practical human timescales.

Renewable Resource

A resource that undergoes natural replenishment at a non-negligible, useful rate through natural growth or flow, such as forests, water, wind, and solar energy.

Recyclable Resource

A resource that exists in a form allowing physical recovery and re-use once its original purpose has been fulfilled, such as metals.

Scarcity-Development Cycle

A economic cycle where resource exhaustion leads to scarcity and price increases, stimulating research and development that produces innovations, substitution, reuse, and recycling, thereby 'creating' new resources and lowering prices.

Malthusian Population Theory

The theoretical model put forth by Thomas Malthus stating that population increases geometrically while food production increases arithmetically, leading to resource deficits and population collapse.

Marxist View on Resources

The perspective asserting that resource scarcity and overpopulation are not the primary issues, but rather the distribution of resources, and that technological innovation and trade can overcome physical limits.