Environment & Society: Perspectives on Population and Resources

Flashcards covering perspectives on population growth, resource consumption, and environmental impact.

The doomsday clock is maintained by the ___.

Science and Security Board Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

India's population has surpassed China with approximately ___ people.

1.417 bn

The UN projects that the human population will reach around ___ by 2050.

9.7 billion

The annual population growth rate is ___.

FALLING

Malthus believed population grows geometrically, that is __.

1, 2, 4, 8

Preventive checks, per Malthus, include social customs such as __.

age at marriage, proportion of women marrying

Positive population checks, per Malthus, include __.

famine, disease, conflict over land

__ is a Neo-Malthusian who wrote 'World on the edge: how to prevent environmental and economic collapse'.

Lester Brown

The book 'Limits to Growth' (1972) was written by __.

Meadows et al.

To avoid decline, according to 'Limits to Growth' (1992), the first necessary change is a __.

revision of policies and practices that perpetuate growth in material consumption and in population

To avoid decline, according to 'Limits to Growth' (1992), the second necessary change is a __.

rapid, drastic increase in the efficiency with which materials and energy are used

The Cornucopian perspective argues that __.

Humans are innovative; more can mean more!

The UN Human Development Index considers ___.

life expectancy at birth, education index, GNI per capita

Increasingly, environmental thinkers have made the case that population growth is not the real problem, rather that a rapid rise in ___ is our most pressing environmental issue.

Consumption

The 2019 estimate from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization indicated that __ people are undernourished.

821.6 million

99% of the world's food comes from __.

Soil

It is estimated that there are __ environmental refugees.

25 million

Climate change, conflict, and environment stress pose a risk of political instability or war as a result of __.

water scarcity

What is meant by peak child?

Birth rates are in decline