Unit 8: Human Systems & Resource Use

Crude birth rate (CBR))

The number of births per thousand individuals per year

Total births in a year / total population x1000

Crude death rate (CDR)

The number of deaths per thou individuals per year

Total deaths in a year / total population x1000

Death rates in MEDCs

• Better nutrition

• Better healthcare

• Better environment

Death rates in LEDs

Cdr has decreased with improvements in food supply, water,sanitation, and housing.

Infections diseases still a play major role →(HIV/AIDS)

Reasons for variations in mortality rates

• Age structure → populations with high life expectancy have higher mortality rates

• Social class→ poorer people in any population have higher mortality rates

• Occupations → some jobs are hazardess ( eg. Military, mining farming) can be linked to some disease

• Place of residence → In urban areas with high rates of poverty, mortality rates increase due to overcrowding, pollution, and stress

• Infant mortality

Total fertility rate(TFR)

The average number of births per woman of child-bearing age

Factors strongly correlated with fertility

• Level of education

• Political factors and family planning

• Economic prosperity

• The need for children → survival expectations ( low) OR inheritance

Natural increase rate (NIR)

• If % than → CBR - CDR

• If per 1,000 than - (CBR - CDR) /10

Doubling time (DT)

The number of years needed for a population to double in size (assuming stable growth rate)

70/ NIR

(NIR has to be positive)

Population pyramids

Wide base = high birth rate

Straight vertical sides= low death rate

Bulges = baby booms or increased immigration

'Slices' = emigration, sex-speific deaths ( epidemics, war, etc)

The demographic transition model

Follows the trends in population structure from LEDs - MEEDCs

→ only based on England, wales, and Sweden because they have the data ( boarders haven't changed)

Stage 1 on demographic transition

High mortality and high birth rates →

Little to no population growth can be observed.

-Broad at the bottom and becomes move narrow at the top.

Stage 2 of demographic transition

Mortality falls, but birth rates ave still high →

Populations health slowly starts to improve and mortality rate decreases.

Fertility remains high s population grows rapidly.

Stage 3 of demographic transition

Mortality is law and birth rates begin to fall →

Birth rate begins to drop and population growth begins to decline

Stage 4 of demographic transition

Mortality and birth rates are low →

Rapid population growth comes to an end. Birth rate falls to a similar level as the mortality rate.

• pryamid is now a box shape

Stage 5 of demographic transition

The future of population growth will be determined by what is happening to fertility rates →

• only a few societies have reached this stage so much is still unknown

National population policies - pro-natalist

Encourages people to have move children (increasing birth rate)

→ extending maternity leave

→ giving money

National population policies - anti-natalist

Reducing birth rate

→ taxes/fines

Natural capital

Reasons that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services

→ Renewable natural capital and non-renewable natural capital

Natural income

The yield obtained from the resources

Ecosystem services

→ supporting (essential for life)

→Regulating (pollination, pest and disease)

→ provision (flood, wood, etc)

→Cultural ( things important in societies)

Economic value, ecological value, aesthetic value, intrinsic value

→ direct value use

→ consumptive vs non-consumptive (can it be reused/ borrowed)

→Indirect use value ( benefits others as well)

→Optional value ( potentional future use)

→ non-use value

Values change over time and location

Solid domestic waste ( SDW)

Waste consisting of everyday items that ave discarded by the public

Reasons why SDW changes over time and location

• MEDC generate move waste (generally) because they see things as dispensable

• Holidays / festivities

• Increase in e-waste and plastics

Waste disposal options:

• Landfills

• Incineration (burning)

• Recycling

• Composting

Problems with composting

• Slow process

• Perceived to smell → if done right, it doesn't

• Could attract pests

• Space

Problems with landfills:

• Stink

• Generally large, no one wants to live near them

• Could have leeching issues → gets into water sources

Problems with incineration:

• Release some GHGs

• Move expensive (than landfills) → we could get energy from it

• Not everything burns by itself →sometimes we add fuel for the things that need more heat

Problems with recycling:

• Can be tedious and expensive

• Need technology to do it

• Many countries send their rubbish off so that they don't have to deal with it

Strategies for managing SDW

• altering human activity → reduce consumption, increase composting

• Government legislations → encourage recycling and reuse, impose taxes on SDW and disposal items

• Reclaim landfills → trash to energy programs, clean up and restoration

What influences countries SDW management

• Funding

• Technology

• What is manufactured

• Peoples attitudes and behaviour

Carrying capacity

The maximum number of a species or load that can be sustainably supported by a given area

Human carrying capacity

Unknown

→ we keep finding ways around problems

Standard of living

= ( natural resources X technology) / population

Ecological footprint

The area of land and water required to provide all resources and assimilate all the waste for a given population

Factors affecting EF

• Lifestyle choices (EVS)

• Productivity of food production systems

• Land use

• Industry

How we can reduce EF

• Recycling and reusing resources

• Reducing the amount of pollution produced

• Reducing population

• Using technology to increase carrying capacity