ess: chapter 8 - human systems and resource use

demographics

study of the dynamics of population change

crude birth rate (CBR)

number of births per 1000 per year

crude death rate (CDR)

number of deaths per 1000 per year

total fertility rate (TFR)

average number of children each woman has over her lifetime

doubling time (DT)

time in years for a population to double in size

70 / NIR

natural increase rate (NIR)

rate of human growth expressed as a percentage change per year

(CBR - CDR) / 10

human development index (HDI)

used by UNDP to measure country, based on health (life expectancy), wealth (GDP per capita), and education

Malthusian theory

1798 book that food supply is main limit to population growth

Boserup’s theory

1965, increase in population → increased incentive to produce food (necessity is the mother of invention)

reasons for large families

1. high infant and childhood mortality

2. security in old age

3. children are economic asset (in agricultural societies)

4. status of women

5. unavailability of contraceptives

ways to reduce family size

1. provide education

2. improve health through hygiene

3. make contraceptives available

4. enhance income (eg. microlending)

5. improve resource management

demographic transition model (DTM)

patterns in population, 5 stages

DTM stages

1. high stationary (pre-industrial societies): high birth but high death

2. early expanding (LEDCs): death rate drops but high birth

3. late expanding (wealthier LEDCs): birth rates fall, population levels off

4. low stationary (MEDCs): low birth and death, stable population

5. declining (MEDCs): population not replaced ageing workforce

shapes of population pyramids

1. expanding - skinny pyramid

2. expanding - ▲

3. stationary - ᴖ

4. contracting - ᴖ but cinching at bottom

policies reducing population growth

• government pension schemes - no incentive to have kids to take care of parents

• paying more taxes for larger families

• concerning economic growth, because access to education and contraceptives

• urbanisation - less people fit

• about education of women - independent

policies increasing population growth

• agricultural development and improved public health - lower death rate

• lowering income tax, incentives about birth

• encouraging immigration

renewable natural capital

can be generated and/or replaced as fast as being used.

non-renewable natural capital

irreplaceable (or very slowly), eg fossil fuels, soil, minerals

natural capital

goods or services not manufactured but valuable to humans

use valuation

natural capital we can put a price on, eg:

• economic price of goods

• ecological functions (eg. water storage)

• recreational functions (eg. tourism)

non-use valuation

natural capital impossible to put a price on, eg:

• intrinsic value (right to exist)

• unknown future uses

• existence value (value by existing for future generations; eg. Amazon rainforest)

solid domestic waste (SDW)

garbage from residential and urban areas, makes up 5% of total waste but is controllable by us

types of SDW

• biodegradable

• recyclable

• waste electrical and electronic equipment

• hazardous

• toxic

• medical

• inert (concrete, construction waste)

• mixed

circular economy

as opposed to linear economy; sustainable, aims to be restorative of environment, use renewable energy, eliminate toxic waste and eradicate waste

strategies to minimise waste

reduce, reuse, recycle

strategies for waste disposal

• landfill - holes placed carefully away from water sources, gasses controlled

• incinerators - burns waste

• anaerobic digestion - biodegradable matter broken down by microorganisms, produced methane can be fuel

• domestic organic waste - compost

human carrying capacity

maximum number of a humans that can be supported by a given area, difficult to quantify (for humans)

difficulties in measuring human carrying capacity

1. greater range of resources than any other animal

2. we substitute resources when they run out

3. resource use varies for individuals and countries

4. we import resources

5. development of technology causing resource use change

ways to change human carrying capacity

• ecocentric: reducing own resource use, becoming more self sufficient

• technocentric: technology will expand it

remanufacturing

when an object’s material is reused for a similar object

recycling

when an object’s material is reused for a new product

ecological footprint (EF)

model used to estimate demands that human populations place on the environment, accounting for the area of land and water requited to provide all needed resources, plus all wastes

if it exceeds available area, it indicates unsustainability