Population and environment themes

What does the UN predict that the population will reach by 2050?

9.71 billion

What would a graph of rate of population growth from the 1800s to current times show?

Rate of steepness increases quickly, called exponential growth

What is a climate?

Regions long term weather patterns

What is soil?

Upper layer of earth in which plants grow

What are natural resources?

Materials or substances occurring in nature which can be exploited for economic gain or for improving human wellbeing

What is population?

inhabitants of a particular place

What is population distribution?

Arrangement or spread of people living in a given area

What is population density?

The number of people per square kilometre

What is population growth rate?

Difference between number of births and deaths for every hundred people per year

What is natural change?

Increase in a country’s population during a period of time, usually over one year expressed as a percentage of the population at the start of that period. Reflects number of births and deaths during a period and the number of people migrating to and from a country.

What is development?

Process of change affecting people’s lives, complex concept with economic, social, political and environmental components.

What is the IPAT equation?

Environmental impact = population x affluence x technology

One of the earliest attempts to describe the role of multiple factors in determining environmental degradation

What does Kuznets curve show?

Early stage of development is the main priory of any country in development (environmental decay), after a certain standard of living is reached there is an increased awareness and emphasis on pollution, both individuals, countries and companies. At this point investment in the environment increases as does quality of the environment.

What is ecological footprint?

The sum of all the cropland, grazing land, forest and fishing ground required to produce the food, fibre and timber it consumes, to absorb the wastes emitted when it uses energy and to provide space for infrastructure.

What is biocapacity?

How much can the land produce factors e.g soil quality, pollution

Earths regenerative capacity, how much can we have in terms of renewable resources and regenerating waste per year.

What is the current earth biocapacity?

12 billion gha or 1.7 gha per capita