human systems and resource use

THE LAST ONE YIPPEEEEE

how to calculate crude birth/death rate

how to calculate natural increase rate

a percentage

how to calculate doubling time

NIR of 1% means that pop doubles every 70 yrs

total fertility rate

average births per woman

replacement level

TFR at which pop replaces itself from one gen to the next = 2.1

renewable natural capital

can be replaced as fast as it is being used, e.g. solar-based species/ecosystems, groundwater, ozone layer

non-renewable natural capital

either irreplaceable or only over geological timescales: fossil fuels, soil, minerals

Use of valuation

Resources that have a price: marketable goods, ecological functions (renewable energy), recreational functions (ecotourism)

Non-use of valuation

Resources that have:

• intrinsic value (right to exist)

• future uses (medicines, gene pool)

• extrinsic value (amazon rainforest)

How do cork forests show the dynamic nature of natural capital?

• initially highly renewable, popular resource for bottles

• but now plastic/screw caps are used, so losing value

• Therefore loss of NATURAL INCOME reduces NATURAL CAPITAL

How does lithium mining show the dynamic nature of natural capital?

• used to have little value; left alone in Cornish mines

• but now used frequently in batteries = highly valuable

how do SDW volumes vary over time in the UK?

more garden waste in summer, more plastic, paper, food at Xmas

upsides of landfill sites

• can be converted to green space once full IF properly managed

• low start-up costs

• technologically simple

• little time/labour required

• methane can be used as a power source

downsides of landfill sites

• land prices: scarcity = cost

• leachate can contaminate ground or surface water if not properly managed

• gases can be dangerous (flammable) and contribute to the greenhouse effect

• waste is non-renwable

• odours, vermin, pests

upsides of incineration

• reduces landfill disposal volume = increased lifespan

• produces energy

• ash converted to cinderblocks - renewable building material

downsides of incineration

• difficult to start: strict legislation and resident protests

• toxins released if not hot enough

• produces CO2

recycling upsides

• conserves energy and resources rather than producing new products

• reduces landfill disposal volume = longer lifespan

• creates new products to be sold = income

• Creates lots of jobs and encourages local industry

downsides of recycling

• energy-intensive

• requires suitable collection/separation scheme

• needs a large, steady supply to be viable

• generally UNPROFITABLE

upsides of composting

• aerobic process = no methane!! 🤩

• produces fertiliser - useful product

• reduces waste to other methods: organic waste a large proportion of total

downsides of composting

• limited application: only organic waste

• can smell/attract vermin if mismanaged

• requires large plots of land

how can SDW be managed

• alter human activity (mind control😈)

• control pollutant release

• restore damaged systems

how can human activity be altered

• economic incentives/disincentives (GIVE THE PEOPLE MONEY)

• legislation (bring back capital punishment for littering 🥰🥰)

• community groups (☭)

• education/awareness campaigns (propaganda..)

how can the release of pollutants be controlled?????

• legislation for emission standards (make thames water shareholders swim in the Thames 😊🏊)

• develop tech to extract pollutant from emissions

how can we restore the systems damaged by humanity to their former glory, forever curing them from the disease of human hubris?

• extract/remove the pollutants (like from the Pacific garbage patch… teamseas..?.. MR BEAST🗣‼🔥)

• reclaim landfill sites

what is carrying capacity

maximum no of a species or “load” (🤨) that can be sustainably supported by a given area

why is it difficult to estimate human carrying capacity (5 reasons)

• constant efficiency improvements reduces EFs

• technological developments demand different resources

• different human populations have different lifestyles

• difficult to identify any one limiting factor as there are so many

• new resource pools are constantly discovered, e.g. peak oil was meant to be in the 80s but we discovered North Sea, tar sands, fracking etc

what is an EF

area of land and water required to support a defined human population at a given standard of living

what factors affect an EF

• lifestyle choices (and EVSs)

• productivity of food production systems

• land use

• industry

Why may an EF vary despite populations having the same consumption of food and energy? (8 reasons)

Any factors affecting land use or consumption:

1. Renewable vs fossil fuels

2. Efficiency of energy production

3. Located in more favourable climate for renewables like solar and wind

4. Plant-based vs animal products

5. Waste management system

6. May produce more products for exports

7. May employ more mitigation methods

8. Population density may vary leading to reduced land use

when does an EF become unsustainable???????

when it is bigger than the land area available to it - exceeds carrying capacity