Unit 3 - Global Resource Consumption

To reduce carbon emissions is to enforce stricter regulations on the richest to reduce their carbon emissions

so that the poorest can still be lifted out of poverty and allowed to consume more. Neither carbon emissions nor poverty should be ignored in this

The top 1% of emitters hold

15% of global emissions

The bottom 50% of emitters hold

10% of global emissions

If the top 50% of emitters were to halve their emissions

Global emissions would drop by 40%

Lifting people out of poverty globally and allowing them to consume more would raise carbon emissions

by only 1%

Welfare trap

Welfare programs provide them more money when they’re unemployed than what they get from the salary of being employed, hence more people understand that working is disadvantageous and stay in poverty, making less jobs, slowing the economy, and creating more poverty

Welfare programs

government- provided subsides for people below a certain regionally - determined level. Regardless of actual financial stability, anyone even slightly above that level will get no assistance

Poverty trap

Economic and environmental consequences (lack of means to access education, corruption in government, climate change) that reinforce themselves in perpetuating poverty generationally

Countering welfare traps include

Phasing out governmental benefits for a certain time even after they receive a job; Governmental benefits like education and healthcare given to all citizens; establish a universal basic salary that the government provides relief based on- lessening amount of relief given as units earn more and more

Lion/Tiger economies

Fastest growing economies in Africa

Extreme poverty

Persons earning $2.15 a day or less/ income too low to meet basic human needs

Public transport

is essential in many cities to help the poor get established in their communities with jobs, etc.

In last 30 years, extreme poverty has been

on a steep decline

David Davies’ was the first to try to

systematically measure poverty by counting the amount of money one needed to live in tolerable comfort

Relative poverty

Persons with income too low to maintain an average standard of living within a particular society

As extreme poverty drops,

relative poverty rises

Level 1 (extreme poverty)

vegetable-based diets in small portions that lack variety and nutrition with unstable housing infrastructure that is cramped, overfilled or built from natural materials, with unfiltered water from the river

Level 2 (low middle income)

Bigger portions, 1-2 main dishes with a focus on locally-bought carbs with housing that lacks electricity and is made from cheaper, lower quality materials. They are vulnerable to water shortages from water that is communally shared.

Level 3 (high middle income)

Multiple dishes with meat and more variety, city/urban APARTMENTS, with more personal, fairly clean water dispenser which might be subject to shortages.

Level 4 (high income)

Multiple, complete, balanced dishes with personal property and aesthetically pleasing exteriors and interiors with a garage. They have a personal sink/tap with a smooth, controlled flow of water and multiple settings. Usually not subject to shortages.

Measuring relative poverty

A wholistic approach to poverty considering people’s access to health, sanitation, and education- can be difficult for LICs to measure

Fragile middle class

2 billion people globally who have escaped poverty but not firmly within NGMC- like a “lower-middle class”

New Global Middle Class (NGMC)

People with discretionary income to spend on consumer goods like private healthcare, holidays, cars- between $3,650 and $36,500 OR $10,000+

Millennium development goals

Predecessor of SDGs, introduced in 2000 in UN Millennium Summit

The size of the global middle class will continue to

rise, predictably to 4.9 billion by 2030 with most of the growth being in Asia

New Middle class remain vulnerable with their employment and education which separates them

from the Old Middle class that was seem to be the precipice of economic growth due to consumer behaviors- now anyone with enough discretionary income to purchase Coca-Cola is considered “middle class”

Prices of key resources increase as

demand increases but supply is limited

Ecological footprint

A crude measurement of the area of land or water required to provide a person with the energy food and resources needed to live (including waste absorption)

Carrying capacity

The maximum number of people an area of land can support with current levels of tech

Renewable resources

NRs that are replenished by the environment over relatively short time periods

Non-renewable resources

Mineral and fossil resources that are available only in limited supplies and cannot be replaced easily

Peak oil

The point when the max rate of global oil production is reached

Overfishing of Cod in Canada

1992 = fish market crash because fish (renewable) taken out too fast and cannot regenerate in stock; government gives meager compensation ($225/week); teach fisherman new skill but they’re too old; young kids get new opportunities but lose fishing heritage

Retreat of Aral Sea

River feeding into Aral sea is diverted for irrigation by Soviet Union; 90% of sea disappeared since 1960s; World Bank built dam in Northern Region, increasing water a bit

Positive viewpoint on consumption of resources

As demand and prices increase, research for alternate resources will be invested in

Negative viewpoint on the consumption of resources

As demand increases but supply decreases, there will be conflicts over resources

As time passes and demand for resources increases

carrying capacity decreases

Earth Overshoot Day

The day on which humanity’s demand for ecological resources in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate/provide

First overshoots

HICs, esp in Middle East (Qua-tar Feb 11, Luxembourg Feb 20, UAE March 4) bcs of excessive lifestyles low NR and high imports

Last overshoots

LICs, esp in Africa + south/central America (Ecuador + Indo Nov 24, Jamaica Nov 12, Cuba Oct 14) bcs of conflicts, colonization, and lack of development

Water stress is contributed by

crop cultivation/processing, food distribution, hydropower, industry, sanitation, recycling, etc.

#1 water stress contributor

Agriculture

#2 water stress contributor

Industry (1980-2021 = $2 trill - $18 trill)

As poverty is reduced, more people expect

unlimited access to clean water

An average European uses 4600L of water daily

(counting embedded water, too)

Nutritional transition

Change in diets due to income/economic class/access to resources change

Nutritional transitions has its exceptions in which

people who are vegan or vegetarian will not change their diet no matter their economic status

Cattle farming

large volumes of grains and cereals used to feed cattle when could be sold separately, instead; high water usage to the cattle’s drink- could feed human pop directly, instead; releases CO2

Livestock farming

Leads to enhanced GHG emissions and increased climate change which decreases the crop yield in places other than the benefitting region

Energy mix

proportion of hydrocarbons (fossil fuels), renewable energies, and nuclear energy a country uses to meet its domestic needs

Total energy consumption is predicted to

increase by 40% from 2000 levels in 2030

2 billion of the Fragile Middle class is predicted to

join the NGMC by 2030

Almost 3 billion people still use wood for fuel,

risking severe health issues

Hydrocarbon powers

Oil and gas (conventional), shale gas (unconventional- by “fracking”) and coal (highest contributor)

Renewable energy sources

Wind turbines, Solar power, Wave tidal power, hydroelectric power, geothermal

Nuclear power

14% of global energy with no CO2 emissions but significant concerns about radioactive uranium and disposal of nuclear waste.

A country’s energy mix is determined by their

physical geography (physically available?), environmental concerns (global commitments to reduce carbon emissions), public perception (trends, etc.), economic/political factors (fluctuations in oil/non-renewable energy prices), access to tech (constant innovation and increased use decreases the cost involved esp in renewable)

Asia has the highest population and

consumes the most water

More than a billion people lack access

to safe, clean water

Water consumption is predicted to

double every 20 years

A person’s income is considered “low” when it is

less than 80% of the area’s medium income

Food insecurity has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic

28.6% of world’s population was food insecure in 2020

Hispanic persons made up _% of food insecure persons

35.7

Black persons made up _% of food insecure persons

43.6

Food insecurity is of more prominent concern to POCs because of

systematic racism that affects their income and access to healthcare and general welfare services

A rise in the scarcity of water and food waste has seen a

decline in the amount of land available for agriculture

Groups that are vulnerable to food insecurity are

low income with low productivity (i.e farmers)

Russia and Ukraine make up 20% of global wheat, and 30% of global maize production, importing to over 50 countries (esp Africa + LICs) so the Ukraine war

puts many in positions of food scarcity and cause inflation of even the most basic food products

Finland has achieved high food security (83.7) on the Global Food Security Index through a FEW nexus approach in

investing in agricultural research, developing reliable and safe water and sanitation services, investing in green energy markets, etc.

There are 660 million people without access to electricity

making them run risks like “slow clean cooking” with more rural forms of energy

2 billions people will continue to rely on polluting fuels in 2030, especially in

heating and transport sectors

Micro-grid

small scale electrical networks with independence from bigger networks, which enhances its resilience against power outages by potentially storing energy to be used

Russia is one of the largest producers of crude oil however due to sanctions being pushed on them due to the war, countries need to

find an alternate source, however, this exposes the current reliance countries have on non sustainable energy as price fluctuations match that of Russia’s energy export rates by 70-74%

From 2015 to 2022, the people who had access to clean water increased from

69% to 73%

In 2020, there were __ people living in water stressed countries

2.4 billion

Central and South Asia have

high water stress

Northern Africa has

critical water stress

Over extraction of water leads to

the decrease in the quality of water and the increased scarcity of water

Extreme droughts by climate change has caused

30-80% decreases in water availability

1959, the Aral Sea was redirected by the

Soviet Union, causing loss of livelihoods for many as private companies used public water

Nestle uses excessive amounts of water for their products, draining the

Fyerburg, Strawberry Creek, and Dead River water shed in their production of products

With population growth comes a _% increase in water demand by 2030

68

Water scarcity can be solved by investigating in research about

recycling waste water

Appropriately pricing waste water to prevent the

overbuying and waste of water

Biocapacity deficit

Demands outpace the natural regeneration rate of land and sea products

Ecological footprint

hectares of productive land and sea needed to sustain current lifestyle and absorb its waste + negative effects

Biocapacity surplus

regeneration rate exceeds current demand(s)

Bioapacity reserve

When biocapacity of a population is greater than its ecological footprint of consumption

Liquidating ecological assets

Overfishing, deforestation, etc.

Carbon footprint measures

the CO2 generated in numbers that directly impact Climate Change and can be used to a admission and ask for carbon credits

Ecological footprint measures

renewable and non renewable resources used by a person to consider both carbon and wholistic environmental impact to understand global consumption and how to continue life on Earth.

Green water

Soil water derived directly from rainfall (free and unproblematic use as implemented directly where it falls)

Grey water

Water used domestically, commercially, and industrially, already, including untreated water generated from washing machines, bathtubs and sinks

Blue water

Both surface and ground water that can be used for irrigation/by water companies to meet the needs of the general population

Physical water scarcity

The physical presence/availability of water that are needed to fulfill both human and environmental needs

Socioeconomic water scarcity

Situations in which socioeconomic factors such as not having enough money/status to purchase water, or not having infrastructure to process water, hinder access to the water needed to meet their human and environmental needs

CWSI

composite water scarcity index that combines physical and socioeconomic water scarcity

Generally, the movement of virtual water is UNFAIR

meaning that countries EXPORTING virtual water have higher water scarcity than the countries that are IMPORTING this virtual water (positive index gap for exporter)

The Mekong delta is along the Tibet plateau

is fed by the meltwater from the glaciers and run through China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia (progressively getting downstream)

How long is the Mekong delta?

4,350 kilometers long