Geography: Resource and Consumption

Emerging markets

Emerging markets

Countries with low to middle per capita income that have undertaken economic development and begun to “emerge” as significant players in the global economy

International poverty line

Monetary threshold under which an individual is considered to be living in poverty

Poverty

The state of not having enough material possessions or income for a person’s basic needs

Purchasing power parities

Exchange rates that account for relative price differences across countries

Scale

places identified at a variety of geographic scales, from local territories to the national or state levels. e.g. Climate change affects the world at a planetary level

Poverty reduction

• main success of MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) was the global reduction of extreme poverty

• number of people living in poverty in LICs went from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015

MDGs

Millennium Development Goals

Middle class

People who have approximately 33% of their income left over after paying for essentials

Middle class consists of…

• non-manual workers

• middle management

• small business owners

Why does middle class grow

as mean global income increases and absolute poverty falls, the balance between rich and poor shifts, growing the global middle class

Increase in average incomes and fall of poverty caused:

• Increase in the proportion of the world’s population that is neither rich nor poor

• Finds itself in the middle of the income distribution

Disposable Income

Household disposable income measures the income of households (wages, salaries, social benefits, etc.) after taking into account the payment of taxes and social contributions. The money you have left to spend or save.

Socio-economic impacts of a growing middle class

• Will help to increase sales of goods such as electrical goods, mobile phones, cars, etc.

• people will have better access to educational and medical services

Environmental impact of a growing middle class

• Increased disposable income, more vacations which results in increase of ecological footprints

• Resource consumption increases

Ecological footprint

The area of land and water required to support a given human population at a particular standard of living. Can be measured in global hectares or in number of Earths

Biocapacity

The Earth’s bioproductive land and sea (includes forests, croplands, pastures, etc.). This is not only to provide food, but also to absorb water

Demand

The amount of bioproductive land we need to provide our resources and space for infrastructure and to absorb the waste that we produce

Carbon footprint

total amount of greenhouse gases that are generated by our actions

Water footprint

total volume of fresh water used to produce the goods and services consumed by individuals, communities and businesses

Factors that increase ecological footprint

• relying heavily on fossil fuels

• meat-rich diets

• high level of imported resources

• large per capita consumption of food

Ecological overshoot

when human demand exceeds the regenerative capacity of a natural ecosystem

How countries can reduce ecological footprint

• Stricter caps on carbon use for companies

• Encouraging environmentally friendly choices by offering benefits

• Limiting imports of tropical fruits and other products

• Campaigns and initiatives to protect animals and plants (ecoduct)

Increasing demand for food due to

• Rising population

• Growth in middle class (diet change)

• Increasing urbanisation (fast-food higher demand)

• Increased levels of wealth (minimum wage)

Under-nourishment

Food intake not containing enough energy, calories, etc.

Malnutrition

Food intake lacking essential nutrients

Issues limiting availability of food for LEDCs

• Exports limit left over supply

• Crops generated for cash, not food

• Demands for bio-fuel crops; “loss” of fertile farmland

• Corrupt governments

• Low levels of technology

Issues limiting availability of food for both M/LEDCs

• Natural hazards - floods, forest fires & droughts

• Climate change - droughts & global warming

• Dietary change - more people meat dependent

Energy grid

Interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers

Fossil fuels

Hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas, formed from the remains of dead plants and animals

Low carbon power

Electricity produced with substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fossil fuel power generation

Modern energy

Access to electricity and to clean cooking facilities

Global energy

Major consumers are the HICs. Demand for and use of energy sources by NICs has been rapidly increasing

Fossil fuel advantages

• relatively cheap

• very efficient

• technology already available

• can be delivered over long distances by pipelines

Fossil fuel disadvantages

• unsustainable/non-renewable

• difficult & dangerous to extract

• contributes to climate change

• high risks building nuclear power plants

• coal mining → degraded land

• may run out

Renewable energy advantages

• green energy

• no combustion of greenhouse gases

• sustainable; will not run out

Renewable energy disadvantages

• costly

• not as efficient as fossil fuels

• can disrupt ecosystems

• unpredictable

• can displace people

Desalination

process that takes away mineral components from saline water

Energy pathways

flows of energy from producer to consumer

Energy security

a country’s ability to secure all its energy needs

Food security

when all its people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life

Water security

continuing access to safe drinking water and sanitation

Geopolitics

the struggle over control of geographical entities with an international and global dimension, and the use of such geographical entities for political advantage

Water, food, energy nexus

the interrelationship, interdependence and interactions between water, food and energy. Refers to the very close links between the three and the ways in which changes in one have an impact on the others

Water, food, energy nexus diagram

Goal of nexus

Achieve water, food and energy security objectives and sustain efficient use of available resources

How does climate change affect the nexus

Droughts → dry land/no precipitation leads to less water availability and destroyed crops = no food. Also limits the water needed for hydropower

Solid domestic waste

A waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public (garden, kitchen. household, etc.)

Prevention (method of waste disposable)

eliminate demand altogether (changing lifestyles)

Recovery (method of waste disposable)

capture some value by converting it into something else

Disposal (method of waste disposable)

discard of waste in landfill sites

Recycled waste

recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances

Incinerated waste

the process of burning hazardous materials at temperatures high enough to destroy contaminants

E-waste

the disposal of electronics

Why is waste relocated to LEDCs

• weaker environment controls and laws

• cheaper land

• lower labour costs & more relaxed labour laws

• more relaxed health and safety laws

Divergent thinking

process of creating multiple, unique ideas or solutions to a problem that you are trying to solve

Optimistic

hopeful and confident about the future

Pessimistic

tending to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen

Stewardship

the conducting, supervising or managing of something, especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care

Malthus theory

if the population would grow at an exponential rate, the food production would reach a certain “point of crisis”

Boserup’s theory

increase in population will increase the demand for food and will result in new agricultural methods to produce more food and to keep up with the demand

Neo-Malthusian

food production and population growth would grow at an exponential rate, but technological advances only at a constant rate

Resource stewardship

concept suggesting that humans can use resources in such a way that they will be available to future generations

Global commons

areas that lie outside the political reach of any nation state (the high seas, Antarctica, the atmosphere and outer space)

Anthropocene Epoch

the most recent period in Earth's history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet's climate and ecosystems.

Tragedy of the commons

a situation in a shared-resource system where individual users act independently according to their own self-interest, usually resulting in a negative impact on the whole system

Systems approach

based on the generalisation that everything is interrelated and interdependent

Linear economy

a system in which people buy a product, use it, and then throw it away. Has a start and end

Reuse economy

by taking, but not reprocessing, previously used items – helps save time, money, energy and resources.

Circular economy

a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated.

Key principles of circular economy

• preserve and enhance natural capital by controlling finite stocks and balancing renewable resource flows

• optimise resource yields by circulating products, materials and components

• develop system effectiveness by eliminating negative externalities (polluted oceans, climate change, etc.)

Virtual/Embedded water

water that is hidden in the products, processes and services people buy/use everyday

Blue water

Fresh surface and groundwater, the water in freshwater lakes, rivers, aquifers, ice caps and glaciers (3% of Earth’s water)

Grey water

polluted water, domestic wastewater generated in households (e.g. toilets, sinks, showers, etc.)

Green water

water found in soil, precipitation on land that doesn’t run off/recharge the ground water but is stored in/on top of the soil

Virtual water imports/trades

Useful for LEDCs because they can import water-intensive products for the public and save their domestic water

Importance of measuring the virtual water trade

allows more water rich countries to benefit from their abundant resources by producing and exporting items with a high-water demand