5.11-5.12 ecological footprint + introduction to sustainability

ecological footprint

measure of how much biologically productive is needed to supply the goods and servces that individuals use

measures average environmental impact of population in diff countries and areas

environmental impact

effect that activities of ppl and companies have on the environment

per capita ecological footprint

average ecological footprint of individual in given population

factors of ecological footprint

• energy

• settlements

• timber and paper

• food and fibers

• seafood

biocapacity

ecosystem’s capacity to produce biological materials used by ppl to absorb waste material generated by humans

ecological debtor

country with ecological footprint that exceeds its biocapacity

ecological creditor

country with biocapacity that exceeds ecological footprint

culture

society’s knowledge, beliefs, technology, and practices

allows for expansion of human population → greater resource use, pollution/environmental degradation

agriculture revolution

humans grew and bred animals for food, clothing, etc.

industrial-medical revolution

humans invented machines for farming and large-scale production of goods

extraction of energy from fossil fuels

information-globalization revolution

allowed humans to gain access to information and resources on global scale

sustainability

living on earth in a way allowing humans to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources

sustainable yield

amount of renewable resources that can be taken without reducing available supply

resource degradation

process of when renewable resource replacement rate is exceeded and resource starts to shrink

environmental indicators

measures that tell us what is happening to environment

help analyze health of natural systems on planet

environmental indicators

• biological diversity

• food production

• average global surface temp and CO2 concentrations

• human population

• resource depletion

environmental systems

must not be damaged beyond ability to recover

renewable resources

must not be depleted faster than they can regenerate

nonrenewable resource

must be used sparingly

biophillia

love of life

human need for acces to natural areas, beauty, and social connections