8.4 Human systems and resource use

what is carrying capacity

the maximum number of a species or load that can be sustainable supported by a given area

what is an ecological footprint

the area of land and water required to support a defined human population at a given standard of living, the measure takes into account the area required to provide all the resources needed by the population and the assimilation of all wastes

what does it mean if the EF of a human population is greater than the land area available to it

the population is unsustainable and exceeds the carrying capacity in the area

what is the degradation of the environment together with the utilization of finite resources expected to do

limit human population growth

why is it difficult to estimate human carrying capacity

humans use a far greater range of resources than any other animal, we substitute resources with others if they run out, our resource use varies from individual to individual, we import resources from outside our immediate environment, developments in technology lead to changes in the resources we use

why might importing resources decrease the global carrying capacity

by forcing farmers to reduce their costs to compete with imports and so reduce incentives for conservation of the local environment

how might ecocentrists try to increase human carrying capacity

by trying to reduce their use of non-renewable resources and minimize their use of renewable ones, some even try to drop off the grid (become self sufficient), they may use solar cells for their electricity, use rainwater and grey water recycling, and grow their own food

how might technocentrists suggest that human carrying capacity can be increased

through technological innovation and development e.g. using the remaining oil twice as efficiently means it lasts twice as long as it would have otherwise

how can humans reduce their environmental demands

by reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, absolute reduction in energy and material use

what is reuse

the object is used more than once e.g. the reuse of soft drink bottles, furniture, pre-owned cars

what is recycling

the objects material is used again to manufacture a new product e.g the use of plastic bags to make plastic fence post for gardens, recycling of aluminium drinks cans

what is remanufacturing

the objects material is used to make a new object of the same type, an example is the manufacturing of new plastic bottles from used ones

what are absolute reductions

we simply use fewer resources e.g. less energy or less paper

in 2012 what was the ecological footprint of all the people on earth

1.5 earths

how long has humanity been in ecological overshoot

since the 1970s

what is a fair earthshare

the amount of land each person would get if all the ecologically productive land on earth were divided evenly among the present world population

what does the ecological footprint of a country depend on

its population size, consumption per capita, how many people and how much land each one uses, croplant and other land that is needed to grow food, biofuels, meat, produce wood etc