IB Environmental Systems & Societies (ESS) SL 8. Human Systems & Resource Use
8.1 Human Population Dynamics
Demographic Variables: Tools to understand birth/death rates, fertility, growth.
Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
e.g.,Crude Death Rate (CDR): e.g.,
Total Fertility Rate (TFR): Sum of age-specific fertility rates * 5.
Doubling Time (DT):
Natural Increase Rate (NIR):
Human Population Growth Curve: Exponential growth since the 18th century, reaching 8 billion in 2022, projected to exceed 11 billion by 2100. Developing countries show fastest growth.
Human Population Models: Age-gender pyramids and demographic transition models (DTM).
Demographic Transition Model (DTM): 5 stages showing transition from high birth/death rates to low rates.
Stage 1: High birth/death rates, low total population.
Stage 2: High birth rates, decreasing death rates, rapidly rising population.
Stage 3: Declining birth rate, decreasing death rate, continued population increase.
Stage 4: Low, fluctuating birth/death rates, high, slowly increasing population.
Stage 5: Low birth rate, fluctuating death rate, declining population.
Population Pyramids: Graphical representation of age/gender structure.
Broad base, narrow top: Young population, high fertility, low life expectancy.
Narrow base, broad top: Aging population, low fertility, high life expectancy.
Shapes vary by country (Niger: concave, Nepal: pyramid, USA: column, Japan: pentagon), reflecting demographic transition stages.
Factors Affecting Population Dynamics: Cultural, historical, religious, social, political, economic factors, and development policies.
National and International Development Policies: Impact fertility, mortality, migration.
Education Policies: Access to education lowers fertility rates.
Healthcare Policies: Access to reproductive healthcare reduces fertility rates.
Economic Policies: Poverty reduction lowers fertility rates.
Social Welfare Policies: Childcare support influences family size.
Migration Policies: Impact population size and structure.
Environmental Policies: Promote sustainable living conditions.
8.2 Resource Use in Society
Natural Capital & Sustainability: Resources from nature managed by humans.
Renewable Natural Capital: Replaced at the rate of use (e.g., forests, wetlands, groundwater, ozone layer).
Non-renewable Natural Capital: Cannot be replaced at the rate of use (e.g., fossil fuels, minerals).
Sustainable Use: Implementing practices like forest and fisheries management, renewable energy.
Unsustainable Use: Deforestation, overfishing, excessive water extraction.
The Nature of Natural Capital: Provides goods and services with aesthetic, cultural, economic, environmental, ethical, intrinsic, social, spiritual, or technological value.
Dynamic Nature: Classification and market value vary regionally and over time due to cultural, social, economic, environmental, technological, and political factors.
8.3 Solid Domestic Waste
Solid Domestic Waste (SDW): Waste from households and small businesses.
Types: Organic waste, paper, plastics, glass, metals, e-waste, non-biodegradable waste.
Waste Disposal Methods: Landfills, incineration, recycling, reusing, composting.
Landfills: Burying waste (Advantages & Disadvantages listed in table).
Incineration: Burning waste to reduce volume (Advantages & Disadvantages listed in table).
Recycling: Converting waste into reusable materials (Advantages & Disadvantages listed in table).
Reusing: Using products multiple times (Advantages & Disadvantages listed in table).
Composting: Decomposing organic waste into soil (Advantages & Disadvantages listed in table).
Managing Solid Domestic Waste: Strategies influenced by cultural, economic, technological, and political factors.
Altering Human Activity: Reducing consumption.
Regulating and Reducing Pollutants: Establishing regulations on waste disposal.
Cleaning Up Pollutants: Restoring ecosystems after pollution.