Global Environmental Part 1

Environmental Studies: Study Guide

Part 1:

10. The arguments of Thomas Malthus and the definition of a Malthusian catastrophe. The reasons why a Malthusian catastrophe was predicted to inevitably occur. The things that stop a Malthusian catastrophe from occurring (checks and balances)

• Malthus's Arguments

  • Population Growth: Increases geometrically (e.g., 2, 4, 8, 16...).

  • Food Supply Growth: Increases arithmetically (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4...).

  • Inevitability: Food supply can't keep up with population growth, leading to scarcity.

• Malthusian Catastrophe

  • Definition: A crisis where resources (especially food) become too scarce to sustain the population, causing societal collapse.

  • Cycle:

    • Population exceeds food supply → famine, war, or disease reduces the population.

    • Population decreases below food supply → recovery and growth → repeat.

• Why It Was Predicted

  • Natural Population Growth: Humans reproduce faster than food can be produced.

  • Limited Resources: Land and technology can’t infinitely expand food supply.

  • Resulting Scarcity: Leads to societal strain and collapse.

• Positive Checks: Increase death rates to reduce population:

  • Famine: Starvation from lack of food.

  • War: Conflicts over limited resources.

  • Disease: Spreads due to overcrowding.

• Negative Checks: Slow population growth by reducing birth rates:

  • Delayed Marriage: Fewer childbearing years.

  • Abstinence: Fewer children by choice.

  • Moral Restraint: Societal effort to control reproduction.

11. The impacts of invasive species, specifically the zebra mussel, the Nile perch, bass in Gatun Lake and a specific strain of cholera.

• Zebra Mussel: Forms massive colonies, clogs underwater structures, and outcompetes native mussels, reducing their population.

• Nile Perch: Introduced to boost fishing but caused the extinction of over 200 local species, harming local fishers.

• Bass in Gatun Lake: Reduced fish populations that feed on mosquito larvae, worsening malaria control efforts.

• Cholera Strain: Originally from Bangladesh, spread to Peru in 1991 via ballast water, causing an outbreak that killed over 10,000 people in three years.

12. The reasons, both mathematical and biological, why Garrett Hardin thought population an unsolvable problem.

• Mathematical Reason: You can't maximize two variables at once in an equation.

• Biological Reason: You can't maximize both population size and individual calorie intake—one must be prioritized.

13. The examples of a ‘tragedy of the commons’ type situation given in class. The reasons why each of the three examples (one fisheries based, one maritime but caused by terrestrial activity, one very much human) are examples of the tragedy of the commons

• Pollution:

  • People dump waste into the environment because it’s free.

  • Problem: Too much waste builds up, harming everyone.

• Fishing (Grand Banks Cod):

  • Fishermen caught too many cod because it seemed endless.

  • Problem: The fish ran out, and the fishing industry collapsed.

• Water Pollution (Gulf of Mexico):

  • Farms and factories dumped chemicals into the Mississippi River.

  • Problem: This caused a “dead zone” in the Gulf where no fish can live.

• Traffic (Public Roads):

  • Everyone uses free roads to get places faster.

  • Problem: Too many cars cause traffic jams and pollution. Adding tolls can reduce overuse.

14. The solution that Hardin offered to solve the ‘tragedy of the commons’. The implications of this for the ownership of land.

• Solution: "Mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon" – rules everyone agrees to that protect shared resources.

• Implication: Turn shared resources (commons) into private property to prevent overuse, and use inheritance to avoid creating new commons.

• Analogy: Like Tic-tac-toe, where rules make it clear how to play and avoid chaos.

15. The name of the Nobel prize winning economist who argued against the Tragedy of the Commons thesis. The basis of her argument (see point 29).

• Name: Elinor Ostrom.

• Her Argument: People can work together to manage shared resources without needing government control or private ownership.

• Key Idea: Sustainable use requires coordination and rules, and communities can create these through collective action.

16. Know the demographic transition model well. Especially the birthrate and death rate, the balance between them, and how this changes as societies pass through varying levels of economic development. What does Hans Rosling identify as a critical indicator in explaining falling population growth rates.

• The Demographic Transition Model (DTM) explains how birth rates and death rates change as a society develops economically over time, leading to changes in population growth.

Phase 1: Preindustrial Society

• Birth Rate: High

• Death Rate: High

• Population Growth: Slow or stagnant

• High birth and death rates keep the population stable but low.

Phase 2: Early Industrialization

• Birth Rate: High

• Death Rate: Falls rapidly

• Population Growth: Rapid

• Death rates drop quickly as societies gain modern resources (healthcare, sanitation).

• Birth rates stay high, leading to rapid population growth.

Phase 3: Late Industrialization

• Birth Rate: Declines

• Death Rate: Continues to fall

• Population Growth: Slows down

• Birth rates begin to fall as societies develop further (education, access to contraception).

• Population growth slows.

Phase 4: Post-Industrial Society

• Birth Rate: Low

• Death Rate: Low

• Population Growth: Stable or slow

• Birth and death rates even out at much lower levels.

• Population is stable but much larger than in earlier phases.

Phase 5 (Some Countries Entered)

• Birth Rate: Very low (sometimes below death rates)

• Death Rate: Low

• Population Growth: Declining or negative

• Fewer births and more surviving children lead to aging populations and possible population decline.

Hans Rosling's Critical Indicator

• Hans Rosling identified improved child survival rates as a key factor in explaining falling population growth rates. When more children survive into adulthood due to better healthcare and living conditions, families tend to have fewer children, leading to a decline in birth rates over time.

17. The assumptions that are present in Malthusian thinking about how people are affected by natural laws of population growth and fall.

• Limited Resources:

  • The world’s resources are already owned, divided, and limited. More people mean fewer resources to share.

• Scarcity Leads to Collapse:

  • As the population grows, resources become scarce, and society can no longer function as it used to.

• Restrict Access:

  • The only solution is to limit who gets resources, as unlimited population growth isn’t sustainable.

• False Hope in Technology:

  • Malthusians assume technical solutions like new farming methods won’t fully solve overpopulation.

• Overpopulation Equals Misery:

  • Societies with the largest populations tend to suffer the most.

18. The arguments made by Boserup and others against Malthusian thinking.

• Boserup's View:

  • Population growth drives innovation.

  • As food shortages loom, people find ways to increase food supply using new technology, better seeds, and improved farming methods.

• Innovation and Growth:

  • Population pressure leads to agricultural improvements and higher food production, not disaster.

  • Example: Global food supply per person increased by 23% between 1960 and 2000 (Bjorn Lomborg).

• Economic Principles:

  • Higher demand for food motivates solutions, ensuring food production grows to meet population needs.

  • Key Idea: Population growth isn’t a problem—it encourages people to innovate and adapt.

19. Study the population pyramids for Ghana and Kenya. Understand what the changing shape of the pyramid over time indicates, in terms of changing population growth rates.

• 1990 Population Pyramids:

  • Both Ghana and Kenya had wide bases, indicating high birth rates. This shows that a large proportion of the population consisted of children and infants, reflecting rapid population growth typical of developing countries.

• 2010 Population Pyramids:

  • By 2010, the pyramids began to change shape, becoming less like a traditional pyramid. The base narrowed, indicating that fewer babies were being born, suggesting a decline in birth rates.

  • The largest proportion of the population was now in the 10-30 age range, showing the effects of declining birth rates over time, but still reflecting the impact of earlier high fertility rates.

What the Changing Shape Indicates:

• The narrowing base of the pyramid over time suggests a decrease in birth rates, which is a sign of slowing population growth.

• As countries develop economically, access to education, healthcare, and family planning increases, leading to lower fertility rates.

• Fewer young children in the population indicates that both Ghana and Kenya are transitioning through the demographic transition model, moving towards lower population growth rates as they develop further.

These changes reflect a shift towards a more stable population, with less rapid growth than in previous decades.

20. The relationship between poverty, education level, and rural/urban location, and the number of children had by women.

• Education Level:

  • Lower education levels are associated with higher fertility rates. Women with no education or only primary education are more likely to have larger families.

  • As women attain higher levels of education, fertility rates tend to decline. Educated women are more likely to have access to family planning and may delay childbirth for career or personal reasons.

• Rural vs. Urban Location:

  • Rural areas tend to have higher fertility rates compared to urban areas. This is partly due to traditional norms, limited access to education and healthcare, and economic reliance on larger families in rural settings.

  • Urban areas typically have lower fertility rates, as women in cities often have better access to education, employment, healthcare, and contraception.

• Poverty + Low Education + Rural: Higher fertility rates.

• Urban + Higher Education: Lower fertility rates.

21. The fertility rate in Africa in the middle of the 20th century, the present day, and the predictions for the end of the 21st century

• Mid-20th Century: 6.6 children per woman.

• Present Day: 2.51 children per woman.

• End of 21st Century (Predicted): 1.99 children per woman.

22. There is a reading about Elinor Ostrom in the Unit 4 tab. Know it well, especially what she identifies as the critical component in the sustainable management of natural resources. Is it nationalization, privatization or something else?

• Common Pool Resources:

  • Resources like water, forests, fisheries, and the atmosphere are shared by everyone but can be overused and depleted.

• Critical Component:

  • Sustainable management requires coordination and cooperation, not just government control or privatization.

• Her Findings:

  • People can successfully work together to manage resources through collective action.

  • Communities have been doing this for hundreds of years by respecting collective property rights and creating shared rules.

• Effective Approach:

  • Success comes from multiple levels of cooperation involving governments, user groups, and private actors working together.

  • Key Idea: Collaboration at all levels is essential for sustainable resource use.

23. Understand the pattern of global population growth since 1800. Also understand the pattern of population growth rates over time, which are different. Both graphs can be found in the Lecture 9 slides

• Population Growth Pattern:

  • Since 1800, the population has grown steadily, especially during the industrial era.

• Growth Rate Pattern:

  • Growth rates increased rapidly in the 20th century but have been slowing down in recent decades.

• Current Situation (2020 Onwards):

  • In the industrial/postindustrial era, population growth could:

    • Continue growing.

    • Slow down further.

    • Start to decline.

  • Population booms after WW2, steadily increasing to present day. U.N has three predictions, from high, medium and low predictions, for the future. High forecast keeps the same growth rate since the baby boom. However, the growth rate has been falling since the 1960's even though total population keeps growing.