3.3 Resource Stewardship Flashcards
(31 cards)
what is Neo-Malthusian?
~In 1798 the Revrended Thomas Malthus produced An essay on the Princible of Population Growth. He belived that population growth would potentionally outstrip the growth of food production, leading to a decliine in the standard of living and to ‘war, famine and disease’.
what is the growth modle?
This study, aslo refered to as the Club of Rome model, expamined the five basic factors that detrmine and therefore untilimatly limit growth on the planet:
-populaton
- agrucltural production.
- natural reasorces
- industial production
- pollution
what does the growth modle suggest?
That food output and popualtion grow expodentionally until the rapidly diminishing reasorces nase forces a slow down in industrial growth.
why does the growth model suggest what it suggestes?
Bceause of delays in the system, both opulation and pollution continue to increas e for some time after the peak of industilialisation. Populatin growth is finally halted by a rise in the death rate due to decreased food production.
what are some conclusions drawn from the growth modle?
If present trends continue, the limits to growth would be reached in 2070, probably resulting in a sudden and uncontrollable decline in population and industrial production.
it is possible to alter these growth trends and establish a condition of environmental and economic stability that is sustainable.
what are some criticisms and limitations of the growth model?
It is a world model and does not distinguish between different parts of the world.
It ignores the spatial distribution of population and resources, of agricultural and individual activity, and pollution.
The model emphasises exponential growth and not the rate of discovery of new resources or technologies.
there was a revised model of the growth model, what were some of the new features?
deliberate constraints on population growth.
trade-offs between population size and levels of material well-being.
The use of renewable resources does not exceed the rate at which sensible renewable resources are developed.
what is a second part other than than the growth model what has a Neo- Malthusian view?
Paul Ehrlich
talk about Paul Ehrlich?
He is an American biologist who wrote ‘The population bomb’ (1995). He is a neo-Malthusian who believes that population control, an increase in the food supply, and the redistribution of wealth are needed in order to address the world’s population problem.
what did Paul Ehrlich agrue?
That population growth was outstripping the growth of food and resources. In 1980 he was a wager with the economist Julian Simon which Ehrlich argued that the cost of raw materials would increase in the future, whereas Simon argued they would come down. They wagered over five raw materials. The wager started in 1980 and ended in 1990. Ehrlich lost the wager as all of the five commodities fell in price.
However, had they chosen different commodities Ehrlich would have won. Thus, it is possible to reach very different conclusions based on different resources and timescales.
what is your contrasting view of population and reasorces to Neo-Mal?
Esther Boserup’s theory of popualtion
talk about Esther Boserups’ theory of population?
She believed that people have the resources to increase food production, namely knowledge and technology. When a need arises, someone will find a solution.
Whereas Malthus thought that food supply limited population size, Boserup suggests that an increase in population stimulated a change in agricultural techniques so that more food could be produced.
Population growth has thus enabled agricultural development to occur.
ho did Esther Boserup come to her conclusion?
She examined different land use systems, which varied in terms of intensity and production. At one extreme was the forest fallow association with shifting cultivation; at the other extreme was the multi-cropping system, which had more than one harvest a year.
Boserups’ theory was based on the idea that people knew the techniques required by a more intensive system and adapted them as the popualtion grew. If that knowledge was not available, the agricultural system would limit the population size of an given area.
what is optimum population?
It is the number of people who, when working with all the available resources, will produce the highest per-capital economic return. It is the highest standard of living and quality of life. If the size of the population increases 9or decreases from the optimum, the standard of living will fall.
what is over popualtion?
It occurs when there are too many people, relative to the resources and technology locally available, to mention an adequate standard of living, for example South Sudan and Somalia.
what is underpopulation?
It occurs when there are far more resources in an area than can be used by the people living there. countries such as Canada can export their surplus food, energy and mineral resources.
what is resource stewardship?
Resource Stewardship suggests that humans can use resources in such a way that they will be available to future generations. It suggests that there will be not only environmental sustainability but also social equity over access to resources.
what are the global commons?
They refer to areas that lie outside the political reach of any nation-state: the high seas, Antarctica, the atmosphere and outer space.
The global commons require management and protection. renewable resources such as fish need not be depleted, provided the rate of use does not exceed the maximum sustainable yield. If resources become over-exploited, depletion and degradation will lead to scarcity.
what is the tragedy of the commons?
Garett Hardin, an American ecologist, used the term ¨the tragedy of the commons¨to explain the lack of control over the way common resources are used and how the selfish acts of a few countries/individuals can destroy the resources for others.
can you give an example of the tragedy of the cmmons?
In any given ocean many nations may be fishing. Apart from the seas close to land, where there is an exclusive economic zone (EEZ), no country owns the oceans or the resources they contain.
If one country takes more fish from the oceans, their profits increase. The ‘Tragedy’ is that other countries feel compelled to increase their catch inoder to match the scale of the country that initiated the increase.
Thus, the rate of use may exceed the maximum sustainable yeild and resources may become depeleted.
what is the circular economy?
A circular economy is one that preserves natural capacity, optimizes resource use and reduces loss through managing finite stocks and renewable flows.
It is an economy that restores and regenerates resources, and keeps products, materials and components at their highest utility and value always.
what is the aim of the circular economy?
It aims to rebuild capita, whether it is financial, manufactured, natural, social or human. In a completely circular economy, consumption only occurs in bio-cycles, in which resources can be recovered and restored.
there are three principals behind the circular economy, what are they?
1) Preserve and enhance natural resources by controlling non-renewable resources and balancing renewable resources.
2) optimise resource yields by recycling and remanufacturing products, materials and components.
3) Improved effectiveness by eliminating negative externalities such as pollution and climate change.
how does the circular economy achieve its aims?
In the circular economy, waste is minimized by biological materials. Artificial materials are designed for repeated use. Systems are designed to run on renewable energy. For example, agriculture could be run on solar energy.
