Unit 3 - Resource consumption Flashcards
(46 cards)
Biocapacity
The land and water to provide resources for humanity
Ecological footprint
The hypothetical area of land required by a society or an individual to fulfill their resource needs and take care of their waste.
What is the ecological footprint measured in?
Global hectors
Energy security
Access to reliable, affordable energy resources to productive uses
Food security
The availability and access to sufficient, safe food to meet the dietary needs for a healthy active life
Water security
Continuing access to safe drinking water and sanitation
Virtual water / embedded water
The way in which water is transferred from one country to another through it’s exports
Nexus
The interrelationship, independence and interactions between food water and electricity
Extreme poverty
Living on less than $1.25
What is the poorest area ?
Sub Saharan Africa
What is the global poverty trend and its problems
GPT - the word is getting richer
Problems:
- More land needed
- Increased requirements for meat so it becomes scare
- More pollution
- Increased consumption of resources
Why are some countries richer than the other ?
- Physical factors - some areas have difficult landscape, making development difficult. (Eg. no water / hot climate)
- Economic factors - some countries have very high levels of debt so theres little left over for development projects.
- Environmental factors - flooding / desertification
- Social factors - issues caused by people; low education levels, lack of doctors…
- Political factor - Dome have corrupt governments (war) therefore all the money diverts to that
- Natural resources - some have many some have none. Resources can be used to develop a country or they can be taken advantage of.
The cycle of poverty
Factors have continuing effects…
Economic decline -> low personal income -> less access to supplies
Middle class definition
What is happening to it and why ?
- the social group between the upper and working classes
Position: the middle class is shrinking
- Technology and global consumption is destroying many middle class careers
- Middle class are being affected by rising cost (education and housing)
= the lower and upper class are expanding
Effects of a growing middle class
- increase food demand
- decrease availability of meat and increased availability of processed foods
- increased water demand
- increased energy demand
- house prices will increase
- more land taken for agriculture
- increased pollution
- Shortage of resources
Advantages and Disadvantages of measuring the ecological footprint
Advantages:
- a universal measurement
- Growing credibility as a policy tool
- Gives basic idea of the resource needed
Disadvantages:
- not an exact measurement of ecological sustainability
- underestimates human action impacts on the biosphere
- does not account for all human impacts on the environment
- only takes in account universal bio productive area
Why an ecological footprint increases:
- increasing reliance on fossil fuels
- increase use in technology (energy)
- High levels of imported resources
- having a meat rich diet
Ways to reduce an ecological footprint:
- Switch to renewable energy
- reduce the use of single plastics
- Eat less meat
- Recycle and reduce waste
- Use public transport
- reduce water use
- Purchase carbon offsets
- Reduce population
How to calculate the ecological footprint:
- crop land
- fishing grounds
- carbon demand on land
- built up land
- grazing land
- non productive land to subtract from total land
How ecological footprints vary in HIC’s and LIC’s
HIC:
- more disposable income meaning consumption of resources and energy is high
- Resource use is often wasteful
- A lot of meat in diet
LIC:
- more recycling and reuse to disposable income
- less meat
- fertilizers increase greenhouse gases as well as methane from cows
Physical water scarcity
Occurs when there is no enough water from natural resources to meet all demand
Economic water scarcity
Caused due to a lack of investment to capture drinking water to meet demands
What increases pressure on water
- Population growth
- Growth of middle class
- Growth of tourism and recreation
- Urbanization
Virtual water
Water used to produce consumer goods that isn’t seen in the final product. (Food, clothes)
Or
The way in which water is transported from country to country through exports
