Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Population and Environment - Coggle Diagram
Population and Environment
Major issues associated with the most essential of our resources
deforestation: depletion of forests
population pressure: as the population density increases, the demand for energy sources such as firewood and charcoal increases
decrease in biodiversity: the removal of trees results in the destruction of habitats of rare species of animals, birds, and plants
BOTH: population growth and development can lead to deforestation
"the hamburger connection:" between the disappearance of forests in Costa Rica and the demand for beef in the United States
energy use: the capacity to do work
water consumption
Measuring Environmental Conditions and Impacts
The Geophysical Environment:
contains resources essential for setting life in harmony
productive
pollutant free
sustains the optimum population size of its species
variety of species and communities
supports and maintains diversity among species and communities
Individual-Level Measures: the environment is seen as a complex system of interrelated elements, including air, water, soil, solar radiation and human artifacts
toxicity assessment
study of exposure
hazard identification
risk characterization
The Tea-Seller's Dilemma
Waste Makers: throw "away" items no longer wanted
The Plight of Natural Resources: the relationship between population growth and the environment is complex
Ernest Haeckel (1834-1919)
ecology: the science of the household
ecosystem: an environment
Otis Dudley Duncan (1954)
ecological complex: systemic, interdependent nature of the population/environment relationship
Three principles underlying the operation of ecosystems
Nothing in nature grows indefinitely
Carrying capacity
Relationships between organisms and their environment are very complex: many effects of population on environment will remain unknown
Everything is related to everything else
Components of our physical environment
forests
60 percent of the forests that once covered the Earth has been lost to deforestation
energy
Main source of energy for humans and other animals are carbon compounds and trace minerals in food
water
world's annual fresh water supply is about 110,000 cubic kilometers
Theories of Population and Environment
Direct Effect Theories: the direct relationship between population, development, and the environment
Thomas Robert Malthus: the crisis were manifested in war, pestilence, famine, vice and misery (ecological collapse)
Indirect Effect Theories: consider several factors that intervene between the major components
Ester Boserup (1981): an increase in population growth does not lead to disaster. These changes trigger technological changes
The Green Revolution: yielded multifold increases in agriculture production globally, saved millions of people from starvation
Multiphasic Response Model (MRM): modification of Boserup's theory; the current version proposes that increases in population size intensify competition for scarce resources and impose stress on the resource systems
Stockholm Declaration
the rights of the human family to a healthy and productive environment
responsibilities
general environmental rights
Rio Declaration: conceptual, ethical and ideological boundaries within which to think and talk about international environmental boundaries
sustainable development: a future-oriented approach to the use of natural resources that can continue from one generation to generation
sustainable development cannot be undertaken without environmental education
new sustainability indicators must be developed
current economic indicators such as per-capita GDP ignore the role of environmental resources in production and consumption
sustainable development is impossible without conversation
idea that goods such as air and water and "free" must be abandoned
Environmentalism: widespread exposure to such experiences and ideals has given rise to a new, broad ideological program and its related strategies
Silent Spring: the dangers of deadly persticide DDT
Chipko: environmental movement in Asia
marked the beginning of deforestation