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CH 12: Population & Environment - Coggle Diagram
CH 12: Population & Environment
1.) The Plight of Natural Resources:
Fresh Water:
The main source of freshwater is precipitation. Water safe for human consumption is very easily destroyed by pollutants such as municipal wastes, industrial output, & agricultural byproducts. The amount of water pollution increases as population size increases.
Depletion of Forests:
60% of the forests that once covered Earth have been lost to deforestation, with the highest deforestation rate being in Asia, Latin America & Africa. Population pressure for shelter and energy sources is the most direct cause of deforestation. It threatens the sustainability of life, the amount of annual rainfall, & decreases biodiversity.
Energy:
Carbon compounds & trace minerals from food are the main source of energy for humans. As population size grows, the demand for energy grows. Energy is not proportionally shared & used, with the wealthiest 1/3 of the world consuming 3/4 of the commercial energy. 82% of the world's energy comes from fossil fuels.
2.) Theories of Population & Environment:
Indirect effect theories- Theories that consider several factors that indirectly intervene between components operating behind the scenes.
Includes theories from Ester Boserup, Kingsley Davis & Richard Bilsborrow
Direct effect theories- Theories that focus on the direct relationship between population development & environment
Includes theories from Thomas Robert Malthus, Julian Simon & Barry Commoner
3.) Environmental Policies & Politics:
Rio Declaration, Brazil, 1992
: Features 27 principles for environmental protection & provided conceptual, ethical and ideological boundaries. Sustainable development was a key part of this declaration.
Rio+20, Brazil, June 2012
: Recognized the need to obtain the political will that is essential in promoting sustainable development for achieving internationally agreed developmental goals & assessed the progress made during the 20 years post-Rio on its advancements.
Stockholm Declaration, Sweden, 1972
: Featured 26 environmental principles & 3 general categories. It mainly focused on the containment & prevention of industrial pollution.
4.) Programs & Strategies:
Embracing the Lessons of Chipko
: The Chipko movement began in the Uttarkhand region, which was home to the two large ethnics groups Kumaon & Garhwal. The deforestation that took place in this region resulted in a loss of traditional livelihood, increased female suicide rates & alcoholism for many. This became an environmental movement that sought to identify deforestation as the source of their poverty & social problems.
Sustainable Development
: This concept was first introduced by the Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland in 1987. Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the present needs without compromising future generations. It is about improvement through the elimination of poverty
Environmentalism
: The social movement that focuses on the restoration, conservation & appropriate use of ecosystems
Contemporary environmentalism began in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Western Europe & North America.
One of the oldest environmental organizations is the U.S. National Audubon Society (NAS), which works with the Sierra Club to define the environmental movement in the US. One of the newer organizations is Greenpeace, which was founded in 1971.
3.) Measuring Environmental Conditions & Impacts:
The Geophysical Environment
: a close relationship exists between economy & environment. It approaches measuring quality of life elements such as air, water, the degree of biodiversity & the quality/quantity of renewable and nonrenewable resources
Individual-Level Measures
: Involves measuring the effect of environment on an individual from a risk assessment perspective
Resources of Environmental Conditions
: the World Resource Institute in Washington DC, the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. & Environment Canada
1.) The Household of Nature:
Ecology was coined by Ernst Haeckel & ecological complex was introduced by Otis Dudley Duncan
The ecological perspective has influenced the study of the relationship between humans & their environments since the 1950s
Major environmental issues are associated with with water consumption, deforestation & energy use
3 principles underlying the operation of ecosystems: 1. everything is related to everything else; 2. there is a carrying capacity - nothing in nature grows indefinitely; 3. relationships between organisms and their environments are very complex