General Ecology and Population Issues

Mrs. B-Z

Exponential Growth

Quantity increases by a fixed percentage of the whole in a given time

Environmental Problems

Population growth Wasteful use of resources Destruction and degradation of wildlife

habitats Extinction of plants and animals Poverty Pollution

Human Activity has modified or disturbed __% of the earth’s land.

73% 27% remains intact and undisturbed.

However, this number is always decreasing.

Bettering of Society

Longer life expectancy Lower infant mortality Higher crop yields

Environment Solar and earth capital; sun’s energy, air water, animals, and plants, minerals, natural purification, recycling (natural and artificial), and pest control

Sustainable Society

Manages its economy and population size without exceeding all or part of the planet's ability to absorb the environmental insults and replenish

Use only what is needed and replenishes what is taken

Earth Wisdom

Learning as much as we can about how to sustain the earth

Population Growth and the Wealth Gap

Types of societies and the differences this has on both population and the environment

Types of Pollution

Number of people x resources x environmental degradation = environmental impact

MDC—More Developed Country

A country who’s standard of living is similar to the US.

Industrialized or post-industrial societies Which countries can you think of that fall

into this category?

LDC—Less Developed Countries

Countries who have a much lower standard of living than the US or at least most of the residents have this lower standard of living.

Can you think of countries that fall into this category?

Population Explosion

Although the global population rate is between 2-5%, the consequences of an increasing population of billions of people has become a key issue in many areas and has lead to some countries having reproductive law to decrease population growth.

The population statistics—people living on the planet at the same time. 60,000 years ago = 1 billion humans 130 years ago = 2 billion 30 years ago = 3 billion 15 years ago = 4 billion 12 years ago = 5 billion 6 years ago = 6 billion 2 years ago = 7 billion

What caused these jumps in population?

10,000 to 12,000 years ago the Agricultural Revolution began

275 years ago the Industrial Revolution What effect does this lifestyle have on

population? How does this tie into a sustainable

society?

GNP Gross National Product

Market value in current dollars of all goods and services produced within and consumed within a product. Imported and exported goods

GDP Gross Domestic Product

Goods that are manufactured and consumed within a country

Per Capita GNP

GNP / total population

Human Population

Size and Distribution

Population Change

For the planet: Births – deaths = population change For a country: Births + immigrations – (deaths +

emigrations) = population change

Birth Rate

Live births / 1,000

Death Rate

Deaths / 1,000

ZPG and NPG

To achieve Zero Population Growth, what needs to happen?

How could the planet or a country achieve NEGATIVE population growth?

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

Average number of children that a woman will have during her childbearing years

What are factors that would affect TFR in a given country?

Traditions Education Marriage Divorce Religion Health Available contraception

Other factors influencing birth rates:

Children as labor Urbanization Cost of raising/educating children Infant mortality Average marrying age

Other factors influencing birth rates

Private and public pensions Availability of abortion Reliable birth control Religious beliefs Tradition Culture

Effects on Death Rates

Life expectancy Health care Technology Preventative medicine Working conditions Retirement Infant mortality

Resources

Types of resources

Renewable or Perpetual

Continues without any artificial support Can you think of any examples of this

type of resource? Solar energy Wind Energy Water Energy Water purification (low yields)

Potentially Renewable

Resources that can be renewed but they must be replaced at the rate at which they are being used

Can you think of examples of this? Trees Grass Animals Lakes Soil

Sustainable Yield

Rate at which a potentially renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing available supply

Nonrenewable Resource A resource in fixed

quantity that may take too long to replace to be effective

Can you think of any examples of this type of resource?

Coal Oil Natural gas Uranium

Iron Copper AluminumSaltClaySandphosphates

General Ecology

Terms and definitions

Biodiversity

Different life forms that can survive the variety of conditions currently found on earth

Problems that cause degradation

Common Property Resources Prevention Private ownership Open (no owner or not maintained)

spaces Controlled spaces—places that are

under control of a legal entity

Pollution

Defining and understanding

Pollution

Any addition to air, water, soil, or food that threatens the health, survival, or activities of a living organism

Two sources of polluion

Point Source—the source is identifiable

Can you think of examples of this?

Nonpoint source—sources are general and not readily identified.

Can you think of any of these?

Characteristics that make a type of pollution harmful

Chemical Nature Concentration Persistence

Degradable (less than 10 years) Slowly Degradable (more than 10 years) Nondegradable (over 250 years)

Pollution Solutions

Prevention Cleanup Which would be advocated by

environmentalists?