Population and ResourcesPopulation and Resources

All is not lost

Prophets of doom have regularly predicted global disaster.

“Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio.”

In fact, food production has more than kept up with population increases.Thomas Malthus

All is Not Lost II

The 1972 Club of Rome publication Limits to Growth predicted that at current rates of use, reserves of minerals would be used up by the turn of the century.

We have not reduced consumption, yet reserves are still adequate.

All is Not Lost III

We have already passed the human population Earth can sustain.

Paul Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, has regularly predicted massive global famines - yet more people are better fed today than at any time in history.

Environmental ProblemsEnvironmental Problems

Environmental Problems are Very Real

The prophets of doom may have exaggerated, but their warnings should still be heeded.

We must address ecological and economic problems to avoid disasters. Industrial Waste

in the Danube River

Environmental Problems are Very Real II

Our water and air quality is stressed in the developed and developing world alike.

What is Being Done?

Huge progress has been made in fixing problems in the developed world.

London, England, no longer experiences the killing smog of the 1950’s and earlier.

The Thames River is cleaner than it has been in centuries.

AidAid

International AidWe all have a

vested interest in solving problems in the “global village.”

Those of us in the developed world have the financial resources to pay for remedies.

Solutions to problems may be global or local.

Multilateral Aid

Aid directed from many sources to one or more recipients is known as multilateral.

Organizations like the World Bank or UNICEF frequently dispense such assistance.

Bilateral Aid

Aid directed from one country directly to another is known as bilateral assistance.

Canada

Tied Aid

Sometimes aid is given with strings attached.

Recipients may have to buy goods or support donor countries politically in return for aid.

Military Aid

Much “foreign aid” is given in the form of military equipment.

Donors see their equipment in action.

They can also dispose of surplus goods.

Military Aid II

Military assistance may hinder, rather than assist, development as regional arms races spiral out of control, drawing an increasingly large portion of developing countries’ budgets.

Grassroots AidDevelopment experts agree

on one thing: For development aid to work, it must get into the hands of those in need.

Too often, corrupt officials skim a portion of the money.

Sometimes little is left by the time aid reaches people at the lowest and neediest levels of society.

Grassroots Aid II

“We need to be clear; corruption is not the grease that oils the economy. Corruption undermines economic stability, deters foreign and domestic investment, and erodes support for development assistance. Above all, corruption imposes a disproportionately heavy burden on the poor.”

James D. WofensohnPresident, World Bank,July, 1998.

Non-Governmental Aid

Independent relief agencies are often best placed to ensure the delivery of grassroots aid.

Doctors from around the world volunteer their professional abilities to help in developing countries.

NGO’sClick for hyperlink

Oxfam provides technical assistance to help at the grassroots level.

Oxfam’s cheap and effective water bucket has been laudedas an outstanding example ofBritish practical design.

Oxfam designed, but locally made, these latrine coversmarkedly improve sanitation.

NGO’s

NGO’sOperation Eyesight Universal

Founded by Dr. Ben Gullison, in 1947, OEU sends volunteers to developing countries to perform vision-restoring procedures. Dr. Gullison & his wife

NGO’s Operation Eyesight Universal II

Cards are sent to donors, informing them of what their specific donation has accomplished

Emergency Aid

When Michael Buerk’s televised report from Ethiopia was broadcast, the response to his horrific images was astounding.

British rock stars formed Band Aid, recording first a charity single, then initiating the Live Aid fund raising concert. Artists elsewhere followed suit - including a Canadian effort -Northern Lights - and a BC effort by the West Coast Recording Artists.

Emergency Aid IIFood, water, medicine and shelter were

needed immediately and the overwhelming response saved the lives of many.

However, once the emergency had passed, priorities shifted to long-term assistance in constructing roads and infrastructure.

To continue delivering goods would have harmed the local economy.

Free food drives local farmers out of business!

Long Term Aid

Grassroots recipients know what they need.

Aid donors can assist by providing funding and technical assistance with appropriate technology.

The key is to help people to help themselves.

TechnologyTechnology

Appropriate Technology

In many instances, western technology is inappropriate.

Engine driven machinery requires fuel and spare part; pedal drives might be more applicable in low-income areas.

Solar or wind power may provide all the energy required for small enterprises.

Appropriate Technology II

The concept of using intermediate technology, first championed by E.F. Schumacher, is now widely accepted as the best development option for poorer parts of the world.

Inexpensive &locally produced, a Zimbabwean Scotchcart can lighten a ruralworker’s load.

Click on logo for hyperlink

Appropriate Technology III

It is in the developed world that technological change is fastest.

In the past such developments as fuel injection greatly increased fuel efficiency in internal combustion engines.

Future innovations - like fuel cell engines or fusion power may bring revolutionary changes for the better.

FinanceFinance

Micro-financingE.F. Schumacher’s

comment that “small is beautiful” applies not only to technology.

Dr. Mohammad Yunus pioneered small business loans to the very poor.

His Grameen Bank concept has since been copied around the world, even in developed countries. Dr. Yunus

Micro-financing II

Grameen Banks lend to individuals who must be part of a group of people who all hope to obtain loans.

For the second loan to be obtained, the first must be paid.The group has a great incentive to help out if need be.

Grameen bank loans go to women in low gender-equity countries. This improves the status of women.

Micro-financing IIThe Grameen experiment has

been a huge success and it now provides loans to more than 2 million low-income people.

Loan repayment rates are better than those of conventional banks.

This is grassroots aid at its best - helping the poor help themselves.

The FutureThe Future

The Future

The Club of Rome’s doomsday predictions were wrong.

As crises loom, we have always pulled back from the precipice.

Emerging problems stimulate the discovery of new solutions.

The Future IISolutions, like problems, know no

boundaries.Automakers scramble to meet

California’s tough emission standards and the whole world reaps the benefits.

Intermediate Technologies’ web pages are open to all.

Perhaps the 21st century will see us begin to clean up our global village.

Chapter 18- Looking Forward

Do Activity Sheet- 18-1 & 18-2Do Activities:-Page 425-1-4-Page 454-1-3

Image Credits

Image CreditsEvery effort has been made to credit images used in this presentation. All images not otherwise credited have been obtained from clip art collections or are believed to be in the public domain. The authors would be pleased to correct any omissions.

Slide #5 – Courtesy of Dr. Paul Ehrlich from http://www.stanford.edu/group/CCB/Staff/paul.htm

Slide #6 – Courtesy, UNOPS project related photo gallery “Sampling of Industrial Waste”

Slide #9 – Private collection, K. J. Benoy (Both London)Slide #19 - Images courtesy of OxfamSlide #20 - Images courtesy of Operation Eyesight International and

Mrs. Gullison.Slide #21 - Image courtesy of Operation Eyesight International.Slide #26 - Images courtesy of the Schumacher Centre for Technology

DevelopmentSlide #28 – Private collection, K.J. Benoy and Grameen Communication