General Ecology and Population Issues Mrs. B-Z

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 the 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) 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

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

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 hand has lead to some countries having reproductive law to decrease population growth.

                                                                                        1804 1927 1960 1974 1987 1999 2013 2028 2054 2100 1 billion 2 billion 3 billion 4 billion 5 billion 6 billion 7 billion 8 billion 9 billion (range of estimates: 10.4-17 billion) Population Estimates

The population statistics—people living on the planet at the same time. 60,000 years ago = 1 billion 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

MDC = More Developed Countries A country whose standard of living is similar to the US Industrialized or post-industrialized societies Which countries can you think of that fall into this category?

LDC—Less Developed Countries Countries that 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?

Map of Countries

Population Changes

Map of Countries

What caused these jumps in population? 10,000 – 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 country; imported and exported goods

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

Population Density

Populations

Birth Rates = live births /1000

Death Rates Deaths/1000 Factors: Health care Technology Preventative care Working conditions Retirement

Death Rates

NPG and ZPG ZPG = Zero Population Growth What is the birth rate for zero population growth? NPG = Negative Population Growth Negative population growth can be achieved by decreasing the birth rate to less than 2 per woman of childbearing age or increasing the death rate.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) Average number of children that a woman will have during her childbearing years

Factors Affecting TFRs Traditions Education Marriage Divorce Religion Health Children as labor Urbanization Cost of raising a child Average marrying age Pensions Availability of abortion Contraception

Infant Mortality—infants who do not live to age one year

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 Iron Copper Aluminum Salt Clay Sand phosphates 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

General Ecology Terms and Definitions

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

Answers

Pollution and Degradation Defining and Understanding

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

Types of Pollution Number of people x resources x environmental degradation = environmental impact

Two sources of pollution 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)

Which would be advocated by environmentalists? Pollution Solutions Prevention Cleanup Which would be advocated by environmentalists?

Waste and Recycling

Facts about Waste Longevity How long will these last in a landfill? Banana Peel? 2 years Plastic bag? 10-20 years Plastic bottle? 100 years Aluminum Can? 500 years Glass bottles? 1,000 years Styrofoam? 10,000 years at least

What is a landfill?

Alternatives for Waste Reduce Reuse Recycle Incinerate Compost

What is Recyclable? Glass Wood Aluminum Most metals Paper Plastic (most)

Incinerate—burn waste to ash which is buried Incinerators Incinerate—burn waste to ash which is buried

Can you think of any problems with this process?

Composting Compost—creates a sweet, organic fertilizer; enriches soil

Can you think of any problems with this process?

We don’t have to share beliefs but we do have to share the planet!