Overpopulation: the condition of having more people than can live on the earth in comfort, happiness and health AND still leave the world a fit place for future generations (Kinder) Source: Kinder, C. (1998) “The Population Explosion: Causes and Consequences”. http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1998/7/98.07.02.x.html

How many is “too many”? Carrying Capacity: The amount of people that can live on Earth and have their basic resource needs for food, shelter, warmth, and water met without depriving future generations of these same resources. Is the Earth’s carrying capacity a fixed number? Can it be determined mathematically?

What is the carrying capacity of your home? At what number of people would your home be too crowded for people to live happily, healthily, and comfortably? (Think about needs for space, furniture, hot water, bathroom time, etc) For every new family member added to a household, in what categories of consumer goods does the family’s consumption increase?

As population of a household increases, increased needs for consumer goods can be solved by buying a bigger house and more things OR buy cutting back on demand Can we apply the same logic to increased demand for natural resources as Earth’s population increases?

A society of 100 people uses 100 trees/year for its wood product needs. The society’s population increases to 200. What are the society’s options for meeting the increased population’s wood needs?

The society is facing the problem of SCARCITY Rule of Scarcity: Because humans have infinite needs and wants and all resources are finite, humans must always make decisions about resource use and allocation

Country’s Options for dealing with Tree Scarcity

World Population Growth Through History Billions 12 11 2100 10 9 Modern Age 8 Old Stone Bronze Iron Middle 7 Age New Stone Age Age Age Ages 6 2000 Future 5 4 1975 3 1950 2 1900 1 Black Death — The Plague 1800 1+ million 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 A.D. A.D. A.D. A.D. A.D. A.D. years B.C. B.C. B.C. B.C. B.C. B.C. B.C. 1 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Source: Population Reference Bureau; and United Nations, World Population Projections to 2100 (1998).

Where is population rising the fastest? SO WHAT?

Grain consumption would = 2/3 global grain production Imagine the year 2031, consumption in China reaches the same level as in the US… Grain consumption would = 2/3 global grain production Meat consumption would = 4/5 global production Coal and oil consumption would exceed global production Source: Aslam, A. 5/9/2005. “Planet Faces Nightmare Forecasts as Chinese Consumption Grows and Grows”. http://us.oneworld.net/node/107336

Global Consumption in 2009 Europe and North America accounts for 60% of money spent on consumer consumption but only 12% of global population South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are 33% of global population but comprise only 3.3% of consumer consumption What will happen to global consumption of goods and resources as South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa develop economically? Source: Worldwatch Institute. http://www.worldwatch.org/node/810#3

The Malthusian Catastrophe Thomas Malthus (1766-1834): A British political economist who predicted that population growth, because it is geometric, would outpace resource renewal, and thus “man” would bring about his own misery and/or extinction by overpopulating the Earth. Is a Malthusian Catastrophe inevitable or avoidable?

What does it all mean? The Footprint Lesson: Measuring human impact on our environment and trying to create a sustainable lifestyle

Warm Up In your journal, write a detailed (without getting too personal!) summary of everything you did from the time you woke up this morning until you got to school. (Be aware you will be sharing and applying this activity later in the lesson.)

Environmental Footprint a measurement of the area (in hectares) of land that is required to satisfy a person’s consumption of resources and (Note: we will add the second half of the definition later) 1 hectare= approx. 2.5 acres (or 2.5 football fields)

Complete Footprint

Environmental Footprint: Part 2 a measurement of the area (in hectares) of land that is required to satisfy a person’s consumption of resources… and to absorb the waste generated by the person. landfills Water pollution Air pollution/ greenhouse gases

Some Facts to Ponder… TOTAL ecologically productive land on Earth= 21 billion acres arable and cropland: 3.2 billion acres pastureland: 8.4 billion acres forest: 10 billion acres Land available per capita (in acres) based on global population predictions of 9 billion for year 2050: arable pasture forest TOTAL 2006 0.52 1.33 1.61 3.46 2009 0.48 1.23 1.49 3.20 2050 0.36 0.92 1.11 2.39 YET, average American’s footprint is 3.5 acres and developing world is trying to match our lifestyle/footprint. (Palmer, A.R. 1999; 2009)

A Sustainable Footprint

Can economics solve the problems of scarcity and environmental damage as population grows? What is the incentive for sustainable practices? Will people/businesses decide to practice sustainable production and consumption just because it is the right thing to do? How do we avoid the tragedy of the commons? Must every person/country practice sustainable living in order for us to solve the problems of overshoot and environmental destruction?