2. Contrasting Places Bangladesh population density = 981 people/km 2 Sudan population density = 15.6 people/km2 Which one is over populated?
3. Contrasting Places Amsterdam (the Netherlands, population density = 397 people/km2) Calcutta (India, population density = 330 people/km2) Which one is over populated?
4. What does this clip tell us about the relationship (conflict) between people and resources?
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6. Under-population – when there are not enough people to fully exploit the available resources.
7. Optimum population – when the population of a country is fully utilizing its available resources and technology to provide the highest standard of living possible.
8. Carrying capacity – the number of people that can be supported by the available resources within a particular area without the long-term depletion of those resources.
19. Malthus recognised that population if unchecked, grows at a geometric rate: 1 2 4 8 16 32 However, food only increases at an arithmetic rate, as land is finite. 1 2 3 4 5 6
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21. Eventually the number of people exceeds the available resources (food) and checks set in.
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23. Malthus favoured moral restraint (including late marriage and sexual abstinence) as a check on population growth. However, it is worth noting that Malthus proposed this only for the working and poor classes!
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26. 'J' Curve - Population Crash Model Where do famine etc. fit?
40. In it he warned of doom and gloom - resource depletion, species extinction and a human population so large that as a species we would face mass poverty, famine, starvation and death.
41. According to Ehrlich, the Earth had reached its carrying capacity long ago and we were living on borrowed time.
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43. Simon thought that all of the doom and gloom of Ehrlich was nothing but nonsense. He claimed that resources are infinite in the sense that human beings will never run out of them for whatever purpose they decide to use them for.
45. The Bet Ehrlich predicted that the prices of resources should increase. Why? Simon countered Ehrlich's saying that in fact the price of resources would decrease over time. Why?
46. In 1980, Simon offered Ehrlich a bet. Ehrlich could choose any five raw materials he wanted. Simon sold Ehrlich an option to buy an amount of each raw material worth $200 in 1980 dollars. If the prices increased over the next ten years, Simon would pay Ehrlich; however, if the prices decreased over the same time period, Ehrlich would have to pay Simon.
51. Ehrlich had lost. He sent Simon a check and nothing else. Simon offered to bet again and up the ante to $20,000; Ehrlich declined.
52. Let's apply Simon's logic to another commodity, petroleum. In 1980 the price of a barrel of sweet crude oil was approximately $32. By 1990, the price had fallen to $20 per barrel. According to Simon’s logic this would mean that we have more oil than we had before and that we weren't running out of oil. Is this the case?
53. A Continuum How would population management strategies between these two extreme perspectives vary? What type of compromise perspective might exist? Eco-centric Deep Ecologists (Doomsters) believe that rapid population growth and increased levels of development have led to a situation where there are insufficient resources and too much waste and pollution. Techno-centric Cornucopians (Boomsters) champion the ability of humans to innovate, develop and adapt, as the solution to the issues associated with population growth, resource consumption and waste?
