ENVS 1000U Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Industrial Revolution, Commodification, Habitat Destruction
18 Jan 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Consists of both: biotic factors, abiotic factors. Common use of term separates humans from rest of nature. Humans exist within the environment part of the natural world. Humans depend on a properly functioning planet for our survival. Human actions have brought beneficial changes (longer life spans, etc. ) Other human actions have brought undesirable change (environmental problems) Humans interactions with our environment are important. Need to understand these interactions to devise sustainable. Impact 1: human population growth has affected resource availability. Human population has increased to >7 billion. Medical technological revolutions led to longer healthier lives produced more children. Consumption of resources has risen faster than population growth: life has become better, rising consumption amplifies demands made on environment. Resources (soil, timber and clean water) are renewable only if we do not overuse them. Non renewable resources (oil, minerals) can be depleted. Total impact (i) on environment results from interaction of population (p), affluence (a)
