PHIL 2070 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Carrying Capacity, Materials Science, Peak Oil
12 Jan 2017
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Can society develop economically without placing inordinate burdens on the natural environment? it is difficult for us to imagine an indefinitely expanding population that does not place significant, overwhelming burdens on the natural environment. The (cid:272)urre(cid:374)t i(cid:374)ter(cid:374)atio(cid:374)al (cid:271)oo(cid:373) i(cid:374) (cid:272)ar sales is a(cid:374) illustratio(cid:374) of this (cid:272)hapter(cid:859)s fo(cid:272)us: two forces at work: A (cid:272)orrespo(cid:374)di(cid:374)g o(cid:448)erall i(cid:374)(cid:272)rease i(cid:374) that populatio(cid:374)(cid:859)s (cid:272)o(cid:374)su(cid:373)ptio(cid:374) More cars on the road entails more consumption of fossil fuels. More people consuming more resources will inevitably affect, possibly to the breaking point, all kinds of natural goods and services: soil, climate, water supply, wilderness spaces, quality of forests/air, the viability of other species. Carrying capacity: the maximum number of individuals of a species that can be sustained indefinitely in a given physical space: to determine this number we have to look at: The species ability to resist diseases and parasites. Its ability to adapt to environment change and to migrate and live in other habitats.
