NATS 1510 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Photosynthesis, Water Cycle, Renewable Energy
19 Jun 2016
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Document Summary
Agricultural revolution, steady state conditions, population size and wealth. Agricultural revolution, population and food supply increase, accumulation of wealth. Solar energy, industrial revolution, coal, natural gas, uranium, machines to convert energy into work, increases in population and wealth. Gdp, gross domestic product, total market value of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year, increased consistently since late 1800s. Economists and economic growth, improved conditions, harm to the environment. Continued growth may not be sustainable in long run. Business and government: sustainability = economic growth plus environmental protection. Environmental protection = eco-efficiency, increasing growth while using minimum resources and producing minimum pollution. Eco-efficiency a technological fix, new technologies, efficiency, less resources, producing less waste. Limits to technology"s contribution to sustainability: energy conversion efficiencies, minimum material inputs to sustain levels of production, limiting ability to. Dematerialize economy: there is no such thing as an industrial process with a zero environmental impact.
