GEOG 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Political Ecology, Anthropocene, Vital Record
1 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
!1
Population & Agri-food Systems
I. Global Climate Change
•Anthropocene
•Climate Change : a change in the state of the climate that can be identified via statistical
tests, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity
•Anthropogenic Climate Change
•Weather does not equal Climate
•Warming World
II. Political Ecology
•social processes are linked to environmental processes, & environmental problems are
shaped by social processes
•political ecology asks who stands to benefit & who is harmed by environmental changes, &
how we might pursue a more sustainable & equitable world based upon this knowledge
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!2
•environmental racism —> the increased exposure or vulnerability of minority communities
to hazardous environmental factors, such as toxic waste, pollution, & urban decay
-even when controlling for income alone, race matters! (Bullard) (race & class)
-Not In My BackYard (NIMBY) : process by which pipeline is deviated around
affluent, white communities (unequal power distribution)
III. Environmental Justice
•“environmental justice embraces the principle that all people and communities are entitled
to equal protection of our environmental laws — means fair treatment & all people
(regardless of race, color, or national origin) are involved when it comes to implementing
& enforcing environmental laws, regulations, & policies “ (Bullard)
-some degree of regulation on industries
-environmental protections should be equally applied (not cut by race & class)
-“Justice is about regulation” (Bullard)
•I = PAT
-I —> environmental impact
-P —> population
-A —> affluence
-T —> technologies
•two key focuses of Environmental Justice scholarship
1. distribution & spatial inequity
2. processes that produce these patterns
•3 Spheres of Sustainability
•Bullard : “toxic colonialism”
-the developed countries intoxicate the underdeveloped countries (use poverty as
excuse)
-we need regulations to engage with the unequal distribution of effects
•Carson : insecticide
-rush to embrace new technologies
-critiques particular idea in agriculture : man’s control of nature
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!3
-we creating problems for generations to come; we need regulations to fight harmful
chemicals
•Flint Water Crisis
-lead from pipes leak into drinking/tap water of majority black communities
•Climate justice —> idea that people should have equal protections for climate change
-polluting industries disproportionately polluting
-ills of climate change should be equally distributed
-national level os gas emissions is disproportionate
IV. Population Geographies & Agri-food Systems
•population & resources
-Thomas Malthus : “the power of the population is indefinitely greater than the power
of the earth to produce subsistence”; opposition to poor laws
-critiques of Malthus
•ignores human ingenuity
•no unchanging law of population
-2017 population : about 7.6 billion
• projected to increase (1.2% annual until mid-century)
•core vs. periphery growth
•Demography
-characteristics of a human population —> uses a variety of instruments & institutions
to measure populations (births, deaths, marriages, migration, etc.)
-census —> vital records
-limitations : costly, time consuming, problems with comparison)
•Population Distribution
-distribution vs composition vs. dynamics
-dynamics —> geographic processes
•environmental & physical factors
•political & economic experiences
-population can be investigated at many scales (global, national, regional, metropolitan)
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
!2: environmental racism > the increased exposure or vulnerability of minority communities to hazardous environmental factors, such as toxic waste, pollution, & urban decay. Even when controlling for income alone, race matters! (bullard) (race & class) Not in my backyard (nimby) : process by which pipeline is deviated around affluent, white communities (unequal power distribution) & enforcing environmental laws, regulations, & policies (bullard) Environmental protections should be equally applied (not cut by race & class) Justice is about regulation (bullard: i = pat. T > technologies: two key focuses of environmental justice scholarship, distribution & spatial inequity, processes that produce these patterns, 3 spheres of sustainability, bullard : toxic colonialism . The developed countries intoxicate the underdeveloped countries (use poverty as excuse) We need regulations to engage with the unequal distribution of effects: carson : insecticide. Critiques particular idea in agriculture : man"s control of nature.
