ES101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Gross Domestic Product, Ecological Footprint, Natural Capital
23 Nov 2012
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Document Summary
Environment is everything that affects a living organism. Ecology is a biological science that studies the relationships between a living organism and their environment. Environmentalism is a social movement towards protecting the earth"s life support systems for us and other species. The sun and the earth"s natural capital keep us alive. Economists (capital = wealth), analogy (capital = solar energy) and creates wind power/hydropower/biomass. Natural resources or capital = air, water, soil, energy, minerals. Biological income = renewable supplies of wood, fish, grassland for grazing, underground water for drinking and irrigation. Carrying capacity is the max number of organisms that can be maintained in an area without degrading the environment. Sustainability is the ability of a system to survive for an extended period of time. An environmentally sustainable society meets current needs of its people for food, clean water and air, shelter, etc. without affecting future generation"s needs. 1-2 population growth, economic growth, economic development, and globalization.
