Lecture 10

November 3, 2008

• discussion of paper with focus on some of the key concepts
• advising and curriculum projection (worth 5 points)

Papers due - discuss the assignment - link

1. I = PAT

another version (from Jeffrey Sachs 2008 "Common Wealth: Economics for a crowded planet")

• I = P * A / S where S is the units of production that come from sustainable technology
• higher S means more production from the same amount of resources
• Sachs claims that developing "S technologies" for helping people out of poverty needs to be subsidized and supported differently than other innovative technologies because of the economic nature of the target population

abrupt/threshold changes that aren't explicitly represented in the IPAT or IPA/S models.

• threshold (link)

 

2. Loss of biodiversity

see review of Chapter 11 below.

3. stabilizing population through industrialization similar to the "demographic" transition

new view of the demographic transition

• fertility highest for couples that are more closely related (distant cousins)
• industrialization leads to more mixing of the population - lowers couples' fertility
• Economist - Feb 7-2008

2.

Chapter 11:

• three types of extinction
  • locally
  • ecologically - no longer serving its function
  • globally - total extinction
• common characteristics of endangered species
• basic causes of extinction
  • population growth
  • rising resource use
  • not accounted for in economics
  • poverty
• secondary
  • stem from these above
  • habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation
  • invasive and non-native species introduction
  • over fishing
  • rapid climate change
  • predator and/or pest control
  • pollution - habitat degradation or stress
  • commercial hunting and illegal poaching
  • sale of rare and exotic species or products
• non-native species
• legal approaches to saving species
• habitat fragmentation
  • reserves and cooridors
  • critical value of fragmentation