2. 3.1 Two Revolutions That Changed the Earth
The Agricultural Revolution
Began in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago
The Industrial Revolution
Began in 18th Century Europe
3. 3.1.1 Hunting and Gathering
Hunters and Gatherers
Our ancestors lived by foraging until 10,000 years
ago
Stayed in small, family-based groups
Nomads who wandered from place to place to take
advantage of changing opportunities on the landscape
Because of this movement, they had a relatively limited
impact on the natural environment
An ecologically dominant species
Competed more successfully than other organisms for
nutrition and other essentials of life; Exerted a greater
influence than other species on the environment
Pleistocene Overkill Hypothesis
Hunted many species to extinction
4. Rock Art from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula
This artifact depicts Neolithic-period hunting of ibex, later
uses
of camels and horses, and writing from the Nabatean
5. 3.1.2 Farming: Welcome to the Anthropocene
Domestication brought about the Agricultural Revolution
Explanation for shift from hunt-and-gather to production?
Change in Climate
Growing populations compelled people to find new food sources
Abandonment of nomadic lifestyles
Shift from extensive land use to intensive land use
People settled into small villages with fixed dwellings
Through dry farming, population densities could be 10-20x higher
than they were in hunting and gathering mode
Irrigation along the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile Rivers
Bringing water to land artificially through levers and channels
Raised carrying capacity and set stage for civilization
Domesticated plants and animals proliferated at the expense
of wild species
6. 3.1.2 Farming: Welcome to the Anthropocene
Civilization was enabled by increased food production
Complex culture of urban life characterized by writing,
economic specialization, social stratification, and high
population concentrations
Several Culture Hearths emerged between 8000 and 2500
B.C.E. in China, SE Asia, Indus River Valley, Egypt, West
Africa, Mesoamerica, and the Andes
Carrying Capacity
Expanding food surpluses of the Agricultural Revolution
raised the size of the human population that the Earth’s
ecosystem could support
Upon early plant and animal domestication (about 10,000
years ago), Earth’s population was fewer than 5 million
Today, there are more than 7 billion people on Earth
8. 3.1.3 The Industrial Revolution
Began in Europe around 1750 C.E.
Based on technological breakthroughs made
possible by:
Western Europe had economic capital necessary for
experimentation, innovation, and risk
Significant improvements in agricultural productivity
took place in Europe prior to 1500
Population Growth
Greater number of people to devote their talents
and labor to experimentation and innovation
9. 3.1.4 Industrialization, Colonization &
Environmental Change
Age of Discovery (Age of Exploration – 15th Cent)
As local supplies of resources needed for industrial
production were depleted, Europeans looked abroad
Exploration Resulted in Colonization
European political and economic control over foreign areas
Industrial Revolution’s Impact on Environment
Since 1750, total forested area on earth has declined by
more than 20%
Total cropland has grown by 500% during same period
Human use of energy increased 100-fold since 1750
10. 3.2 The Geography of Development
Large disparity between wealthy and poor people
Evident both within and between countries
“Haves” vs. “Have-Nots”
More Developed Countries (MDCs)
Less Developed Countries (LDCs)
Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs)
11. Wealth and Poverty By Country
Note the concentration of wealth in the
middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere
12.
13. 3.2.1 Measuring Development
There is no universally accepted standard for
measuring wealth and poverty on the global scale
However, these are some common indices:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Total output of goods and services that a country produces for
home use in a year
Gross National Product (GNP)
Also includes foreign output by domestically owned producers
Gross National Income (GNI)
Includes GDP plus income from abroad from sources such as
rents, profits, and labors
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)
Considers differences in relative prices of goods and services
Measured in current “international dollars”
Human Development Index (HDI)
Scale that considers attributes of quality of life
14.
15. 3.2.2 Why Are Some Countries Rich &
Others Poor?
Dependency Theory
Argues that the worldwide economic pattern
established by both the Industrial Revolution and
colonialism persists today
Advantageous & Disadvantageous Location
Location can influence a country’s economic fortunes
Resource Wealth or Poverty
Cultural and Historical Factors
16. 3.2.3 Environmental Impacts of Underdevelopment
LDCs have to borrow money from MDCs to fund
development
Many LDCs are unable to pay even the interest on
these loans
When lender institutions threaten to cut off
assistance, borrowing countries often try to raise
money quickly using these methods:
Dedication of high-quality land to production of cash crops,
which are exported to MDCs as luxury items
Sale of Natural Assets
Methods have a drastic long-term effect on the
environment
Humans using resources faster than nature can replace it
Ecological Bankruptcy
Occurs when countries exhaust their environmental capital
18. 3.3 The Geography of Population
The study of population is known as demography
Population may be the most critical issue in
geography; Welfare of humanity and Earth’s other
species and natural habitats is tied to:
The number of people
The rate at which people consume resources
Human Population Explosion since 1800
Will it lead to a crisis?
Migration
Spread of cultures, ideas, and opportunities
Can spark tension and violence
19. 3.3.1 How Many People Have Lived on Earth?
Homo Sapiens ancestors came out of Africa around
100,000 years ago to populate Eurasia
Population Explosion
1 Billion in 1800
2 Billion in 1930
4 Billion in 1975
6 Billion in 1999
Humans now are by far the most populous large mammal
on earth
21. 3.3.2 How Can We Measure Population Changes?
Birth Rate
Annual number of live births
per 1,000 people in a population
Death Rate
Annual number of deaths
per 1,000 people in a population
Population Change Rate
Birth Rate minus the Death Rate
May represent either a growth or a loss
22. 3.3.3 What Determines Family Size?
Better-educated and wealthier people, understanding
the economic cost of raising and educating a child,
tend to have fewer children
Less educated and poorer people generally have more
children, sometimes to have additional workers to
bring in more family income
People in cities tend to have fewer children than those
in rural areas
Those who marry earlier tend to have more children
Couples with access to and understanding of
contraception generally have fewer children
Value systems and cultural norms play critical roles
23. 3.3.4 What Determines Death Rates?
Death rates correlate mainly with health factors
Death rates can be reduced by:
Better sanitation
Better hygiene
Cleaner drinking water
Availability of antibiotics and immunizations
Availability of insecticides
Improvements in medical and public health technologies
Death rates rise with epidemics
HIV/AIDS, Black Death, etc.
Life Expectancy
Number of years a person may expect to live in an
environment
United States Life Expectancy in 2011
80 years for Women
75 years for Men
24. Life Expectancy at Birth
Life expectancy is closely tied to economic well-being.
People live longer where they can afford the medicines
and other amenities and technologies that prolong life.
25. 3.3.5 What Determines the Population Change Rate?
Rate of population change has been affected throughout
history by natural disasters, diseases, and wars
With birth rates higher than death rates,
the trend has been one of growth
Doubling Time
Number of years required for human population to double
Computed by dividing 70 by the growth rate
As of 2011, the global population change rate of 1.2%
means a doubling time of 58 years
26. Natural Rate of Population Change
Population change rates are highest in the countries
of Africa and other regions of the developing world
and lowest in the more affluent countries.
27. 3.3.6 Why Has the Human Population “Exploded”?
If the birth rate is high and the death rate is low,
the population surges
This scenario has been occurring since around 1800
This result has not been caused by a rise in birth
rates, but because the death rate has fallen
Improvements in agricultural and medical technologies
Demographic Transition Model
Stage 1: Preindustrial
Stage 2: Transitional
Stage 3: Industrial
Stage 4: Postindustrial
28. Demographic Transition Model
Note how the population surged in the wake of the Industrial
Revolution
as death rates fell while birth rates remained high but then
leveled out
29. 3.3.7 The Age Structure Diagram
Population Pyramid
Classifies a population by gender and by 5-year age
increments
Diagram Shapes
LDCs are more bottom-heavy and pyramid-shaped
MDCs are more chimney-shaped
Population Under Age 15
29% of population of the poorer countries
16% of population of the wealthier countries
30. Age Structure Diagrams
A poor country, Niger has a relatively high
birth rate, with about 48% of the population
under age 15. The United States’ population
is growing slowly, while Germany and some
other industrialized nations are losing
populations.
32. 3.3.8 Where Do We Live?
The natural setting is the most important factor
China and India are most populous countries
China has a population of 1.4 billion
India has a population of 1.3 billion
1/3 of people on earth today are Chinese or Indian
United States ranks as 3rd most populated
Migration the most important factor in increasing
population
33. World Population Cartogram
The demographic heavyweights of China and India stand
out
in the world population cartogram. The United States and
Indonesia,
the world’s third and fourth most populous countries, are
prominent too.
35. 3.3.9 Geography of Migration
Migration refers to the movement of people
Within a community, within a country or between countries
Emigrant One who moves FROM a place
Immigrant One who moves TO a place
Migration is driven by Push and Pull Factors
Examples of Push Factors
When hunger or lack of land “pushes” people from rural
areas into cities, or when warfare or natural disasters push
people from one place to another
Examples of Pull Factors
Moving to a new area to take advantage of a job
or educational opportunity
36. Global Migration Trends
The global picture of people on the move. The major
trends
are of migrants in search of work in more affluent
countries
and of refugees driven by warfare or environmental
37. 3.3.10 How Many People Will Live on Earth?
Although it has been possible to calculate how
many people have lived on the earth in the past
with some confidence, projecting future numbers
is difficult
Will birth rates fall faster than anticipated in
developing world?
Will death rates surge due to disease or other
epidemics?
Predictions by the United Nations
In 2050, the global population will be 9.3 billion
The maximum number of people that will ever live on
the earth at one time will be 10 billion in 2100
38. Family Planning Billboard in Cairo, Egypt
This sign on the main square in Cairo, Egypt, urges
parents
to have no more than two children “for the sake of a better
40. 3.3.11 The Malthusian Scenario
Thomas Malthus
English clergyman who lived during Industrial
Revolution
He postulated that human populations, growing
geometrically or exponentially, would exceed food
supplies, which grow only arithmetically or linearly
He predicted a catastrophic human die-off as a result
of this irreconcilable equation
Neo-Malthusians vs. Technocentrists
Neo-Malthusians insist that birth rates must be
brought down or humans will suffer nature’s solution,
a
catastrophic increase in death rates
Technocentrists are optimists who believe people
can raise the earth’s carrying capacity
43. 3.3.12 What Is “Overpopulation”?
People Overpopulation
Characteristic of the LDCs
Many persons, with each using a small quantity of
natural resources daily to sustain life
Consumption Overpopulation
Characteristic of the MDCs
Fewer persons, but each uses a large quantity of
natural resources from ecosystems around the world
45. 3.4 An Action Plan for Global Problems
Death Rate Solution & Lifeboat Ethics
Birth Rate Solution & Sustainable Development
46. 3.4.1 Death Rate Solution & Lifeboat Ethics
“Let nature take its course”
Allow people imperiled by famine or other catastrophe to perish
Lifeboat Ethics
Introduced by ecologist Garrett Hardin
Instead of seeing earth as a “global village” with a single
carrying capacity, views the world as a number of distinct
“lifeboats,” each occupied by the citizens of single countries
Each wealthy nation is a lifeboat comfortably seating a few
people
Each poor nation is a lifeboat so overcrowded that many fall
overboard
While the occupants of the rich lifeboats can choose to take on
the overboard refugees, Hardin suggests not, instead
preserving their own standard of living and ensuring the
world’s safety for themselves and their future generations
48. 3.4.2 Birth Rate Solution & Sustainable Development
People must change their worldviews and value systems,
recognizing finiteness of resources and reducing their
expectations to a level sustainable by earth’s capabilities
People should recognize that development and environmental
protection are compatible
People should consider the needs of future generations more
Communities and countries should strive for self-reliance,
particularly through the use of appropriate technologies
LDCs need to limit population growth as a means of avoiding
the destructive impacts of people overpopulation
Governments need to practice land reform, particularly in LDCs
Economic growth in MDCs should be slowed to reduce
effects of consumption overpopulation
Wealth should be redistributed between MDCs and LDCs
