GEO – Unit 3 Notes
3.1. Global trends in consumption
Consumption – the level of resources needed or used by a society
Sustainable development – development that “meets the needs of the current generation
without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”
Extreme poverty – when a person’s income is too low for basic human needs to be met,
potentially resulting in hunger and homelessness
Absolute poverty – when a person makes less than $1.90 a day
Relative poverty – when a person’s income is too low to maintain the average standard of living
in a given society
Reasons for global poverty reduction
Increase in government spending – in health care, education, access to better sanitation, etc.
decrease in unemployment, increase in quality of life + standards of living
Globalisation – increasing access to emerging markets by TNCs for cheap labour, resources and
large markets for manufactured goods
Rising incomes – increase in the demand for high-value manufactured goods
Technological advancement – many parts of the world have access to technology for the
production of good and services job creation in developing economies
New Global Middle Class (NGMC)
o The number of people belonging to the NGMC is increasing
o People with incomes ranging between $3650 and $36500 a year
o These people have discretionary incomes who can consume goods, the upper and
private health care + holidays + cars
Fragile Middle Class
o Those who have escaped poverty but have yet to join the NGMC
o They earn between $2 and $10 daily
o Include most countries in Sub Saharan Africa, e.g. Ghana
Resource – a feature of the environment which is needed and used by people. E.g. raw
materials, climate, vegetation and soil
Reasons for the growing significance of non-renewable and renewable energy supplies
o Increased demand for natural resources by HICs
o Increased resource exploitation in LICs to meet demand from the increasing population
for roads, housing, education, jobs, etc.
, o General rise in world population increase demand for goods and services. However,
this leads to environmental degradation, e.g. soil erosion, water pollution, air pollution,
etc.
Ecological footprint – measurement of the total area of land and water a population requires to
produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its waste
o It examines the theoretical relationship between population size and resource
consumption
Challenges with accurately calculating the ecological footprints
o Climatic factors
o Technological factors
o Human and economic factors
How can a country increase its ecological footprint?
Increasing consumption of food and meat – as more land would be needed for the cultivation
of crops and raising livestock more water resources needed to sustain their growth +
development overtime
Increasing consumption of non-renewable sources – e.g. oil, coal and natural gas, since they are
non-renewable, they can be over exploited and future generations are unlikely to benefit from
it implies increase in carbon footprint increase in the amount of GHG in atmosphere
High per capita consumption of food and energy – higher demand for food and energy
resources by the rich
Increasing importation of resources from other countries
Using less renewable resources – e.g. solar, wind, hydropower, tidal energy, etc.
Lack of investment in technology – could help in conservation or resources, e.g. the use of fibre
glass or artificial goods + recycling plants for recyclable materials
How can a country decrease its ecological footprint?
Opposite as above – increase consumption of renewable resources and decrease consumption
of non-renewable resources
Carbon footprint – the total quantity of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual,
organisation, event, product or nation, expressed in units of tons of carbon emitted
Water security – when all the people at all times, have sustainable access to adequate
quantities of acceptable-quality water for sustaining livelihoods, well-being + development
Physical water scarcity – when physical access to water is limited such that water consumption
exceeds 60% of the usable water supply – when demand for water > supply of water
Economic water scarcity – when a population lacks the supply of water even though it is
available, but it’s not accessible due to economic reasons – e.g. due to lack of the necessary
monetary needs to utilize an adequate source of water
3.1. Global trends in consumption
Consumption – the level of resources needed or used by a society
Sustainable development – development that “meets the needs of the current generation
without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”
Extreme poverty – when a person’s income is too low for basic human needs to be met,
potentially resulting in hunger and homelessness
Absolute poverty – when a person makes less than $1.90 a day
Relative poverty – when a person’s income is too low to maintain the average standard of living
in a given society
Reasons for global poverty reduction
Increase in government spending – in health care, education, access to better sanitation, etc.
decrease in unemployment, increase in quality of life + standards of living
Globalisation – increasing access to emerging markets by TNCs for cheap labour, resources and
large markets for manufactured goods
Rising incomes – increase in the demand for high-value manufactured goods
Technological advancement – many parts of the world have access to technology for the
production of good and services job creation in developing economies
New Global Middle Class (NGMC)
o The number of people belonging to the NGMC is increasing
o People with incomes ranging between $3650 and $36500 a year
o These people have discretionary incomes who can consume goods, the upper and
private health care + holidays + cars
Fragile Middle Class
o Those who have escaped poverty but have yet to join the NGMC
o They earn between $2 and $10 daily
o Include most countries in Sub Saharan Africa, e.g. Ghana
Resource – a feature of the environment which is needed and used by people. E.g. raw
materials, climate, vegetation and soil
Reasons for the growing significance of non-renewable and renewable energy supplies
o Increased demand for natural resources by HICs
o Increased resource exploitation in LICs to meet demand from the increasing population
for roads, housing, education, jobs, etc.
, o General rise in world population increase demand for goods and services. However,
this leads to environmental degradation, e.g. soil erosion, water pollution, air pollution,
etc.
Ecological footprint – measurement of the total area of land and water a population requires to
produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its waste
o It examines the theoretical relationship between population size and resource
consumption
Challenges with accurately calculating the ecological footprints
o Climatic factors
o Technological factors
o Human and economic factors
How can a country increase its ecological footprint?
Increasing consumption of food and meat – as more land would be needed for the cultivation
of crops and raising livestock more water resources needed to sustain their growth +
development overtime
Increasing consumption of non-renewable sources – e.g. oil, coal and natural gas, since they are
non-renewable, they can be over exploited and future generations are unlikely to benefit from
it implies increase in carbon footprint increase in the amount of GHG in atmosphere
High per capita consumption of food and energy – higher demand for food and energy
resources by the rich
Increasing importation of resources from other countries
Using less renewable resources – e.g. solar, wind, hydropower, tidal energy, etc.
Lack of investment in technology – could help in conservation or resources, e.g. the use of fibre
glass or artificial goods + recycling plants for recyclable materials
How can a country decrease its ecological footprint?
Opposite as above – increase consumption of renewable resources and decrease consumption
of non-renewable resources
Carbon footprint – the total quantity of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual,
organisation, event, product or nation, expressed in units of tons of carbon emitted
Water security – when all the people at all times, have sustainable access to adequate
quantities of acceptable-quality water for sustaining livelihoods, well-being + development
Physical water scarcity – when physical access to water is limited such that water consumption
exceeds 60% of the usable water supply – when demand for water > supply of water
Economic water scarcity – when a population lacks the supply of water even though it is
available, but it’s not accessible due to economic reasons – e.g. due to lack of the necessary
monetary needs to utilize an adequate source of water
