III. Human Societies

A. Hunter gatherer societies

1. Nomadic people

2. Gather food naturally or hunt

3. Many lasted into modern times but were out competed

4. Low populations and little impact on the environment

5. Very stable without disturbance

B. Agricultural societies1. About 20 to 10,000 years ago

2. People stopped roaming and divided the work

3. Most important invention was the plow

4. Produced surplus food so some did not need to farm

5. Increased population and damaged environment

a. Decreases natural vegetation and formed deserts

C. Industrial societies1. Food is produced by machinery

a. Requires a lot of energy and resources

2. Began in 1700’s when steam engine was invented

3. Accompanied by scientific gains that upped crop yield

4. Populations boomed and pollution destroyed the environment

IV. History of Human Populations

A. Mathematical Increases1. Malthus described human growth as a geometric increase

a. Multiplies as increases

b. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16…

2. Problem is food increases arithmetically

a. Add the same number each time

b. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…

3. We outgrow our supplies

B. History

1. Hunter-gatherer populations were low

a. Predation, disease, and starvation

2. Agricultural revolution provided more food so populations could increase

a. Also it made the living standards better

3. Industrial societies improved on the agriculture even more

a. Made work safer and shorter which increased length of

life

4. Health care greatly contributed

a. Germ theory became accepted so hygiene improved

b. Also gave rise to antibiotics and vaccines

C. Declines

1. Human populations have shown times of decrease

2. Plagues, cholera, malaria, and smallpox lowered the population

a. Black death killed 25% of the world

3. Famines like the Irish potato famine drops local populations

a. Fungus killed potatoes

4. During times of war you can see the population drop on graphs

a. 17 million people in WWII

V. Sustainable Development

A. Frontier Ethic

1. Ethics are the rules by which a society is governed

2. Frontier ethic

a. Modern industrial society ethic

b. Humans are separate from nature

3. 3 rules of frontier ethic

a. Resources are unlimited and meant for humans

b. Humans do not obey natural laws

c. Success is measured by the control of the natural world

B. Sustainable yield1. Meets current needs without hurting future generations2. Three basic rules

a. Resources are limited and not meant for humansb. Humans must obey natural lawsc. Success is living in harmony

with the natural world3. Bases uses on what is renewable and what is not