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36 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Zimmerman
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“The word resource does not refer to a thing orresource, but to functions which a thing or substance may perform… such assatisfying a want.”
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Neutral stuff
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everything that isn’t a resource to humans
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Renewable Resource
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within a humans life span
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Nonrenewable Resource
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usually over about 100 years to renew orjust does not renew itself at all
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Spatial variation
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– a resource in Canada may not be needed inAfrica Ex. Goose feather insolation would not be usedin Africa
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Temporal Variation |
- A resource today may not havebeen needed (or discovered) 500 years agoo Ex. Discovery of fossil fuelsushered the Industrial Revolution |
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According to “Perspective” |
- Biophysical (trees is a livingecosystem) - Economic (trees are worth $ inlumber) - Political (protecting treeshelps gain votes) - Social (trees is important tohealth and quality of life) - Legal (tree ownerships aredefined in property law) - Institutional (trees areadministered by Min. of Forests) - Technological (trees areharvested with tools) |
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Richard Nixon |
passed the most environmental laws in thehistory of the United States Government |
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5 stages of Downs Cycle |
1. Pre-problem 2. Alarmed Discovery & Euphoric Enthusiasm 3. Realizing the Cost 4. Gradual Decline 5. Post-problem |
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Creation of resources
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1. A potential is recognized(based on human need/want), but technical difficulty or cost of utilization maymean that the potential is not realized
2. Human ability and/or fallingcost of production (rising costs of producing alternatives) enables fordevelopment of the resource 3. Ecological impacts of resourcedevelopment and use have to be accountable for, according to human values andperception (trade-offs) |
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Destruction of resources
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1. Resources can be physicallydepleted - Extraction rate surpasses rateof natural replenish - Very few natural resources arephysically depleted - Most often, resources aredegraded so as to no longer be viable (copper in Capelton Mines)
2. Resources are no longer valuedby humans: - Changing perceptions orsocietal values (asbestos) - Changing technology (oilreplaces coal, Drake’s Drill)- Changes in economic valuation(dropping costs of recycling means reduction in stock resource extraction) |
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Availability of resources |
- Hugely different estimates forjust about every resource currently existing on the planet - Why the huge variation isestimates for the quantity of a resource? o Different assessment techniquesemployed o Varying assumptions made aboutthe future potential for technological and economic change o The resource itself might beclassified in various categories… (counted twice or more, etc.) |
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Proven Reserves |
– Discovered: Tech. & econ. Recoverable |
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Conditional reserves |
– Discovered: Sub-techn. & econ. Recoverable |
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Hypothetical resources |
Undiscovered: expected to exit based onpartial exploration of area |
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Speculative resources |
Undiscovered, assumed to exist based onsimilar areas elsewhere |
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Absorptive capacity |
water and air can only withhold so muchpollution |
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Sustainable capacity
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– A measure of availability thatis currently applied in management of most renewable resources
– It is officially called“sustained yield management” o In forestry, it determines theAnnual Allowable Cut (AAC) o In fisheries, it determines theTotal Allowable Catch (TAC) |
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Absorptive Capacity 2
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- Employed where environmentalmedia (water, land or air) are used for the disposal of waste of products fromhuman activity (land-fill sites, sewage, smokestacks, etc.)
- “Dilution is the solution”until the absorptive capacity is reached - Many factors affect absorptivecapacity o Rate of discharge o Bio-degradability, toxic,radio-activity o Human technological “fixes”(filters etc.) - Environmental change |
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Carrying Capacity
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- Used in attempt to establishlimits to human activities within natural regions
o Hikers in wilderness areas (seeESG264: Outdoor Recreation)o Suburban development and aarable farm land - Have to do with more thanpresence and density of activities, but also with changing values &perceptions of human o Crowding at a public beach ismore acceptable than crowding at the to of a remote mountain top - Also applied to wildlife crowdingas a result of human activities (deer-coyote population balance) |
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What is resource management?
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- Managing: the ability ofcapacity to control, handle, or direct
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Resource Analysis involves: |
- Studies of the natural resourcethemselves, spatial, temporal availability. - Studies of perspectives (biophysical, economic, social, political, etc.) which condition resourceallocations Study of impacts (ecological, economic, social,political etc.) of resource allocations |
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Resource Planning involves: |
- Identifying possible desirablefuture end states (see “developing visions” ) - Developing courses of actionmatch such end states |
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Complex Resource Problems |
- Because of their complexity,some resource problems are characterized as “wicked”, “messes”, or“metaproblems” |
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- H.L. Mencken |
“For every complex problem, there is asolution that is simple, neat, and wrong” |
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D. Ludwig, in The Era ofManagement is Over |
“There are no experts on these (messy)problems, nor can there be” |
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What we mean by complex resource mngtproblems?
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- Change, complexity,uncertainty, and conflict
- Various planning models toaddress so-called turbulent conditions - The role of the public andcivic science |
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Change |
Planners and managers encounter changingenvironmental conditions, human needs and expectations |
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Complexity |
Human-environment interactions are difficult tounderstand and predict. Cause-effect unclear, multiple variables. Solving aproblem may cause another problem |
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Uncertainty |
Planners & managers have to make decisionswithout complete info or understanding. Decisions have consequences |
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Conflict |
Different, often conflicting values andperspectives are usually involved in resource use decisions. Different values,worldviews, needs, goals, expectations. |
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Dimension of Change |
Duration, Magnitude, Intensity, Frequency,Rate of onset, Spatial aspect, Predictability, Reversibility
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Characteristics
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Short or long, Temporary or permanent, Lowto high, Rare to often, Slow to gradual rapid, Small to large area, Low to high
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Complexity
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Many Variable in environmental change meanthere is an inherent complexity in understanding them individually, as well asthe system of environmental change as a whole
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Uncertainty 2
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- We don’t have perfectknowledge, or perfect predictability.- Science strives to reduceuncertainty by reducing and simplifying complex ecosystem and human decisionmaking into “notrolled experiments”
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Recognizing Uncertainty
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Risk: Know the odds (i.e. risk assessmentfor terrain stability)Uncertainty: Do not know the odds, May knowthe key variables and their parameters (i.e. lake pollution, nitrate andphosphate)
Ignorance: Do not know what we should know.Do not even know what question we should be posing. (i.e. acid rain in the1960’s unknown, became a serious problem in late 1970’s and 1980’s) Indeterminacy: Casual chains or networksare open. Complete understanding not possible. (i.e. global warming caused byhuman activities and natural cycle of heating/cooling) |
