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1. What keep us alive? What is an environmentally sustainable society?

2. How fast is the human population increasing?

3. What is the difference between economic growth and economic development?


Economic Growth is a narrower concept than economic development.It is an increase in
a country's real level of national output which can be caused by an increase in the
quality of resources (by education etc.), increase in the quantity of resources &
improvements in technology or in another way an increase in the value of goods and
services produced by every sector of the economy. Economic Growth can be measured
by an increase in a country's GDP (gross domestic product).
Economic development is a normative concept i.e. it applies in the context of people's
sense of morality (right and wrong, good and bad). The definition of economic
development given by Michael Todaro is an increase in living standards, improvement
in self-esteem needs and freedom from oppression as well as a greater choice. The
most accurate method of measuring development is the Human Development Index
which takes into account the literacy rates & life expectancy which affect productivity
and could lead to Economic Growth. It also leads to the creation of more opportunities
in the sectors of education, healthcare, employment and the conservation of the
environment.It implies an increase in the per capita income of every citizen.

4. What are the basic causes of today’s environmental problems and how are these
causes connected?
Deforestation.
Problem: Species-rich wild forests are being destroyed, especially in the tropics, often to
make way for cattle ranching, soybean or palm oil plantations, or other agricultural
monocultures.
Species extinction.
Problem: On land, wild animals are being hunted to extinction for bushmeat, ivory, or
"medicinal" products. At sea, huge industrial fishing boats equipped with bottom-trawling
or purse-seine nets clean out entire fish populations. The loss and destruction of habitat
are also major factors contributing to a wave of extinction - unprecedented in that it is
caused by a single species: humans. The IUCN's Red List of threatened and
endangered species continues to grow.
Soil degradation.
Problem: Overgrazing, monoculture planting, erosion, soil compaction, overexposure to
pollutants, land-use conversion - there's a long list of ways that soils are being
damaged. About 12 million hectares of farmland a year get seriously degraded,
according to UN estimates.

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