DP Environmental Systems and Societies Questionbank

Outline two factors that enable a human population to increase its local carrying capacity.

To what extent would different environmental value systems be successful in reducing a society’s ecological footprint?

Describe how foods high on the environmental impact pyramid, shown in Figure 1(b), are likely to affect the ecological footprint of global food production.

Describe the relationship between both pyramids in Figures 1(a) and 1(b).

The future growth of human populations is unlikely to be limited by the availability of energy resources. However, they could easily be limited by the impacts of energy production.

Discuss the validity of this statement.

State one strength and one weakness of using the ecological footprint as a model for measuring sustainability.

To what extent is London a sustainable city? 

With reference to Figures 8(a), 8(b) and 8(c), suggest how urban agriculture could be used to increase the carrying capacity of London.

To what extent are natural limiting factors more likely than population policies to limit global human population growth in the future?

With reference to the information in the resource booklet, to what extent has Costa Rica’s aim to become carbon neutral led to a more environmentally-sustainable nation?

With reference to Figure 10(b), explain how sustainability in Costa Rica changed between 1961 and 2016.

Outline why the ecological footprint for the total population of Madagascar has increased during the period shown in Figure 7.

The provision of food resources and assimilation of wastes are two key factors of the environment that determine its carrying capacity for a given species.

To what extent does the human production of food and waste each influence the carrying capacity for human populations?

Discuss the consequences of changing global per capita meat consumption on the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.

To what extent might Iceland be viewed as a role model for sustainability by other countries?

With reference to Figure 11(a), suggest what conclusions can be drawn regarding the sustainability of the Brazilian population over the period shown.

Identify three reasons why carrying capacity can be difficult to estimate.

Define the term carrying capacity.

Explain why the ecological footprint of two populations consuming the same quantity of food and energy may be different.

Outline one environmental implication of the highest projection for world population being realised.

Identify four factors that make the estimation of carrying capacity more problematic for human populations than for most other species.

Evaluate the impact of economic development on the ecological footprint of a human population.

Outline the relationship between carrying capacity and ecological footprint.

To meet the minimum criteria for sustainability, a country needs to raise its human welfare above the threshold of high human development and have an ecological footprint below the Earth’s biocapacity.

Evaluate two strategies a country can implement to achieve the minimum criteria for sustainability.

Explain how environmental indicators are used to assess sustainability.