Depletion of Natural Capitals

By Buzz PfeifferAnd

Dallas Reed

Advanced societies

• Heavy burdens on natural resources• Depletion increase with population growth• Societies fail = destruction of social and

cultural infrastructure.

Easter Island•First settlement- Polynesian 300AD•1600’s =no trees•Warfare and strife prevailed•1722-1770 European arrival (dead statues).

Where did the trees go?

• Farmers clearing• To move the statues• Personal resources

What happens with out trees?•Erosion•Poor absorption of precipitation•Find new places to live.•Disease, starvation, slavery, raids.

Haitis Situation

• Severe Deforestation• 1923- 60%• 1954- Charcoal demand• 2006- 98%-99% Sugar /coffee production

Clear depiction of Deforestation

Effects of Deforestation

• Worsens drought, leads to desertification• Agricultural productivity• Damages…dams, irrigation, roads…..• 15000 acres lost annually

Deforestation of Haiti

Indias Predicament

• Water deficit-104%• Population 1 billion• 2050 pop. ~2billion• 80% gets food from agricultural

infrastructure…so far.

Look out India!

Objectives

• To provide our audience with the understanding that fresh water, forests and the biodiversity they supply are already under considerable stress.

• We wish to accomplish an educated understanding for our audience that as the human population grows greater stress will be applied to the earths natural resources.

• The audience should know that as population increases resource deficits become larger populations can fail (crash).