Activity 1.3 - Economic Development and Resource Use

Upon completion of this segment, students should be able to:

• Infer the relationships between sustainability, resource availability, and economic development

The students should complete the questions on the handout as a small group activity (2--4 students per group), although students could work individually instead. If the graphs on the handout cannot be printed out in color, it might be helpful to project the first graph on a large screen in front of the class (using the provided PowerPoint presentation).

Alternatively, the instructor could use the PowerPoint presentation to complete the activity as a whole-class discussion. Suggestions for the instructor on what to do and say with each plot can be found in the "Notes" section at the bottom of each PowerPoint slide.

Economic Development and Resource Use Activity Student Handout in Word (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 2.2MB Oct1 14) and in PDF. (Acrobat (PDF) 1.1MB Oct1 14)

Economic Development and Resource Use Activity PPT. -- private instructor-only file

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Reading through the

Teaching Notes and Answer Key for Economic Development and Resource Use in Word -- private instructor-only file

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in PDF -- private instructor-only file

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Notes about Figure 1

• If this activity is completed individually or in small groups, then it may be helpful to project Figure 1 in the front of the room regardless, as it may be easier to read. This will be particularly important if the copies for the students (or for groups) cannot be printed out in color.
• Note that both of the axes for Figure 1 are log-based. We suggest the instructor discuss these axes with the class before they start work.

Other Options

As noted above, this exercise is also provided (slightly modified) as a PowerPoint presentation for instructors who would like to use it as class discussion rather than as a small-group assignment. Whether the activity is done individually, in small groups, or as a class discussion depends on the amount of class time; the class discussion likely takes the least amount of time.

Further Explanation of Key Terms Used in this Assignment

Show Consumption Rate

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We have used the term "consumption rate" to indicate what Steinberger et al. (2010) called the "metabolic rate" for Figure 1. Our use of "consumption rate" within this activity (and metabolic rate for Steinberger et al. (2010)) refers to the domestic material consumption (DMC) of a country (in tons) per capita per year. The DMC of a material is the extraction of that material plus its imports minus its exports of those same materials. Please see the Steinberger et al. (2010) article for a discussion of how the data was derived and any uncertainties within the generation of the data.

Show Per Capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

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Per capita gross domestic product, or GDP, is the "gross domestic product divided by midyear population," as defined on the World Bank website from which the data were obtained. "GDP is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources." Another definition of GDP (not GDP per capita) that may be helpful is the "total market value of the goods and services produced by a nation's economy during a specific period of time. It includes all final goods and services—that is, those that are produced by the economic resources located in that nation regardless of their ownership and that are not resold in any form." (online Encyclopedia Britannica http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/246647/gross-domestic-product-GDP)

• If individuals or groups complete this assignment, an instructor could grade individual answers or give a general grade based on thorough and appropriate completion of the assignment. We encourage the instructor to communicate their method of choice with the class in advance of this assignment (and perhaps when looking at the module as a whole).
• If used as class discussion, there is no individual assessment embedded within.

Show Figure 1 Source Information

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• Figure 1 Consumption (Metabolic) Rate data: 
Steinberger, J., Krausmann, F., and Eisenmenger, N. 2010. "The Global Patterns of Materials Use: A Socioeconomic and Geophysical Analysis." Ecological Economics, 69, no. 5: 1148--58.
• Figure 1 GDP per capita for constant 2000 US$ data for the year 2000: Downloaded from the World Bank website http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.KD.
• Figure 1 Country Classification: Obtained from the United Nations Statistics Division at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm. The exception is that Mexico is considered on the plot to be part of North America, rather than Latin America/Central America.
• Figure 1 Concept (and general source of information): Fischer-Kowalski, M., Swilling, M., von Weizsäcker, E. U., Ren, Y., Moriguchi, Y., Crane, W., Krausmann, F., Eisenmenger, N., Giljum, S., Hennicke, P., Romero Lankao, P., Siriban Manalang, A., and Sewerin, S. (2011). Decoupling Natural Resource Use and Environmental Impacts from Economic Growth. A Report of the Working Group on Decoupling to the International Resource Panel. United Nations Environment Programme. Downloaded from http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/decoupling/files/pdf/decoupling_report_english.pdf on 11/15/12 (Figure 2.6 on page 14).

Show Figure 2 Source Information

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• Figure 2 Data and Concept: Rogich, D. G., and Matos, G. R. 2008. "The Global Flows of Metals and Minerals." U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1355. 11 pg., available only online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1355/.
• Excel Data for Figure 2 (Excel 2007 (.xlsx) 54kB Aug1 14) from Rogich and Matos, 2008.

Other Source Information:

Show Other Source Information

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• Fridolin, K., Gingrich, S., Eisenmenger, N., Erb, K.-H., Haberl, H., and Rishcer-Kowalski, M. (2009). "Growth in Global Materials Use, GDP and Population During the 20^th Century." Ecological Economics, 68, no. 10: 2696--705.
• Gross Domestic Product. Encyclopedia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/246647/gross-domestic-product-GDP (accessed November 15, 2012).
• SERI, 2011. Global Resource Extraction by Material Category 1980--2008. Accessed at: http://www.materialflows.net/trends/analyses-1980-2008/global-resource-extraction-by-material-category-1980-2008/ (Accessed September 12, 2012).