Effect on relationships with outdoor environments

Increasing Population

Australia is a large country with a small population. In 2003 we had a population density of 2.5 people per square kilometre; by comparison, the figure for Japan was 338 people per square kilometre, for the United Kingdom 244 and for France 109. Of the world's developed countries, only Canada (3.2) and Iceland (2.8) have comparable population densities

1800’sNobody knows how many indigenous people lived

here before European settlement: estimates range between 300,000 and 1.5 million. It is known, however, that their numbers declined significantly after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.

By 1887 there were probably about 3 million people, of mostly European origin, living in the colonies. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that the 1901 census counted 3,773,801 people. One hundred years later, in 2001, the national census tallied 18,972,350 people. The estimated Australian population mid-2004 was 20,111,300.

1887

By 1850 the European population in Australia was 400,000

Australian environment was seen as providing opportunities for wealth creation by using the resources it provided.

In and around 1850 it was realised that land and marine resources were great sources of wealth

Gold, timber, coal, seal and whale products were soon targeted with little or no regard for the impact on the environment.

Land devastated by mining practicesAreas cleared, earth was excavated, shafts

were sunk and roads were builtTowns became crowded, temporary

settlements were constructed eg. Fernshaws reserve in Healesville

Land was cleared for cropping, housing, grazing and mining without any restrictions

Firewood was collected for heating and for fuel for the running of steam engines

GoldThe gold rush brought huge environmental

changes in the Australian landscape in a relatively small amount of time. Features of the land millions of years in the making were all but decimated in just a few decades. Prior to the 1850’s the Australian continent was relatively pristine – the Indigenous communities had lived in harmony with the land for centuries, and since European settlement had only been minorly disturbed. For the first time in the continent’s history, the advent of the gold rush disrupted and rapidly destroyed ecosystems, and put mounting pressure on the native flora and fauna.

http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=124

After the RushOnce the gold rush was over deserted

goldfields were environmental disaster zones with little or no vegetation and massive erosion scarring

Native animals suffered with loss of habitat, competition with introduced animals and hunting.

The majority of species extinctions in Australia occurred since European settlement

Up until 1830 3 million Koala skins were exported to Europe!

The environment started to look like the grazing lands of Europe

DevelopmentBy 1880 the meat export business

expanded and more land was given over to grazing

In 1887 irrigation started along the Murray and more arid regions in the Mallee started to develop Orchards, market gardens and grain plantations.

The dominant relationship with the land at this time was development and export orientated.

The growing Urban population began to seek nature experiences: scenery, fresh air, walking , picnicking and beach activities

The Melbourne Amateur Walking and Touring Club was established in 1894

The Field Naturalist Group of Victoria was formed in 1880 and served as a leader and lobbyist for environmental preservation and conservation.

Australia’s first national park, Royal National Park near Sydney, was declared in 1879

In Victoria Fern Tree Gully National Park was declared in 1882 and Tower Hill in 1892

http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/education/resource_kit/resources/PVERKsection12229.pdf

The human population at the global level has been growing exponentially over time

The absolute number of humans has continued to increase, and the distribution of the population has changed, due to differing birth and death rates and the movement of people from one region to another.

Australia's population also continues to increase. The three factors which have the greatest impact on the population of any nation are birth rate (fertility), international migration and death rate (mortality rate).

Fertility

The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of children a woman gives birth to in her lifetime. A TFR of 2.1 is considered to be the replacement rate, which is the fertility rate needed to keep the population stable if there is no net migration. Australia's TFR in 2000 was 1.7. Most developed countries have TFRs below the replacement rate. The 2004 estimate of the world average TFR is 2.8, ranging from 1.2 to 8.

Immigration

Immigration adds to the Australian population in two ways: firstly, the immigrants themselves; and secondly, their Australian-born children. The contribution of net overseas migration to Australia's population growth has averaged about 39 per cent for the past 25 years. This is projected to increase as the Australian fertility rate decreases.

Immigration – one source of population growth – results in more people to consume goods and services. This larger market is better for local businesses. Also, many migrants bring money into the country and some start up businesses that may offer employment. Many economists argue that, if carefully controlled, this can benefit the nation’s economy and hence, indirectly, our quality of life.

Environmental scientists point out that Australia is already suffering considerable damage to its soils, waterways, coastal zones and natural habitats through intensive agriculture, urban expansion, industrial development and the ever-increasing demand for goods and services. Groups who oppose population increase on environmental grounds suggest that even the present Australian population cannot be indefinitely sustained at its present rate of consumption by the renewable resources of the continent.

Beach anyone?

Demographers can estimate Australia's future population size by using different levels of net immigration (ie, the total number of people settling permanently in Australia minus the total number of people leaving Australia permanently).

For example, if the net immigration figure each year is 100,000 then Australia's population will be 26.4 million by 2051. If immigration had ceased in 2002, then Australia's population would decline to 19.8 million by 2051. (These predictions are based on the assumption of below replacement fertility among the resident population. This is when the number of babies being born is less than that required to replace the parents.)

Australia’s population carrying capacity:Tim Flannery says that Australia has : “the calculated a long-term carrying

capacity of between 8 million and 12 million. We had that population in 1950 and 1968 respectively, not so long ago. The population is now over 22.5 million and increasing rapidly, currently at a rate of 1.7% increase per year”.

http://candobetter.net/node/2318\

Other population pressures on our environment

Population pressures on our environment come not only from a resident population, they also come from

a global population, where there is demand for Australian-based production;

overseas visitors to Australia, especially tourists but also business visitors, students and guest-workers. These numbers are many times that of immigrants

limits to growth

Some economists have described humans as the 'ultimate resource', because they can turn previously useless things into resources by being intelligent, adaptable and creative. Much of what we value and what makes life enjoyable is the product of human endeavour. However, something good can become a problem when in excess – when there is 'too much of a good thing'.

Factors such as population growth, population distribution and migration combine with high-consumption patterns to put stresses on the environment. There is a limit to the environment in terms of supply of resources and the ability to absorb waste products. Examples include the rate of tree growth for timber harvesting, the available fresh water for irrigation and human consumption, and the time required for the recycling of organic waste. Land degradation, loss of forest cover, pollution of water and air, soil erosion and loss of biodiversity are all occurring at a fast pace, and are evidence of the impact of an increasing population on the environment.

Population and EnvironmentThe maximum number of a particular organism that an

environment can maintain indefinitely is often referred to as its carrying capacity. How do we calculate the human carrying capacity of the Earth? We can't do it by numbers alone because the relationship between population and environment is neither simple nor straightforward.

To come up with the best solution, insights and ideas need to be drawn from many disciplines. These include, but are not limited to, environmental science, geology, economics, demography, human biology and health, geography and political science. The future of both the global human population and the global environment relies on bridging disciplinary divides.

Monthly World population figures:

07/01/11 6,946,043,989 08/01/11 6,952,589,639

09/01/11 6,959,135,290 10/01/11 6,965,469,791 11/01/11 6,972,015,442 12/01/11 6,978,349,943

01/01/12 6,984,895,594 02/01/12 6,991,441,244 03/01/12 6,997,564,595 04/01/12 7,004,110,246

05/01/12 7,010,444,747 06/01/12 7,016,990,398

07/01/12 7,023,324,899

The human population of our planet, on current trends, doubles every

53 years!

Can we sustain our current population growth?

Key Source

http://www.science.org.au/nova/087/087key.htm

Work Task 4

Complete the task!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RELATIONSHIPS WITH AUSTRALIAN OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENTS AS INFLUENCED BY:

INDUSTRIALISATION

INDUSTRIALISATION

Definition:

Industrialisation is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian (farming) society into an industrial one.

It is a part of a wider modernisation process, where social change and economic development are closely related with technological innovation, particularly with the development of large-scale energy and metallurgy production.

It is the extensive organisation of an economy for the purpose of manufacturing.

INDUSTRIALISATION

Industrialisation looks into the period of time around the late 1800’s through to the early 1900’s.

What examples within Australia can you think of that might fit into this description of Industrialisation?

INDUSTRIALISATION

Geelong waterfront – early 1900’s

INDUSTRIALISATION

Mass production of products such as beer and biscuits

INDUSTRIALISATION

Brick makers

INDUSTRIALISATION

The first Australian factories were based on the waterfront;

repairing visiting vessels

brewing beer

making biscuits.

The early industrialisation of the late 19th century led to an expansion into the fringe suburbs of the main coastal settlements, creating thousands of new jobs for boilermakers, engineers, iron founders and brick makers.

INDUSTRIALISATION

Within the manufacturing sector employment rose from 190,000 in 1903 to 328,000 in 1913.

By 1929, 440,000 people were employed in Australian manufacturing. The previously dominant clothing and textiles industry had steadily declined in employment, while the metals and machinery industry emerged as a major contributor to both employment and production.

In particular, the new motor vehicle industry of the 1920s strengthened this sector. With Holden already well established, Ford soon followed with a large motor body assembly plant in Geelong, in response to the growing demand for motor cars.

INDUSTRIALISATION

While employment had increased rapidly in the early years of Federation (1901), the Great Depression (1930’s) had a devastating effect on national employment.

The rate of increase then declined to 1.8 times between the late 1920s and late 1940s, lowering manufacturing's share of total employment from 22% in 1921 to 18% in 1931.

However, manufacturing led the recovery from the Depression, accounting for 25% of total employment by 1940-41, which overtook even the rural sector's share.

INDUSTRIALISATION

During this period there was an increase in:

large scale agricultural practices

Irrigation

Higher standards of living

Beginnings of recreational pursuits

INDUSTRIALISATION

large scale agricultural practices

1.What did this include?

2.Where were these located?

3.What positive and negative impacts did this have on the environment?

4.What impact did it have on peoples relationship with the land/environment?

INDUSTRIALISATION

Irrigation

1.What did this involve?

2.Where was it located?

3.What positive and negative impacts did this have on the environment?

4.What impact did it have on peoples relationship with the land/environment?

INDUSTRIALISATION

Higher standards of living

1.What did this involve?

2.Why did this occur?

3.What positive and negative impacts did this have on the environment?

4.What impact did it have on peoples relationship with the land/environment?

INDUSTRIALISATION

Beginnings of recreational pursuits

1.What did this involve?

2.Where did it occur?

3.Why did this occur?

4.What positive and negative impacts did this have on the environment?

5.What impact did it have on peoples relationship with the land/environment?

Recreational Pursuits

As the 20th century approached generations had adapted themselves to the Australian environment and felt more comfortable.

More and more people began to appreciate the native bush, the beautiful rugged coasts and wonderful wildlife array.

People flocked to the coast and hills in summer to enjoy their beauty. They concentrated in areas such as Port Phillip Bay, Mount Macedon, the Dandenongs, Queenscliff and Brighton.

The cost of bicycles came within reach of working class pay packets

Melbourne Amateur Walking and Touring Club was formed in 1894 bringing together nature explorers.

A naturalist group (The Field Naturalist Group of Victoria) was formed in 1880 for the preservation and protection of the native fauna and flora and other conservation measures.

Recreational Pursuits

Australias first national park, Royal National Park near Sydney, was declared in 1879.

National prks for recreation were declared in Victoria at Fern Tree Gully in 1882, and Tower Hill (Warrnambool) in 1892.

After these first few national parks were declared it gave people a location of beauty and significance to visit.

This was the beginning of places being allocated within natural environments, with many more to follow.

Nation Building

Nation Building could be said to be an ongoing process in Australia's non-indigenous settlement.

Periods after the first and second World Wars involved major infrastructure developments.

Think about the returning soldiers and post war immigration that provided a workforce to help in the construction of this infrastructure.

Nation building infrastructure

What was developed in order to build Australia as a

Nation??

Now how does this all link to places you have studied?