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Over time, has this resource been used sustainably? How has this changed over time?
Fish used to be a sustainable resource until advance technologies were invented in the 1950's that allowed fisherman to locate larger schools of fish, to ranger farther from shore, and to lift larger catches. Many stocks have been overfished by industrial fisheries, which means fisherman are catching fish faster than stocks can replenish. Even though most species will survive due to their enormous reproductive capacity, there is a loss of billions of fish which provides a serious marine threat. -
Explain how your example is a resource.
My example is fish and they are a resource because they provide food for billions of people around the world. In many areas where people rely heavily on a Mediterranean diet, they wouldn't be able to survive without fish. Also, fish provide employment opportunities for many people; jobs may include fishers, seafood processors, seafood brokers and owners/employees of fish markets. We obtain fish from nature and it has value to us in many different ways which means it's an example of a resource. -
Are all resources natural capital?
In my opinion, I think that all resources are natural capital. Natural capital is the supply of goods and services that we obtain from nature that have value to us. Every single resource that we use as a good or service started from nature. Although the value of the resource may change over time, it will/has provided value to us at one point in history. If every resource provides value to us at one point and if every resource is obtained through nature, then every resource is natural capital. -
What factors have impacted this resource (cultural, social, economic, environmental, technological, and/or political)
Some factors that have impacted fish (poorly) are economic, environmental, and technological factors. Fishing supported 472,000 jobs and generated $68 billion in sales impacts across the economy. Because the economy relies on fish, the resource can be overused. Similarly, advanced technology has come out for fisherman that increases the amount of fish being caught. The environment has not been kind to fish either; there is a lot of pollution leading to poor water where the fish live and drink. -
Is your example renewable or non-renewable? Explain.
Fish populations that are managed carefully are considered a renewable resource. Again, when managed carefully, they can be replaced as fast as they are being used. When fisherman do not overfish, there are fish left in the ocean that mate with each other and then reproduce. This means that the fish that were taken become replaced with fish that were just produced. If the environment is being managed carefully, the population will remain balanced because of this replacement -as its supposed to. -
What is sustainability?
Sustainability is the ability for a resource to be maintained at a certain rate or level. In society, we need to avoid the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. This may mean that we alter our actions to protect the resources and therefore help ourselves in the long run. For example, if we continue to overfish, there will be no more fish left to eat. This can cause a tremendous deplete in populations. Therefore, we need to avoid this depletion and be careful. -
How has the extraction, transport, and processing of this resource changed it’s sustainability?
Fish have become more extracted and transported over the years which has affected its sustainability. Due to advancements in transportation and technology, fish are taken out of the oceans and transported around the world more frequently. Because of this, fish have become much less sustainable. Fish used to be sustainable because there was no technology made specifically for taking mass amount of fish out of the ocean. Now, the extraction is greater and the sustainability decreased.