Sustainability & Population Growth

World Population

IPAT Equation

I=PxAxT
Impact Population Affluence Technology

Sustainability Impact Equation

SI = P x C/P x I/C
Sustainability Impact Population Consumption per capita Impact per consumption

Sustainability Impact Equation: Double Population

2SI = 2P x C/P x I/C

Sustainability Impact Population Consumption per capita Impact per consumption

Sustainability Impact Equation: Double Consumption per Person

2SI = P x 2C/P x I/C

Sustainability Impact Population Consumption per capita Impact per consumption

 SI = P x C/P x I/2C
Sustainability Impact Population Consumption per capita Impact per consumption

Sustainability Impact Equation: Lowering Impact per Consumption

Manhattan Limitation of IPAT

IPAT Terms are Co-dependent

For the math geeks

I = P(A,T) A(P,T) T(A,P)

Impact Population Affluence Technology

Other Factors: Human Experience Human Experience

Other Factors: GDP Health and Wealth

As GDP per person increases (x-axis) so does life expectancy (y-axis). Note that Japan, the country with highest life-expectancy, has a very high GDP per person

Happiness and Affluence

As GDP per person increases (x-axis) so does self-reported life satisfaction (y-axis) Note that the happiest country Denmark also has a very high GDP per person.

Not All Consumption is Equal

References

Schwen, Daniel. 2005. NYC wideangle south from Top of the Rock. Wikimedia Commons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NYC_wideangle_south_from_Top_of_the_Rock.jpg Tompkin, Jonathan. 2012. Too-rigorous application of IPAT style thinking discounts the human experience. Rosling, Hans. 2011. Gapminder World Chart 2010 Version May 2010b. Gapminder. http://www.gapminder.org/GapminderMedia/wp-uploads/pdf_charts/GWC2010.pdf Heston, Alan; Summers, Robert; and Aten, Bettina. 2006. Penn World Table Version 6.2. Center for International Comparisons of Production, Income and Prices at the University of Pennsylvania. http://pwt.econ.upenn.edu/php_site/pwt62/pwt62_form.php Theis, Tom and Jonathan Tomkin, editors. Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation. http://cnx.org/content/col11325/latest/