Population-resource models and sustainability
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Question
Who was the population-resource optimist?
Answer
**Boserup** — she argued population pressure drives innovation that grows more food.
Question
Who was the population-resource pessimist?
Answer
**Malthus** — he feared population would outgrow food, causing famine.
Question
Sum up Boserup's view in one phrase.
Answer
'**Necessity is the mother of invention**' — more people forces new ways to grow more food.
Question
How does Boserup differ from Malthus on food supply?
Answer
Malthus saw food as **fixed**; Boserup saw it as **flexible**, rising with demand through technology.
Question
Define carrying capacity.
Answer
The largest population an area can support with its available resources.
Question
Name two ways resources are developed to grow more food.
Answer
High-yield crops (Green Revolution) and **irrigation** — also mechanisation, fertiliser, land reclamation.
Question
What did the Green Revolution do?
Answer
Introduced **high-yield** wheat and rice varieties that sharply raised grain output (e.g. India).
Question
Why is irrigation a way of developing resources?
Answer
It brings water to dry land, turning barren ground into productive farmland and raising food output.
Question
Define sustainability.
Answer
Meeting present needs without preventing future generations from meeting theirs.
Question
How can data on food vs population support Boserup?
Answer
If **food per person rises** over time, food has out-grown population — backing the optimist, not Malthus.
Question
In a 4-mark Explain on Boserup, what earns the marks?
Answer
**Two** developed points, each linking a feature/method to **more food production** (1 + 1 per point).
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