Definitions of variables and terms used here and elsewhere are as follows. Variable names are capitalized, and references to other entries are italicized.
adjusted impact |
Amount of Impact after it has been changed by human activity (typically Consumption) |
Age |
Median age of a population, in years |
Birth Rate |
Births per year as a fraction of the population |
C |
Average Consumption per person in a group |
Capacity |
Total amount of ecological resources available to, and used by, a group (see Rtotal) |
Cap/p |
Capacity per person |
C-low |
Simulation that reduces consumption at a roughly constant rate to offset external Impact |
Consumption |
Ecological footprint of group expressed in ecological resources(see R) |
cum, cumulative |
Sum of values for a variable as a function of another variable |
$ current |
U.S. dollars inflation adjusted for a given year |
Death Rate |
Deaths per year as a fraction of the Population |
ecological footprint |
Measure of ecological products and services used by humanity, typically expressed as a unit of land area |
ecological resource |
Unit of ecological footprint corresponding to an average person's annual basic needs |
Efficiency, E |
Variable affecting the distribution of Population in a group |
epoch |
Period of time corresponding to when part of a group is in a given Phase. |
global variable |
A variable that describes a charcteristic of interest for one or more groups |
Green |
The simulation that is the best match to historical values of global variables |
group |
A set of people with specific Population, Consumption, and Capacity |
GWP |
Gross World Product in U.S. dollars (2010 value unless otherwise indicated) |
GWP/p |
Average GWP per person in U.S. dollars (2010 value unless otherwise indicated) |
Happiness, H |
Life satisfaction of members of a group (on a scale from 0 to 1, typically expressed in %) |
Impact, self-sustained impact |
Change in ecological resources (typically a reduction) continually caused by a non-human source |
Life Expectancy, L |
Expected lifetime (in years) of a person or group born in a given year |
Max Phase |
The maximum phase in a group |
Min Phase |
The minimum phase in a group |
mixed group |
A group resulting from interaction of groups based on maximum Weights of Population, C, and Capacity |
Needs |
Maximum ecological resources consumed for basic survival |
Normalized |
Expressed as a fraction of a given value (such as the maximum expected value or value in a given year) |
Normalized Population / Nature |
Sratio / 1.126; also: Sr |
P |
Cumulative population as a function of a variable such as phase (P = E^Phratio - E). |
Phase |
Activity type; each phase is expressed as a fraction of its Sr range |
Phase Ratio, Phratio |
Phratio = (Max Phase - Phase) / (Max Phase - Min Phase) |
Pmax |
Maximum world population as a function of Sratio |
Population |
The number of people in a group |
R |
Total amount of ecological resources consumed by a group (P * C) |
Rdiff |
Amount of total Wants consumed by a given group |
region |
An arbitrary collection of resources and people (also group) |
resource |
Ecological resource |
Rs |
Amount of ecological resources remaining in a region or the world, usable by people and other species |
Rtotal |
Capacity |
$Convert |
Global inflation of U.S. dollars, as multiple of a value in 2010 |
simulation |
Set of mathematical projections of observable variables (typically global variables) that define a universe |
Sr |
Normalized Population / Nature |
Sratio |
Ratio of minimum Consumption by people (Needs) to remaining resources (P / Rs) |
state |
The combined characteristics of an entity (such a group) based on the values of a set of global variables |
summed group |
A group with the sums of interacting groups' Population, Consumption, and Capacity |
$T |
Trillion U.S. dollars |
total consumption |
The Consumption of everyone in a group |
universe, world |
Theoretical reality defined by a simulation, based on history in the real world |
variable |
A mathematical quantity whose value is based on the values of other quantities |
Wants |
Resources consumed for purposes other than needs (R - Needs) |
Waste |
Consumption in excess of half the total resources in the world (R - Rtotal / 2) |
Wealth |
Wealth in U.S. dollars (2010 value unless otherwise indicated) |
Wealth/p |
Average wealth per person in U.S. dollars (2010 value unless otherwise indicated) |
Weight |
Multiplier of a variable used to calculate the value of another variable |
weighted group |
A group resulting from groups interacting based on Weights of Population, Consumption, and Capacity |
world group |
All the people and regions in the world identified as one group |
Year |
Middle of given calendar year (A.C.E.) |