Herman Daly compares the carrying capacity of the environment to the ‘plimsoll line’ of a ship. What is a plimsoll line?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The ship’s load limit mark
A plimsoll line is the load limit mark of a ship. In the same way, the carrying capacity marks how much load the environment can bear.
NCERT (2026-27): “7.4 Sustainable Development … According to Herman Daly, a leading environmental economist, to achieve sustainable development, the following needs to be done (i) limiting the human population to a level within the carrying capacity of the environment. The carrying capacity of the environment is like a’plimsoll line’ of the ship which is its load limit mark. In the absence of the plimsoll line for the economy, human scale grows beyond the carrying capacity of the earth and deviates from sustainable development …” |