Because the world is ever changing, people do not really stop and look at the things happening around them. People do not usually think about how population is interrelated with consumption and how both affect the world in different ways. A population has the ability to expand infinitely so long as there are enough resources in the environment to sustain it. As long as resources are available, populations can grow to large numbers; however, when resources become scarce, populations can also decrease to small groups. If a population is small, consumption is at a low rate. If a population is large, consumption rates are high. When consumption rates are high resources tend to be depleted faster. Many factors go into determining population size and the consumption rate of a population. Some of the factors include fertility rates, age expectancy, technological advances, immigration, and environmental conditions. Whether this is favorable to the planet or not, consumption is influenced dramatically by population.
The rate of resource production must exceed the rate of population growth, in order for it to continue growing. The question is how do you make that happen when the population is skyrocketing and getting out of control? Our resources cannot naturally keep up with that kind of population growth, which is why advances in technology have modified crops to grow faster in order to keep up with a population’s consumption. Scientists are able to genetically modify food sources such as maize (“Genetically Modified Maize”). Because of this technology, resources can keep up with growing populations and people’s demands are satisfied for the time being (Cantrell). With the increase in production of resources the population can keep inc...
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The worldwide population is approaching 7 billion and is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 (Baird). This projected population number is down from a once predicted 16 billion (Baird) and while some are not concerned, others are worried about any increase in population. Population growth is discussed in the articles “Too Many People?” by Vanessa Baird; “Population Control: How Can There Possibly Be Too Many of Us?” by Frank Furedi; and “The Population Bomb Revisited,” by Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich. Baird and Furedi concur that a concern for population growth has been around since mathematician Thomas Malthus, in 1798, warned that overpopulation could lead to “the collapse of society” (Furedi). Furedi claims that too much human life is being used as an excuse, by population control supporters, for the world’s current and future problems. Baird tries to discover if “the current panic over population growth is reasonable.” For Ehrlich and Ehrlich the concern over population growth is very real, and they reinforce and support their book “calling attention to the demographic element in the human predicament” (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 63). While taking different approaches to their articles, the authors offer their perspectives on population growth, population control and the environmental impacts of a growing population.
Population continues to grow and is expected to reach an all time high in future years. There are tons of different reasons for why population is rising so quickly. In document d, it says, "Every second 5 people are born and 2 people die, a net gain of 3 people. This fact from document d shows one reason why population growth is at all time high. Document d, also states "At this rate, the world population will double every 40 years and would be 12 billion in 40 years, 24 billion in 80 years, and more than 48 billion in 120 years." This will create tons of difficulties, like the amount of food and supplies needed for the world, which will make it nearly impossible for supplies to keep pace with the population growth. Document a shows
There are three main factors that fuel rapid population growth in the world. Firstly, the increased production and distribution of food has now enabled more people to live longer lives. Initially, starvation caused high death rates, therefore inhibiting population growth. In our modern society, there is an abundance of food to feed the population. Improved distribution channels have enabled food to reach into dry places, thereby eliminating the risk of starvation. Secondly, there is an overall improvement of public health care. Poor sanitation and lack of clean water were the main causes of deadly diseases like malaria. These diseases often wiped
In, The Population Bomb by, Paul R Ehrlich, he explains the problem of population increase, and how there are people everywhere! The feeling of feeling over populated. He talks about how if there are more people then there is more food that needs to be produced then ate. He explains on the rich people becoming wealthier and the poor are going to be even poorer and there is going to be a starvation. Population is doubling every year and how our energy is turning into
“An Essay on the Principle of Population” is written by Thomas Malthus where he outlines his theory on population growth. He thought that if population continued to grow, food production wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand and he believed that many people would die due to famine. Either people would have to use more contraception to drop the birth rate, or the death rate would increase due to wars, disease or
In today’s society that we live in, there are countless of environmental problems that we face, such as global warming, fishing, pollution, and many other topics of that matter. These issues have affected our environment for the worse and have caused problems physically and economically. Yet, out of all the issues that effects our world on a daily basis, it is shown that overpopulation is one if not, is our biggest issue in our environment that is only getting worse due time, especially due to the rapid growth of the human population and the limited resources that are left on earth that we absolutely need to tend to our growing population. Even Dr. Charles A. Hall, who is a systems ecologist, states that, “Overpopulation is the only problem, If we had 100 million people on Earth or better yet 10 million, no others would be a problem.” Which helps prove that overpopulation is a major issue that we must act upon if we want to save our world.
Overpopulation describes a condition where the number of people uses the resources in a closed environment so that it can no longer maintain that population (Elliot Institute). Around the early 1900 's, the world population had grown to a billion people, and English scholar, Thomas Malthus and partner economists predicted that mankind would outgrow its available resources because a limited amount of land wouldn 't be able to support a population with a limitless potential for growth. Today our population is more than 7 billion. Despite the fact that better health care and medicine along with advances in food production and easier access to freshwater and sanitation have given us the ability to feed ourselves and fight many sickness 's, some
The human population has increased by 4.5 billion since the last sixty years (Engelman 1), this tremendous growth in the human population has startled numerous individuals. As a matter of fact, the biosphere’s population of humans is expected to grow additional, resulting in a total of nine billion by 2050 (Pearce 1). Some individuals may see this as a concern for the planet, whereas others assume that there are other more imperative hitches that humans should deal with. Although Erle C. Ellis agrees that overpopulation is not a problem for this planet, conversely, Fred Pearce and Joel Kotkin argue that there are other more vital problems to mend; unlike Ellis, Robert Engelman disagrees, proclaiming overpopulation
The past many decades have revealed a dramatically large increase in the global population. For example, the population increased from about 2.5 billion in 1950 to over 7.3 billion in 2015. This huge increase in population resulted in a need for many changes to be made in society. Global population growth is leading to deep changes in the demographics, economies, ecology, health, and governments of the world.
Overpopulation doesn’t only cause problem for its own species. It has been shown to have devastating effects on the earth as a whole.
"Overpopulation:." Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment and Society. N.p., 12 May 2010. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. .
Jacques-Yves Cousteau once said, “Overconsumption and overpopulation underlie every environmental problem we face today” (“Population,” Internet). With the current statistics, Jacques could not be more accurate. Every second, 4.2 people are born and 1.8 people die, which would be a net gain of 2.4 people per second (“Population,” Internet). At this steady rate, the environmental health is spiraling downwards, and it is safe to assume humans are responsible for this. As the population increases, harmful effects on the land, water, and air also do.
In a first case scenario, as shown in the symbiosis of the different elements, rapidly expanding population growth can cause unwarranted exploitation of natural resources. Humans use more and more land, water and other resources to address development issues such as poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy. A growth in population means additional resources being used to increase the standards of living for more people who in the end put untold pressure on the environment to provide for them. It is safe to say if the expansion of population continues to increase at the current rate, there is no way the natural resources we have can meet the demand.
Population growth can be positive for the World, in terms of both the economy and environment. As a country’s population grows, it can have significant positive implications on its economy as more people are in a position to buy goods and services, which in turn allows the economy to experience substantial growth. Following on from this idea ‘the more people on Earth, the larger are the markets for new innovations’ (Mulligan, 2009) so as a population grows there is a higher chance of more people existing who have the potential to be innovators who could develop technological solutions such as alternative energies or efficient means of food production. Population growth can also help with the environment as whilst ‘larger populations use up fossil fuels, they also stimulate the effective supply of fuels and substitutes’ (Kahn, 2005), so whilst larger populations use up more energy, they can also develop safer, renewable forms of energy which can help to protect the environment. This can occur because as technological advancements take place, resources such as oil and coal which can have ample negative effects on the environment, are pushed aside by innovators who want to develop new efficient ways in which to produce energy without having any lasting impacts on the
Human population growth was relatively slow for most of human history. Within the past 500 years, however, the advances made in the industrial, transportation, economic, medical, and agricultural revolutions have helped foster an exponential, "J-shaped" rise in human population (Southwick, Figure 15.1, p. 160). The statistics associated with this type of growth are particularly striking: "Human beings took more than 3 million years to reach a population of 1 billion people...The second billion came in only 130 years, the third billion in 30 years, the fourth billion in 15 years, the fifth billion in 12 years..." (Southwick, p. 159). As human population has grown, there has been simultaneous growth within the industrial sector. Both of these increases have greatly contributed to environmental problems, such as natural resource depletion, ecosystem destruction, and global climate change. Also linked with the increasing human population are many social problems, such as poverty and disease. These issues need to be addressed by policy makers in the near future in order to ensure the survival and sustainability of human life.