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Impacts of overpopulation on the environment
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The Effects of Population Growth in Brazil
The population of the world today is 6,112,911,145 and progressively growing. Unfortunately, that figure is expected to double by the year 2050. Four-fifths of this population resides in developing countries of the "South". Because of extreme levels of fertility, mortality, and new migration, these developing countries are accountable for most of the world population growth. There are many reasons that explain why the numbers are increasing, but the main reason is the way of life for many of the people inhabiting these regions. With the combination of an unmet demand for family planning and the desire for a large family, the world's Total Fertility Rate(TFI) is 3.1. This is significantly higher than the average population replacement TFI of 2.1.
The population explosion is forcing people to migrate away from the city and into the surrounding area, which is causing an urbanization of the rural areas. To support this spreading, roads and cities are being constructed where plant and animal rich ecosystems exist. One region of particular global concern is the Amazon Rainforest and the effect of the spreading population from the coastal areas of Brazil. Currently, Brazil has a population of 172,860,370 people. A majority of this population currently depends on the local rainforest to support human growth. It has been reported that at current deforestation rates, only scattered remnants of tropical rainforests will exits and a quarter of a the species on Earth will be extinct by the time today's preschoolers retire. However, because of the ever-growing need for development, the soil, the trees, and the wildlife of the Amazon Rainforest are suffering at the hands of a demanding...
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...vation Organization. "Brazil Launches Defense Program for Amazon Jungle".
9 November 2000. .
2. Jackson, Robert M., ed. Global Issues. 16th ed. Guilford: Dashkin/McGraw-Hill, 2000.
3. Rotnem, Thomas E. "Issues in Development: Population Growth and the "Greying
Syndrome". Class lecture. Political Science 2401: Global Issues. Southern Polytechnic
State University, Marietta. 23 August 2000.
4. Snarr, Michael and D. Neil Snarr, eds. Introducing Global Issues. Boulder: Lynne Rienner
Publishers Incorporated, 1998.
5. University of Oregon. "Amazon Deforestation and Global Environmental Phenomena." 20
November 2000. .
6. U.S. Census Bureau. "International Data Base". 10 May 2000. .
7. The Latin American Alliance. "Brazil - Country Profile". 11 November 2000. .
8. Amazon Interactive "Making a Living". 12 July 1998. .
Wright, David, Heather LaRocca, and Grant DeJongh. "Global Problems." The Amazonian Rainforest: Forest to Farmland? The University of Michigan, 2007. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
This policy memo addresses the development and expansion of the cattle ranching industry in Brazil, which has contributed to the mass deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon in the last 40 years. It exposes the regional and global consequences to deforestation and provides strategies for the Brazilian government to sustainably manage cattle ranching industries while protecting the future of the Amazon. The rainforest ecosystem is an immense reserve of natural recourses that is far more valuable than the beef produced on Brazilian cattle ranches. Not only does the rainforest create habitat for up to 65% of the world’s biodiversity, but when harvested sustainably, it provides humans with an abundance of spices, foods, oils, medicines and vital research areas (NEWMAN).
Thus, deforestation is one of the biggest problems in the world that people have to consider because it has three main long term effects: land desertification, species extinction and climate change. The research paper will discuss and consider the long-term negative effect on the Amazon rainforest which is caused by deforestation. First, the paper will present the causes and effects of land deforestation. Another consideration is endangered species extinction that could affect the Amazon’s biodiversity. Finally, the paper will focus on how climate change and global warming affect the Amazon and what people should do in order to save the forests and solve those problems.
The Amazon Rain Forest Is in Danger of Being Destroyed" by Devadas Vittal. Rain Forests. HaiSong Harvey, Ed. At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press, 2002. Reprinted from Devadas Vittal, Introduction: What Is the Amazon Rainforest? Internet: http://www.homepages.go.com/homepages/d/v/i/dvittal/amazon/intro.html, November 1999, by permission of the author. http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010021212&mode=view
Educating the public about the importance of family planning is essential to reduce rapidly increasing birth rates. Human demographics have a profound effect on the population dynamics in both developed and developing nations. In more developed nations, there are significantly lower birth and death rates (Schneider). This would mean that the labor force of these nations is greatly limited. There is a risk of a bigger percentage of the elderly compared to the young generation. A higher older population undermines productivity, thereby inhibiting economic growth. In less developed nations, birth and death rates are high. Their economies struggle to maintain this high population. There is over-reliance on foreign aid. Labor is often transferred to the developed nations. The future of these nations is quite unpredictable (Das
The world’s population is rising rapidly from seven billion to the estimated nine billion in 2050 (Ellis, Overpopulation is Not the Problem). Every human being adds stress to the Earth’s resources. Numerous places like Africa and China maintain a copious amount starvation and poverty. There are days when people go without food, water, or shelter. There is even such happening in the United States. In such places, it is difficult to find contraception, or birth control, which leads to unplanned pregnancies. These situations are rooted down to overpopulation, which is when there are too many humans. However, there is a multitude of ways to reverse such negative effects. Population control is a necessary act that will benefit the world through sparing natural resources, decreasing famine, and controlling unplanned pregnancies. A worldwide effort would have to take effect in order for a successful future.
In the current economic times the development and growth of any economy has come to a near stop or at least to a drastic slow down. The face of the global economic environment has changed and many new countries are starting to change the way their country and the rest of the world does business. One such nation is Brazil, who has turned around their own economic troubles and is becoming one of the fastest growing economies in the world (World Factbook). Brazil has started developing its economy and using the opportunity to achieve a level of respect in the world.
Nowadays deforestation is the one of the most important and controversial environmental issues in the world. Deforestation is cutting down, clearing away or burning trees or forests. Particularly tropical rainforests are the most waning type of forests because of its location in developing countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, India, central African countries and Brazil. Deforestation rate in those regions is high enough to worry about, because of large economic potential of forest areas. As the result of causes such as agriculture land expansion, logging for timber, fire blazing and settling infrastructure there might be serious impacts in future. For instance, extinction of endemic species of animals and plants which will be feral, increase of greenhouse gas emissions which may lead to global warming and consecutive catastrophes, destruction of home for indigenous residents which is considered as violation of human rights. Some people can argue with these drawbacks telling that deforestation have more valuable benefits such as growth of economics, production of food and providing better opportunities for life for poor families. However, these benefits are quite temporary and government of that countries and world organisations tries to halt deforestation proposing several solutions. Deforestation problem is especially acute in the Brazilian Amazon, where its rate is much high comparing with other regions. This paper will describe world-wide rainforests, causes and effects of deforestation, and evaluate possible solutions of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
In South America lies the largest and most wondrous rainforest in the world, the Amazon Rainforest. This 1.4 billion acre forest represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most bio-diverse tract of rainforest in the world. Ten percent of all known species on the planet are found in this rain forest, most of which have yet to be discovered. For the past century, the Amazon has been gradually decreasing in size due to agricultural expansion, ranching, infrastructure projects, energy exploration and illegal logging. In its current state, the Amazon is losing land equal to the size of the state of Delaware every year.
The Disappearing Rainforests Conserving the rainforest is a global issue of great importance. Tropical rainforests provide a habitat for animals, a unique ecosystem for vegetation, and an abundance of resources for humans, yet they are being destroyed at an astonishing rate. Experts estimate that if these endangered territories continue to be consumed in this manner, no more will be standing in forty years (Rainforest). Examining the social, environmental, and economic costs of the continued destruction of the Earth's tropical rainforests will prove that deforestation for short-term profit is ultimately not viable.
The future of humanity does not lie in America, nor does it lie in the other, well-developed world powers. The future of humanity lies in the hands and hearts of the less developed countries. The global population growth rate is around 1.8%, with the bulk of growth coming from Latin America, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. According to statistics released by the United Nations, within the next seven years, India is expected to surpass China as the most populous nation on the globe. Within the next fifteen years, the world’s population is expected to reach 8.5 billion, the majority of which will be concentrated in less developed countries.
...he second way to attempt to decrease the population is through increased active family planning programs. Especially in poor countries, it is a lot harder for women just to jump into the work force, and even harder for a poor country to become industrialized. For example, in Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest countries, birth rates have decreased from seven children per family to only 5.5. This is largely because forty percent of Bangladesh's woman now take part in some form of family planning.
Fearnside, Philip M. "Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia: History, Rates, and Consequences." Conservation Biology 19.3 (2005): 680-688. Print.
Rising global population is hindering our ability to become sustainable, especially in poorer and developing nations. Empowering women through educational opportunities and family planning programs have been shown to decrease population in developed nations through demographic transition. Even though fertility rates are declining in developed nations, there has been a significant increase in resource consumption, and the consumption of material goods and services (Withgott & Brennan, 2011, Chapter 8). Although population control can be a touchy subject, it should be addressed as a solution to our overconsumption and need for sustainability.
Our world is too small for our ever-risingly growing population. One day, resources will run dry and vanish, which will bring death and loss to all nations on this planet. Many researchers and scientists have confirmed that the population will reach 10 billion by the end of the century and will continue to stream upward. There are many different ways of trying to decrease population, contain global warming and assist our environmental changes. The only way to succeed, families must be the regulators of their fertility and future.