Impact Of Population Growth On The Environment – Dear EarthTalk: The world added its seven billionth person in 2011, but the news came and went quickly, while the Charlie Sheen news continued. But isn’t population growth the “elephant in the room” that needs serious attention? Can you describe the main impacts of uncontrolled population growth and what if anything is being done to try to stop it?

Uncontrolled human population growth could be a recipe for the demise of the planet and its inhabitants. And it has reached astonishing levels in recent years — the number of people on the planet has doubled from 3.5 billion to seven billion in just half a century. Although we have made great strides in educating people around the world about family planning and birth control, the global fertility rate still hovers around 2.5 children per woman. At that rate, the population will grow to 11 billion by 2050 and to nearly 27 billion by 2100.

Impact Of Population Growth On The Environment

Although such a scenario is unlikely given that fertility rates tend to decline as countries develop and modernize, the prospect for a planet with tens of billions of people on it is truly terrifying. The first widely published expert on the potential effects of excessive human population growth was the Englishman Thomas Malthus, whose 1798 “Essay on the Principle of Human Population” warned that violence, genocide, bad weather, disease epidemics, and pestilence would be precursors to the spread of famine in a world with too many people. “The power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man, that untimely death must visit the human race in some form or other,” he wrote.

Population Growth And Economic Development

History considers Malthus an extremist, and many would argue that, despite the population increasing some sevenfold since his day, we have so far managed to avert a planet-wide “Malthusian catastrophe” in which population has simply outstripped our ability to feed ourselves. Nevertheless, a 2007 UNICEF report indicated that 10.9 million children under the age of five die each year worldwide, with malnutrition and other hunger-related diseases responsible for 60 percent of the tragedy. And a 2009 study by the World Health Organization and UNICEF found that about 24,000 children in developing countries die every day from preventable causes such as diarrhea resulting from a lack of access to clean drinking water and sanitation.

The most obvious problem with the seven billion of us here is our wasteful consumption of dwindling natural resources and the waste and pollution created in the process. A recent joint study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Worldwatch Institute found that humans now use 20 percent more renewable resources than can be replaced each year. And while many would argue that climate change has eclipsed overpopulation as the main problem of the day, others argue that atmospheric temperatures wouldn’t rise nearly as much if there weren’t so many of us burning so many fossil fuels.

The human population is predicted to decline worldwide within a few generations. This so-called “demographic transition” is already underway in the US and other developed countries where fertility rates have declined due to lower infant mortality, increased urbanization and wider access to contraceptives. As fertility rates decline as countries develop and less developed countries begin to make progress in urbanization and technology adoption, the United Nations Population Fund predicts that the population may peak in the late 21st century and then begin to decline.

EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E – The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: [email protected]. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Free trial: www.emagazine.com/trial. Many people worry that population growth will eventually cause environmental disaster. However, the problem is bigger and more complex than just counting bodies.

Make Room! Make Room! The Impact Of Overpopulation On Our Environment

We humans are extraordinary creatures. From our humble beginnings in small pockets of Africa, we have evolved over the millennia to colonize almost every corner of our planet. We are smart, resilient, and adaptable—maybe a little

In 2015, the world population is more than 7.3 billion people. That’s more than seven billion three hundred million bodies that need to be fed, clothed, warmed and, ideally, nurtured and educated. More than 7.3 billion individuals who, while busy consuming resources, also produce massive amounts of waste, and our numbers continue to grow. The United Nations estimates that the world population will reach 9.2 billion by 2050.

For most of our existence, the human population has grown very slowly, controlled by disease, climatic fluctuations, and other social factors. It took us until 1804 to reach one billion people. Since then, continuous improvements in nutrition, medicine and technology have led to a rapid increase in our population.

The human population has seen exponential growth over the past few hundred years. Data Source: Our World in Data.

Pdf) Human Population And Environment: Effects Of Population Growth, Climate Changes And Poverty Relationship

Many people worry that unchecked population growth will eventually cause an environmental disaster. This is an understandable fear, and a quick look at circumstantial evidence certainly shows that as our population has increased, the health of our environment has declined. The impact of so many people on the planet has led some scientists to coin a new term to describe our time – the Anthropocene epoch. Unlike previous geological epochs, where different geological and climatic processes determined time periods, the proposed Anthropocene period is named after the dominant impact that humans and their activities have on the environment. In essence, humans are the new global geophysical force.

We humans have spread across all continents and made huge changes in landscapes, ecosystems, atmospheres – everything. Image source: Richard Schneider / Flickr.

However, while population size is part of the problem, the issue is larger and more complex than just body counts.

Those populations – their distribution (density, migration patterns and urbanisation), their composition (age, gender and income levels) and, most importantly, their consumption patterns – which are equally, if not more, important than numbers alone.

Environment: The Science Behind The Stories

Focusing solely on population numbers obscures the multi-layered relationship between us humans and our environment and makes it easy for us to lay the blame at the feet of others, such as those in developing countries, rather than looking at how our own behavior may be negatively impacting the planet.

It’s no surprise that as the world’s population continues to grow, the limits of basic global resources such as drinking water, fertile land, forests and fisheries are becoming increasingly apparent. You don’t need to be a math whiz to figure out that, overall, more people use more resources and create more waste.

Influenced by the work of Thomas Malthus, ‘ carrying capacity GLOSSARY carrying capacity The maximum number of individuals of a species that can be supported in an area. Carrying capacity is usually limited by environmental components (eg food, habitat, resources). ‘ can be defined as the maximum population size that the environment can sustain indefinitely.

The debate over the actual human carrying capacity of the Earth dates back hundreds of years. The range of estimates is huge, varying from 500 million people to more than a trillion. Scientists disagree not only on the final number, but more importantly on the best and most accurate way to determine that number – hence the huge variability.

Impacts Of Population Growth On Environment And Human Health

Most studies estimate the capacity of the Earth to be at or below 8 billion people. Data source: UNEP Global Environmental Alert Service / One planet, how many people? (PDF)

How can that be? Whether we have 500 million people or one trillion, we still only have one planet, which has a limited level of resources. The answer comes back to resource consumption. People around the world consume resources differently and unevenly. The average middle-class American spends 3.3 times the subsistence level. DICTIONARY standard of living (or salary) which provides only the most necessary necessities of life. food and almost 250 times higher standard of living than pure water. So if everyone on Earth lived like middle class Americans, then the planet could have a capacity of about 2 billion. However, if people only consumed what they really needed, then the Earth could potentially support a much larger number.

But we must consider not only quantity but also quality – the Earth could theoretically support over a trillion people, but what would their quality of life be like? Would they spend on the minimum allocated resources or would they have the opportunity to lead a pleasant and full life?

More importantly, could these trillions of people cooperate on the necessary scale, or might some groups want to use a disproportionate share of the resources? If so, could other groups cause that inequality, including the use of violence?

Population Density: Ap® Human Geography Crash Course

The ways in which populations spread across the Earth affect the environment. Developing countries tend to have higher birth rates due to poverty and less access to family planning and education, while developed countries have lower birth rates. In 2015, 80 percent of the world’s population lives in less developed countries. These faster growing populations can increase pressure on the local environment.

Globally, in almost every country, people are also becoming more urbanized. In 1960, less than one third of the world’s population lived there

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