Sustainability:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/world_maps/world_rel_803005AI_2003.jpg
Global Population – History, Changes, Areas
of Crisis, Causes, and the Future
Global Population:
Global
population is
exponentially
increasing:
• What does
that mean?
Exponential
growth means
that it takes
fewer and
fewer years for
the population
to grow by the
same amount.
http://www.worldpopulationbalance.org/images/exponential.gif
History of Population Growth:
What are some of the reasons that the world’s
population has increased so much?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/sevenwonders/lo
1. Sanitation Improvements:
ndon/i/man_made/sewer302.jpg
- In the early 1800s, soap
use greatly increased.
- By the mid to late 1800s,
municipal sanitation systems
were much more common.
http://www.knowitall.org/techteam/teams/marion/websites
- Improved sanitation results /cherry/Images/soap.jpg
For example, in
in fewer people dying from
the 1860s, Before municipal sewer systems,
infectious diseases.built an
London many communities dumped their
extensive sewer sewage into nearby rivers (where their
system. drinking water also came from) or even
directly into centers of streets (where
it drained to nearby water sources)!
Changes in population continued…
2. Medical Improvements:
Before improvements in
http://www.biotechnologyonline.gov.au/images/co
- Improving sanitation sanitary conditions in
ntentpages/antibiotics.jpg
practices in the medical hospitals, people were very
community likely to die from other
infectious diseases
- New medicines – particularly transmitted there.
antibiotics and vaccinations
- These improvements have
resulted in fewer infant and
children deaths as well as a Before antibiotics, minor
longer average lifespan infections could easily
around most of the world. kill people.
http://www.rrojasdatabank.org/figure65.gif
Changes in population continued…
http://www.precisiongps.com/images/Manure%20Pics/c
http://www.tox.ncsu.edu/photos/spray_groundrig_resize.jpg
3. Agricultural Changes: Increased use
- Greatly increased crop of pesticides
production per acre from Large-scale
and fertilizers
orn%20field.jpg
homogenous
the mid 1940s to early as well as new
agriculture
1980s. equipment at
puts plants
allowed for for
great risk
- Crop production is no
greater crop
death from
longer increasing – there
density and
diseases
are problems with soil,
pests.
water and plant diseases
using current farming
practices. For example, today the
Many fertilizers are
average acre of
- Overall, many more agriculture in themade from
U.S. is
people are fed on smaller producing 5-6 petroleum and so
times more
pieces of farmland in not really
food than it did are1940.
compared to 100 years sustainable and are
ago. increasing in cost.
http://agronomyday.cropsci.uiuc.edu/2003/liquid_
manure/robert-fig-1.gif
Changes in population continued…
• Worldwide – child mortality is much lower
and life expectancy is much greater than
in the past.
• However, not all parts of the world have
low mortality or long life expectancy.
is unevenly distributed.
The World’s population
http://www.fi.edu/guide/hughes/images/pop-1a.jpg
Uneven distribution of population:
Developing countries are experiencing
considerably faster population increases
compared to developed countries.
Developing
Countries
have a
greater
fertility rate
for women
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/human_pop/human_pop.html
Uneven distribution of population…
In most Women’s disadvantage begins
developing immediately:
countries, • Boys get more food than girls.
women are • Boys are many times more likely
2nd class to get medical care than girls.
citizens.
• Boys have much greater chance of
Strong connection attending school.
Women do not have the
between
same opportunities as • As a result, women must find
education and
men in: economic security through
fertility
• Health care marriage.
– when women
• Education • Once married, women need at
have educational
least one son (and, ideally more) to
• Employment
(and employment)
provide for future security.
opportunities, they
• Legal rights
have fewer
children.
http://www.ablueplanet.org/images/terra.jpg
http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/TLSF/theme_c/mod12/img/fig_femlit_sml.gif
Uneven distribution of population…
http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications/health_benefits_family_planning/FPP_95_11_chapter1.en.html
Vastly differing More than 500,000
access to family women die every
year from pregnancy
planning and or childbirth:
birth control
- Primarily in
options in the
developing countries
developed and
developing - Often associated
with poor health and
world. very little time
between pregnancies
- Women (and
couples) in developing
countries often have
no access to birth
control even when
they want it
http://www.ispub.com/xml/journals/ijh/vol3n2/reprod-fig1.jpg
Why is increasing population such a concern?
http://www.worldwater.org/drinkwat.gif
Human suffering:
• Poverty: 3 billion people worldwide live in
extreme poverty (on less than $2/day).
• Sanitation: More than 1 billion people do not
have access to clean (and safe) drinking water.
The concern of increasing population…
Human Suffering:
• Hunger and malnourishment:
Thousands of children die everyday
from lack of food and poor nutrition.
• War: Many conflicts worldwide
are directly or indirectly caused by
too many people wanting a limited
number of local resources. Millions
of people are forced to become
refuges every year.
http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/map3.html
The concern of increasing population…
Environmental
Damage:
• Pollution of soil,
water and air: Areas
under strain from higher
populations often have
poor land, water and air
quality.
• Few environmental http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/images/wsci_03_img0425.jpg
protection plans exist in
developing countries.
The concern of increasing population…
High population does Projected Coal Plants:
not mean high
consumption:
• The majority of the
World’s population lives in
developing countries.
• However, the majority of
the World’s resources are
consumed in developed
countries.
• As developing countries
gain technology and
industrialization, their
citizens will begin (and are
beginning) to use more
resources. http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/0506/images/0506feature_diagram2.jpg
Population Density:
Current World
Population = 6.7
billion people
earthtrends.wri.org/updates/node/61