Effects of population growth are amplified with current lifestyle methods that neglect many of the environmental consequences and focus too much on economic gain. As the world population has risen, natural resources have fallen. The U.S. holds 20% of the world's population, but consumes 70% of the world's resources. Meanwhile, these resources extracted come heavily from poor, developing countries. Who are we as a country to rob and exploit lands that are not our own? These poor countries remain poor as their precious resources deplete at an increasing rate. At the rates in which the world consumes, how can we let our population grow. 80% of the planet's rainforests have been cleared since 1950. This is all due to growth of population which heavily increases demand for paper, wood, and open land for housing and development. With this rapid clearing of trees, global warming has been allowed to surface as the source of carbon sequestration diminishes.
With an increase in population, also comes an increasing demand for energy. Coal, oil and natural gases use increases as people do. These are sources of energy damage the environment enormously, but however, they are the most popular sources. As population increases these effects are drastically rising. Global warming is given life with these methods. We need to change our sources of energy use to environmentally friendly, renewable sources such as solar and wind.
As population increases at the dramatic rate that it currently is, planet Earth needs to change to meet these needs and sustain the planet. One such way is to halt population growth. The education of women is an extremely effective way to do this. Women that are more educated, tend to have less children then uneducated women. Overconsumption from powers such as the U.S. needs to stop as resources deplete at more rapid rates, and growing populations need an increasing chunk of the world's resources. Also, more renewable forms of energy use need to be employed as current popular types pollute and deplete due to the human population explosion. To achieve these things will be a difficult task. We will need to as a world increase awareness of these issues and demand for our world leaders to change the world in a way that can sustain planet Earth and humanity.
Transitioning to a renewable energy system is very important as the world’s fossil fuels decrease. Developed nations have started somewhat to incorporate renewable energy technologies to produce their energy, but I think developing nations, where most of the worlds population is concentrated, is equally important if not more to start using these technologies. I know that the renown Grameen Bank is deploying solar panels to the most rural areas of India and educating that population to be more environmentally conscious. Fossil fuels don’t last forever and there will be a time where all will have to make the transition to renewable energies.
ReplyDeleteWhile we continue to exploit resources from other countries, do you believe that we can expand on renewable energy sources in our own country? I think developing these new resources would help the US to sustain our own energy economy. I also agree with what Rodrigo says that decreasing fossil fuel use in poor countries is important. Poor countries need to obtain a clean source of energy, so that they can sustain a high population. However, keeping the population at current numbers would be more beneficial. Kevin I also agree with education being a very important part of containing the population. How do you think we can make this issues clear to the world? I think making world leaders aware of how to become a more sustainable society, would be the best approach. They will be able to influence their own countries and other world leaders to see things the way environmentalists feel about our move to clean energy sources.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a reduction in human population growth rate is very important to the sustainability of the earth. Most population growth is located in the poorest regions of the world. I agree education is the most important tool to reduce human population growth on earth. I want to point out however most of the these poor regions are war torn countries that the U.S. cannot effectively effect. So, I think that the U.S. and other world powers should do what they can to manage populations within their own borders.
ReplyDeleteI would have to disagree that it is not the world population that is the largest problem at hand, but the lifestyles in which we live that will come to get us in the end. Everyone keeps wanting more, more material goods, more high-food-chain diets, and more energy-consuming activities. No matter how much we curb our population if we continue to live this "American" way of life, than nothing will save us from a global doomsday. While I do agree that our population needs to start slowing to a more sustainable level, I believe it is really our lifestyles and consumtive ways that are the biggest problem at hand.
ReplyDelete--- Kirsten Dobson
The growing population is indeed one of the largest problems, in conjunction with global warming. Scholars predict that nearly 150 million "climate refugees" will be displaced by 2050 due to rising sea levels and other climate change impacts. With habitable land disappearing and the global population exponentially growing, it is inevitable that over crowding will become a huge issue in the very near future. As people are displaced from the seaside areas, they will be forced to move inland to current greenspaces and forests, therefore destroying areas that are crucial for the control of CO2 levels and the well being of the environment, as well as damaging ecosystems. In order to slow these rapid changes, the education of women will be highly necessary to decrease population growth, and we will have to find more clean forms of energy to minimize carbon emissions and global warming.
ReplyDeleteKevin, your article on population growth couldn’t be more true. I really like your personal opinions on the matter throughout your post. Awhile back in AP Environmental Science in highschool, I learned that the leading cause for the loss of biodiversity (especially in the rainforests) is habitat destruction. Because our human population is exponentially growing, almost 100,000 species a year go extinct as we clear cut wildlife for either our own development or for resources. It’s embarrassing that as a country, Americans consume the most resources and outsource our pollution. A recent statistic I came across was that the amount of resources one American person will use in their lifetime is the equivilant to about 18 African people. Yes totally agree that educating women is the most important thing when considering reduction in global population. When I first learned of this it was actually a complete shock too. I think in order to effectively reduce our population growth, America and other countries need to take ambitious measures and enact similar policies to China’s one child rule, where only one child will be covered under health insurance, recognized by society, be given privileges. Thus, having one child becomes an incentive and more than one, a disincentive. This measure would have profound impacts on our population, however it runs into countless moral and social controversies, particularly with religions that encourage many kids. Ie. Mormons and Catholics.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to elaborate on education and reducing poverty to stabilize population growth. In my world regions class, John Boyer taught us about development cycles of a country. A country's development consists of 4 stages that transform a nation from developing to developed. These stages have to do with death rates and birth rates that explain population growth. Developing countries, mostly in Africa, Central America, and Southeast Asia are in what is called a cultural lag. They have high birth rates and low death rates. The high birth rates are due to the fact that they have agricultural production as their main source of economy. They are experiencing low death rates because of foreign aid, life saving technology and other reliefs from developed countries. They are in a cultural lag because their birth rates remain high as they haven't industrialized yet. Boyer suggests that much foreign aid actually slows the development process, allowing for higher population growth. I don't believe that this means developed countries should not help developing countries, but i think its all about how you choose to help. Spending more money on building schools to increase education is one effective way to speed up this development process. In the book, Plan B, by Lester Brown, Brown suggests that only 77 billion dollars would be needed annually to reduce poverty levels and population growth enough to create stability. Now 77 billion is a lot of money, but with a coalition of developed countries, the divided cost is completely feasible. The cost also is an important investment in our planet's future. This budget includes universal primary education, removal of illiteracy, lunch programs, assistance of pregnant women, universal health care, and reduces the condom gap. I believe this is an extremely effective way to reduce population growth, reduce poverty. This is also a way to make up for past exploitations of these lands by developed countries that have contributed to making these developing countries continue to remain in poverty.
ReplyDeleteThough i know there are a million issues at hand contributing to increasing population, increased consumption, climate change and global warming, I do believe that we need to take a step back and look at the actual core issues... we have to ask ourselves what we need to survive and how the use of those resources contribute to all of the other factors-- like water for example-- which is essential for human survival.
ReplyDeletethe current water crisis that we have landed ourselves in deserves way more credit than it is given. Increased hunger, disease and poverty in the developing world from our water shortage and lack of sanitation needs to be made a priority as it is not only vital for human health but human development, security and the global economy.