HUMAN POPULATION

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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 75 How does this affect Natural
Disasters? ADD 1.) Consider Katrina 1,000 years
ago?? 2.) Consider economic losses over time ND
pg. 11 fig. 1.6 and table 1.6 NDs
increasing? Cost/losses ARE increasing! WHY???
Is it, itself, a potential disaster for the
future? HOW????
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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 75 Populations grow exponentially link for
general discussion a) The J-curve and more?
ND pg. 16 fig. 1.11 b) Very slow growth for
thousands of years - then a sharp upward
shift. ADD But what about later? More
complete picture c) birth rate does not have
to change - death rate falls dramatically.
What could cause this? Related to 1.) tools
(1 million ya) 2.) agriculture (8,000 ya) and 3.)
medicine (1700s)
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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 75 d) 1810 pop. 1 billion - doubled by 1925
at 2 billion (115 years). 1925-1974 doubled to
4 billion (49 years). by 2000 reached 6
billion The future?? The bigger it gets the
bigger it gets FASTER. e) think of it in terms
of doubling time - it will take CHANGE THIS 44
years for the worlds population to double at
present growth rate of 1.6 per year. ADD
Doubling Time70DIVIDED BY ( growth rate/year)
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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 75 In general, there are TWO views on human
population 1) Too many people 2) Not enough
people Hmmmm - lets investigate these
viewpoints.
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Pg. 76 1) Too Many a) The J curve points out
that earths population will double every 50
years (or less!). With current birth/death
rates b) That puts 8 billion on earth in early
2000s and 16 billion by mid to later
2000. The issue of too many people is
RESOURCES More people strain resources -
especially as standard of living raises
worldwide. What if everyone lived high on the
hog like us? LikeCHINA?? This is termed
carrying capacity in biological terms. What might
happen if we exceed carrying capacity?
HUMAN POPULATION
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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 76 Too many continued Resources Facts 1)
Food a.) 3/4 of a billion already suffer
malnutrition largely due to unequal food
distribution b.) only 11 of Earths surface
is arable land this diminished due to.
ADD 1) erosion cant farm the dirt if it aint
there 2) expansion are ya going to live on it or
grow on it? 3) salinization irrigation water has
salts. Arid areas H2O evaps. leaves behind
saltsdead crops From 1945-1990 3 billion
acres (China and India combined) have been
degraded.
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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 76 Too many continued Resources Facts 2)
Water a) At present 31 countries (8 world pop.)
have chronic water shortages. b) Due to
improper management (sewage), unequal
distribution (high pop. Vs. low pop.),
contamination (keeping clean and cleaning
up). c) Estimates suggest by 2025 35 world
pop. affected WHY?? Many of those countries
cannot pay the cost for water (desalinization).
Global financial inequity.
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HUMAN POPULATION

• Pg. 76-77
• Clean air-more peoplemore productionmore
  pollution.
• OKpotentially could we do things differently
• Trash More people more trashwhere to put
• the piles!
• 5) Deforestation-more peoplemore demand for
• lumber/agricultureless forest
• Consider link to greenhouse effect?
• Energy Resources-more peoplemore demand for
  energy
• fossil fuels are being used faster than they
  are
• being created

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HUMAN POPULATION

• Pg. 77
• Resources used in technology and consumer
• products - including homes, hospitals, schools,
  etc.
• (sort of a composite of the above)
• Species extinctions as habitat is removed or
  altered
• SO, whats the problem if a few species go
  extinct?
• Unequal distribution of resources is cited as an
• issue - can that affect political stability
  worldwide?
• Global jealousy?
• Political history?
• Jobs and money - will there be enough for
  everyone?
• Sure. The question is at what level/standard of
  living.
• Could Earth sustain a global population ALL
  living
• like we do?

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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 77 U.S. population is expected to peak in
2028 and then decline - So we dont have a
problem - or do we. Does the U.S. add to world
population issues/concern? A LOOK at the
Economic burden on the world ecological system
3 things dictate the economic burden 1)
Population size 2) Consumption 3) Technology
used to provide goods and services-medicine,
transportation.
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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 78 THE U.S. IS THE LARGEST CONSUMER IN THE
WORLD 3 million Americans 90 million people
from India (resources/year) a factor of
30!!! As standard of living is raised in other
nations resource use per person will rise.
Developed and developing nations want more
STUFF Such as coffee/tea and soda, meat, wood,
fruit. POSSIBLE SCENARIO (can you think of
others?) This leads to deforestation generally of
rainforest. POSITIVE FEEDBACK
(positive???) Poor soils - land used up in short
time - new areas turned to crop land-poor
soils-land used up..
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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 78 ONE RESULT Poor nations trade products
for money. Is that a DEAL? NO- Consumers
do not pay for the environmental damage to the
ecosystems. Sustainability - consumers need to
use less and pay more. WHY???
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HUMAN POPULATION

• Pg. 78
• THE SECOND IDEA OF HUMAN POPULATION IS THAT
• THERE ARE TOO FEW PEOPLE.
• TOO FEW PEOPLE
• Information provided by the Population Research
  Institute
• 1) This group believes the population in NOT
  expanding as
• fast as predicted.
• 2) They cite shrinking family size.
• Census Bureau world fertility rate is 2.9
  children per
• woman. This is lowest level ever. In 1985 it
  was 4.9.
• Mmmm?
• Developed nations have lowest fertility rate.
  Europe
• especially low at 1.3 children per woman.
• Germany and Japan offer financial incentives for
  more
• children.

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HUMAN POPULATION
ADD Another way to look at it. If you
calculate a.) 6 billion people (todays pop.) b.)
Each get 3 x1 foot space c.) the entire world
population fits in 26mi2? So the world is mostly
uninhabited. Right? AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY
DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE
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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 79 WHY?? Economies based on growth. Countries
with low growth rates fear a) labor shortages
reducing production of goods b) housing market
will stagnate/real estate sales slow c) above
affect whole economy
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HUMAN POPULATION

• Pg. 79
• Believe world population will peak at 2030 and
  then
• continually decline. But.

ADD POPULATION DENSITY RELATED ISSUES A)
Intraspecies Competition members of the same
species compete for resources reindeer example
and gypsy moth example Food resource issue B)
Interspecies Competition two species compete
for resources Paramecia species cultivation
(alone vs. together) better competitior? Which
better represents concerns for human
populations? WHY?
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HUMAN POPULATION
Pg. 79 Another Issue - Population control can
lead to loss of freedom - genocide in some
cases. a) freedom to choose family
size example China b) enforced
sterilization of specific groups example
Peru (target is poor rural women which
generally are Native Indians) POINT Opens the
door to ethically/morally dicey policy?
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HUMAN POPULATION
CASE HISTORY Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Volcanic
island west of Chile Not the greatest to begin
with high temp and humidty no permanent
rivers poorly drained, marginal soils Early 5th
century seafaring Polynesians settled here.
Brought with them 1) chickens 2) rats 3) food
plants (only yams could survive harsh climate)
Source http//www.unmuseum.org/easteri.htm
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HUMAN POPULATION
CASE HISTORY Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Developed
a complex social system Customs include
competitions building huge statues (moai) up to
20 ft. high Pop. peaked at about 7,000, moai 600
with about 300 more being built in
quarries. Civilization began to decline rapidly
and savagely
Source http//www.unmuseum.org/easteri.htm
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HUMAN POPULATION
CASE HISTORY Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Easter
Sunday, 5 April 1722 first European contact,
Dutch Found 2,000 people living in caves in a
primitive state These remnants were engaged in
nearly constant warfare Practicing
cannibalism WHAT HAPPENED????
Source http//www.unmuseum.org/easteri.htm
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HUMAN POPULATION

• CASE HISTORY
• Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
• Transporting the moai used up trees and
  resources.
• With no trees
• Soil erosion increased and farming became more
  difficult
• b) Homes could not be built
• c) No fuel
• d) No transportation (canoes) to leave or to use
  for fishing.
• RESULTS statue based religion disintegrated,
  clans
• were reduced to warfare and cannibalism to
  survive
• HOW IS THIS LIKE EARTH?

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HUMAN POPULATION
QUIZ
1.) Which of the following best describes how
populations increase exponentially?


B
A
POP.
POP.
-
-
- TIME
- TIME

C
POP.
-
- TIME
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HUMAN POPULATION
QUIZ
2.) Which part of the curve represents carrying
capacity?
C
B
A
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HUMAN POPULATION
QUIZ

• 3.) What evidence is used to support the view
  that there
• are not enough people on the planet?
• a) exponential growth
• b) that the current population only takes up
  about 26 mi2
• c) first part of human history saw little
  population growth
• d) family size is increasing
• 4.) What evidence is NOT used to support the view
  that
• there are too many people?
• Shrinking family size
• b) Only 11 of the Earths surface is arable
  (farmable)
• c) Resources are also part of the equation
• d) There already exists a significant water
  shortage

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HUMAN POPULATION
QUIZ

• 5.) Which BEST describes what the Reindeer case
  history
• implies might happen to human populations?
• Populations reach carrying capacity and then
  crash
• b) Populations reach carrying capacity and then
  increase
• c) Populations reach carrying capacity and then
  fluctuate
• d) Populations reach carrying capacity and then
  remain
• constant
• 6) The people/island/moai/Dutch in the Rapa Nui
• (Easter Island) case history each represent what?

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HUMAN POPULATION
QUIZ
7.) The idea of sustainability suggests that
consumers should pay a) More to fix increasing
environmental problems caused by production b)
The same to fix the constant environmental
problems caused by production c) Less to fix the
decreasing environmental problems caused by
production
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HUMAN POPULATION
QUIZ

• 8.) In the graph below what could best explain
  the portion
• labeled C?
• Increase in fertility
• b) Decreae in mortality
• c) Introduction of predator species
• d) disease