Blog 1 - - - Section 36

Selection 36 – The Population Explosion

Understanding the many steps to control and reduce the population numbers, and demands on the environment. People miss the overall view; the world’s major problem is over population, and not whether or not an individual has personal right to reproduce. In the long run it will not matter, if there is no food to feed the billions. The amount of people on the earth compared to the number of corporations created can show the impact; the population is taking on the environment. Growing Demands for power resources is damaging the environment. More land must be used in the fight to provide enough power for the population. Less people = Less power demand = Less impact on the environment. Trying to figure out who the culprit is to blame for power consumption, is people just pointing fingers. The first world blames the third world, and same goes the other way. In reality, rich nations with extreme lifestyles are still the top consumers
Understanding the problem and how to deal with it, has two determiners. The population can be grown to optimal or largest population earth can handle. Either way the overall goal still remains controlling the growth of people. Optimal population, allows people to equally live comfortably, but unfortunately that time has come and gone. The optimal number for that scenario was two billion, currently the earth hold almost six and a unsustainable draw on its resources.
Uncontrolled growth on earth is creating the same effects as the mass exactions in the past. Flora and fauna are deteriorating, and exactions rates are being accelerated. Major impacts are focused on the large draw on energy, required to support humanity. Using fossil fuels, negatively impacts the environment, while plentiful solar energy is not used efficiently yet.
Scenarios created by John P. Holdren, show how the earth can be adapted to survive with an ever growing population. Although many outcomes rely heavily on extremely efficient technologies, that do not exist currently. Many sustainable population models search for solutions to supply a population, when the focus would be on controlling the numbers of people, and using resources more responsibility.
Determining what practices, for population control, are culturally expectable, is a topic widely debated. Many arguments focus around the use of birth control, only applies to culture with smaller families. The largest families are located in third world countries, where conditions are substandard. The large family is need to provide security, that at least one child will grow to be an adult. The main focus then for population control should be raising the standard of living in these countries. Changes with equal rights, clean water, sewage, and most important, a government promoting birth control and smaller families, given the fact that a government is in place, and not corrupt. An example of a government that successfully controlled/reduced populations Mexico, showing the upper influence works.
With birth rates controlled, the problem will not be an instance fix. Population growth contains momentum, and takes time for it to die off. With declining birth rate the population with continue to grow for years and decades, depending on how much momentum was present.
Overall strategies are focused on the world working in unison to reduce power consumption in some areas, and increasing living conditions on others. Rich nations will have to cut power use to offset the increasing demand for poorer nations. Poor nations will require more power to upgrade living conditions, to become more efficient. The upgraded living conditions will bring more structure to the areas, creating more control on population and power consumption.
The world is a large place, but the human population is growing larger as well. Humans use to much damaging technology on the environment, and the population’s momentum is almost uncontrollable. With many nations over consuming, changes have to be made. Different lifestyle will face resistance, prying away from the American way of life.

This article was an interesting read, bring up new information and aspect not yet explored by me. The view on how the third world is impacting the world to such an extent, made me think, that population control really is the real problem, and not trying to find new and better power supplies. The earth has everything on it already to support a sustainable life, but when you have a population that can over draw the supply, and then you’re in trouble. I never had that view before this article; I had been lead to believe that power shortage/supplies and new technologies were the biggest problem. It’s weird how sometime the largest, most difficult problems are ignored until it’s too late.


Reference

Easton T. (2009) Environmental Studies, Sections 36. New York: McGraw-Hill