1. Population and the Environment

2. Arithmetic vs. geometric growth
Arithmetic growth
1, 2, 3, 4, 5…
Geometric growth (exponential)
2, 4, 8, 16, 32…
(Cunningham et. al: Environmental Science: A Global Concern)

3. Population growth 2 to 6,600,000,000 last century
1B/decade 100M/year 300K/day
1 NYC/month
296B in 150 years!
(Cunningham et. al: Environmental Science: A Global Concern)

4. Carrying capacity Overshoot Dieback “crash”
Increase w/ technology, but sustainable?
What is Earth’s sustainable CC?
(Cunningham et. al: Environmental Science: A Global Concern)

5. Fertility rates (replacement is 2.1)
(Rubenstein: Introduction to Human Geography)

6. Questions to think about
Why are we growing so fast?
Why should we be concerned?
People are good aren’t we?
How does population affect the environment?
What needs to be done?
(Pojman: Population: General Considerations)

7. Growth causes Higher fertility rate & lower death rate
Industrial Revolution
Fossil fuel & combustion engine
Agricultural advances
Fertilizer, irrigation & genetics
Medical, health & sanitation revolution
Vaccines, antibiotics, nutrition, sewage, cleaner water, etc.
Socioeconomic, religious & primal instinct factors
(Newton and Dillingham: The Human Family Grows: Population as a Problem)

8. Malthus vs. Condorcet Geometric pop. growth
Arithmetic subsistence growth
Overshoot CC
Starvation, disease & resource wars
Advance in technology = more improvement
Moral advancement
Women's rights
(Pojman: Population and the Environment)

9. Optimist More people = more brains = more progress
Healthcare, economic opportunity & technology
Creative resources are infinite
(Newton and Dillingham: The Human Family Grows: Population as a Problem)

10. Pessimist More people = more pollution & global warming
Irreplaceable resources
Air, water, soil, species, etc.
Agricultural & economic collapse
Creative resources aren’t infinite
Brains like Einstein or Mozart are very rare
Geniuses need education & food too
(Newton and Dillingham: The Human Family Grows: Population as a Problem)

11. Current consequences Water depletion & pollution (33%)
Soil degradation (43%)
Deforestation
Biodiversity
Extinction (27,000/ yr.)
Famines
Unemployment
2B malnourished (½ children)
Resource depletion
US oil: 15 yrs
World oil: 50 yrs
(Newton and Dillingham: The Human Family Grows: Population as a Problem)

12. Overcrowding stress Intense competition
Psychological, physical and behavioral changes
Weakened immunity, aggression, cannibalism, arteriosclerosis and increased mortality
Symptoms include abnormal adrenal glands & deterioration of circulatory system, kidney and liver
(Cunningham et. al: Environmental Science: A Global Concern)

13. Women and population Historically suppressed & regarded as inferior
Men & religion control reproductive rights, education and career opportunity
No independence
Islam ”Men are above women because Allah has given the one superiority above the other”
Confucius ”one hundred girls are not worth one boy”
Hinduism ”A woman must never enjoy independence”
Christianity ”The women shall be vassals to their men who are their masters”

14. Family planning
97% of growth in poor nations with little access to reproductive services
AID found many women want to limit pregnancies
Funding cuts and “gag rule”
(Cunningham et. al: Environmental Science: A Global Concern)

15. Consumption and the environment
I = PAT
Hunter gatherer
2,500 calories
Modern American
186,000 calories
Equivalent to sperm whale
US most overpopulated in this context
Rich vs. poor nations
(Pojman: Population General Considerations )

16. Disproportionate consumption
US has 4.5% pop.
Use 33% of all resources
Produce 75% toxic waste & 33% total waste
Produce the most greenhouse emissions
Waste 200,000T edible food/d
Eat 200B extra calories/d (feed 80 million)
1/3+ overweight & spend $30B/yr on diets
Justifiable?
(Pojman: Population General Considerations)

17. Death context 3,200 died tragically on 911
Relatively unpreventable
Over $5 billion in aid
33,000 children die/d unnecessarily from malnutrition and poverty-related disease
Easily preventable
15-25 cents/d would save the majority
Political & religious authorities moral and pro-life?
(Pojman: Hunger, Duty, and Ecology: On What We Owe Starving Humans)

18. Consumption of meat Health Morality 13 lbs. grain/ lb. meat
Consumption increases risk of degenerative diseases
Heart disease, obesity, diabetes & cancer
Fat deposits in arteries of typical US child by age 3 & 70% by age 12
Greed & God?
Morality
Death of animals & people
13 lbs. grain/ lb. meat
22MT seeds produced in US, 20MT fed to livestock
90% net loss 14 MT protein
(Pojman: Hunger, Duty, and Ecology: On What We Owe Starving Humans)

19. Consumption solutions
Progressive policies
Simple
Reduce consumption
Recycle waste
Eat less meat
Buy used stuff
Don’t waste
Advanced
Less children
Invest in sustainable businesses
Consider impact of decisions and actions
Refocus reality away from material happiness

20. Population solutions Halt & reverse growth to sustainable level
Serious political & religious debate and reform
Socioeconomic empowerment
Educational & employment opportunities
Social security systems
Family planning services
Environmentally sustainable development
(Newton and Dillingham: The Human Family Grows: Population as a Problem)

21. Easter Island history
Initially lush forest, fertile soil & abundant wildlife
Overpopulation
Deforestation
Soil & water depletion
Extinction of wildlife
Chaos and warfare
Cannibalism reduced population by 90%
Why didn’t they control their population?
Why didn’t they conserve their resources?
Will we follow the same course?
Should we be optimists, pessimists or both?
(Cunningham et. al: Environmental Science: A Global Concern)

22. Henry Kendall of MIT- ”If we don’t control the population with justice, humanity, and mercy, it will be done for us by nature-brutally.”

23. (Rubenstein: Introduction to Human Geography)
HIV/AIDS
(Rubenstein: Introduction to Human Geography)

24. Mexican immigration Destabilize employment and economy? Overcrowding
Higher resource and environmental pressures
More native blood = more right to land & resources?

25. Religious leaders Hindu god Rama: two daughters Buddha: one son
Jainism prophet Mahavira: one daughter
Confucius: one son
Taoism founder Loa-tzu: no children
Moses: two sons
Jesus Christ: no children
Islamic prophet Mohammed: one daughter