Population & the Environment What is demography and what are its basic ideas? What are the key factors shaping populations? What are some of the environmental impacts of human societies and how can we address the problems this creates?
Demography: The Study of Populations Causes of population change: Birth rates Death rates Migration
Fertility Rates,1997
Infant Mortality Rates,1997
Age-Pyramid, Turkey 2000
Age-Pyramid, Turkey 2050
Population Growth Theory Malthus & Marx Neo-Malthusians Demographic Transitions
Demographic Transition Graph Stages linked to level of technology: Stage 1 = preindustrial, Stage 2 = early & mature industrial, Stage 3 = post-industrial
Global Population Trends The Low-Growth North The High-Growth South The Good News
Adding Billions to World Population
Demographic statistics Crude birth rate, crude death rate and annual rates of natural population change for some selected countries Country Crude birth rate Crude death rate Annual rate of natural population change (%) United States 14.1 8.7 0.55 Canada 11.41 7.39 0.40 United Kingdom 11.76 10.38 0.14 Germany 9.35 10.49 -0.11 China 16.12 6.73 0.94 India 24.79 8.88 1.59 Pakistan 32.11 9.51 2.26 Ethiopia 45.13 17.63 2.75 Uganda 48.94 18.44 2.96 Source: Adapted from CIA World Factbook 2002
Why have birth rates remained high in poorer countries?
Migration & Turkey International Internal Reasons for migration New Trends? International: legal vs illegal, guest worker program, integration issues; internal: rural to urban, trends: suburbanization, return migration
Human Ecology Study of interrelationships between people and their environment Functionalism & Human Ecology Dunlap: natural environment serves 3 basic functions for humans Provides the resources essential for life Serves as a waste repository Houses our species – “habitat” Problem: Functions compete with one another
Conflict View of Environmental Issues Growing share of human & natural resources of developing countries go to rich nations North America & Europe account for 12% of world’s population, but 60% of worldwide consumption Most serious threat to environment comes from global consumer class
Air Pollution More than 1 billion people exposed to potentially health-damaging levels of air pollution WHO estimates up to 700,000 premature deaths per year could be prevented if pollutants brought down to safe levels
Water Pollution Dumping of waste materials by industries & local governments polluted streams, rivers, and lakes Pollution of oceans a growing concern Over 1.1 billion people lack safe & adequate drinking water worldwide 2.6 billion people have no acceptable means of sanitation
Global Warming Scientific support & growing public consensus But lack of support for tough new energy restrictions U.S. did not sign Kyoto treaty because protocol would place the nation at disadvantage in global marketplace Most vulnerable countries tend to be the poorest countries
The Impact of Globalization Companies relocate to countries with less stringent environmental standards Multinationals exploit resources of developing countries for short-term profit As barriers to international movement of goods, services, and people fall, multinationals have incentive to consider cost of natural resources Increasing need for global cooperation; Economic incentives to pollute: producers privatize profits, but social cost of polluting
Solutions? Source of problem: Industrial systems (need new tech), population growth (need pop control), cultural outlook (need postmaterial culture); global cooperation is required