3.3: The Human Population
- Page ID
- 70828
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- 3.3.1: The Human Population
- Concepts of animal population dynamics can be applied to human population growth. Earth’s human population and their use of resources are growing rapidly, to the extent that some worry about the ability of Earth’s environment to sustain its human population. Long-term exponential growth carries with it the potential risks of famine, disease, and large-scale death, as well as social consequences of crowding.
- 3.3.2: History of Human Population Growth
- Human population size has increased dramatically since the Industrial Revolution, from 1 to 7.8 billion people. While the human population continues to grow, the global population growth rate has declined. Nevertheless, the large world population as well as resource use threatens ecosystems with collapse and causes global environmental issues, such as climate change.
- 3.3.3: The Rate of Human Population Growth
- Demographic transition is the shift from high to low birth and death rates. The future population size of different countries depends on total fertility rate, the average number of children per woman, and the age structure of the population.
- 3.3.4: Looking Ahead
- The human population continues to grow, and according to some experts, we have already passed our carrying capacity. Carrying capacity depends on resource use per person; countries with large ecological footprints disproportionately impact the environment. China's One-Child Policy was a controversial attempt to regulate human population growth, but more ethical population regulation focuses on improving access to healthcare and education.
- 3.3.5: Human Impact on the Environment
- Humans negatively impact the environment by generating waste and pollutants, which cause downstream health, ecological, and economic harm. Examples include solid waste, water pollution, and air pollution. The release of greenhouse gases has caused one of the greatest environmental issues that humans have faced, climate change.