Marietta (FGCU): Population Destruction

New housing complexes seem to be developing left and right, more and more cars are found on the streets, and common areas are packed with greater numbers of people.  Population is increasing right before our eyes, and it’s surprising to me that only a small percentage of people have considered what might happen when planet Earth can no longer provide housing for the human population.             

Population is strongly influenced by society and the culture you grew up in.  For example, some religious cultures believe that producing more offspring benefits the family for different reasons.  Along with religious cultures, we see TV shows and news articles depicting people like Octo-Mom or John and Kate Plus 8.  However, these are extreme cases.  If we think about it in a mathematical way, we will notice that if more offspring are produced than producers the next generation of people will have a higher population.  When following this pattern, population will continue to increase eventually causing problems.  Birthrate is not the only factor affecting population, new technology increasing life span has also impacted the rapid growth of population.  With the new medical care and information people are trying to live longer, once again creating a rise in population.  When considering all the factors the question, “How much is too much?” becomes relevant.            

What is the carrying capacity of Earth? When will it be reached? Society plays a major role in testing these questions.  We deem it acceptable to have two, three, or four kids, but is it really when considering population as a whole?  People need to start seeing the larger picture and think about the future in an environmental stand point.  When the carrying capacity is reached, arguments, or even wars will break out.  Limitations of resources such as land, food, and water will turn into life and death.  Along with resource portioning lower living standards, poor financial status, and declining education will become relevant in all cultures.  Crime will increase and safety will decrease.  If population continues on the same track as it is now, we will experience a life containing greater hardship and a devastating outcome.

Some interesting websites to view:

population clock: http://www.medindia.net/patients/Calculators/worldPopulation.asp#pop

Population graph: http://www.sustainablescale.org/AreasofConcern/Population.aspx

 (I know this picture is bad quality but if you go to sustainablescale.org you can see it more clearly)

This entry was posted on 16. February 2010 at 03:36 and is filed under Introduction to Sociology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.