Based on the UN 2010 projections, current projections on human population
show continued increase in population in the near future. Global population is
expected to reach between 7.5 and 10.5 billion by 2050.
After reading these facts, I can’t help but try to
imagine the world in 40 years, with maybe 50% more people than today! We are
already seeing the effects of human population in our streets and schools, but how
will it look down the road?
Living in an industrialized nation, we see the
effects of human population growth less than other nations. For example, when I
travel to India, the population crisis has massive presence on the country.
The difference between the developing countries and
the industrialized countries is due to their economic prosperity. This was
discussed earlier in the Demographic Transition. The developing nations are in
stage two of the Demographic Transition, where birth rates remain high, but
death rates decline. As a result, their population growth is nearly
exponential.
However, as the UN report mentioned, as these
countries complete the Demographic Transition, in that birth rates decline with
death rates, then the global population will begin to level out.
Sources:
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social
Affairs: Population Division, Population Estimates and Projections Section,
<http://esa.un.org/wpp/unpp/panel_population.htm>
The Sustainable Scale Project <http://www.sustainablescale.org/areasofconcern/population/populationandscale/quickfacts.aspx>
I liked this blog because it was actually a blog. You take the reader along the journey with you as you discover and question the information you learn about the human population.
ReplyDeleteI particularly enjoyed the section on genetically modified foods. While the population has been able to reach the size it is today because of advancements made in agriculture, there are few blogs that look into how the future crops will be able to sustain the growth. Genetically modified foods are a big part of modern society in terms of what we will look forward to help us in the future as well as what is currently one of the biggest controversial subjects. I was at the Capitol two weeks ago and stumbled across a huge protest against Monsanto and their genetically modified foods. So this is definitely a relevant subject today.
I also really enjoyed the paragraph on future potentials for the population. Many of the blogs do a good job of exploring what has led us to the current human population and what currently sustains the population, but not many look to the future, which can arguably be the most important. But I wish the section was a bit longer.
The only critique I have is that some of the blog entries can be a little short, so I’m not sure if it reaches the word count minimum. I would have liked a few more images to display some of the points you bring up. Otherwise, this was a great blog!
Thanks for the review! The word count limit is met, but I agree about the addition of more pictures/diagrams.
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