Unit 4 People in the Global EcosystemChapter 13 - Human Population

Chapter 13.1 History of the Human PopulationObjectives

• Describe the major events that have affected the rates of human population growth throughout history.

Chapter 13.1 Thomas Malthus.

• British economist who lived during the late 1700s & early 1800.

Noted that “population tend to grow geometrically” (1,2,4,8,16…)

Whereas food supply “only increases arithmetically”

(1,2,3,4,5…)

Chapter 13.1 Increases in growth rate

Starvation, predation and disease kept death rates fairly high

~20,000 YA humans started establishing permanent settlements

Chapter 13.1 Increases (continued)

Agricultural revolution

~8,000 YA hunter-gatherers began to develop farming skills and techniques and learned to domesticate animals

Within a relatively short time our population reached 5 million

(remember a 1,000 million is a billion)

Chapter 13.1 Increases (continued)

Industrial revolution

~300 YA technological advances have improved food production and distribution, safer work environments, better health care and more access to the same

Chapter 13.1 Germ Theory.

• Occurred around the same time as the industrial revolution.

Identified that bacteria and microorganisms are the agents responsible for many diseases

The development of efficient hospitals was an outstanding contribution of Islamic medicine.

(Separate wards for different diseases especially infectious ones)

E. Coli

Chapter 13.1 Decreases

Declines in Growth Rate Disease– Black Death (bubonic plague)– Influenza (1918)

Famine– Irish potato famine (1840s)– China (1877-1888) 9,000,000 deaths

War – Take your pick…

Pestilence – pollution– greenhouse effect– nuclear poisoning and – man-made maladies of mankind

Chapter 13.2 Growth and Changing Needs

Objectives• Compare and

contrast population growth trends in developing and industrialized nations.

• Infer reasons why emigration is higher in developing nations than in industrialized.

Chapter 13.2 Measuring Growth Rate

Growth Rate = Birth Rate (births/1000) – Death Rate(deaths/1000)

Egypt’s Growth = Birth Rate (38/1000) – Death Rate(9/1000) 29/1000(2.9%)

Chapter 13.2 Demography

Demography is the science of the changing vital statistics in a human population.

Are people becoming:

older?

richer?

better educated?

more children?

more men than women?

Chapter 13.2 Changing Needs

Larger human populations have greater needs than smaller.

Different needs based on:

older?

better educated?

more children?

more men than women?

Chapter 13.3 Challenges of Overpopulation

Objectives• Relate how overpopulation

affects natural resources, energy demands and biodiversity.

• Hypothesize how the availability of resources affects population growth.

Remember ? Chapter 5.3 Limiting Factors

PopulationSize

Human Disturbance

ClimateNatural

Disasters

Density-independent limiting factors

Water Availability

Living Space

FoodCompetition

Disease

Parisitism

Predation

Density-dependent limiting factors

Chapter 13.3 Rapid Population Growth

Rapid population growth places demands on:Resources (minerals, food, fuels)

Space (less land)

Health Problems

PopulationSize

Human Disturbance

ClimateNatural

Disasters

Water Availability

Living Space

FoodCompetitionDisease

Parisitism

Predation

All life on Earth

Is interconnected

Chapter 13.3 Controlling Overpopulation

Seems obvious that controlling the birth rate is the answer to overpopulation.

•Religious organizations

•Nations with low birth rates

•Cultural beliefs

Chapter 13.3 U.S. Overpopulation

Is the US in danger of becoming over populated?

Would we accept family planning restrictions?

Chapter 13.3

Suggestion for Controlling

Overpopulation

Chapter 13.3 Technology

Is technology the answer?

Past Attempts

•Fire

•Established Settlements

•Agriculture

•Industrialization

Chapter 13.3 and Counting

Chapter 13.3 Too Big . . .

“Too big for me to

comprehend”

“Something I can wrap my mind around”

Chapter 13.3 - in closing

"Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive overpopulation.

Convenience and decency cannot survive overpopulation. As you put more and more

people onto the world, the value of life not only declines, it disappears."

-Issac Asimov-

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. "

- Albert Einstein -

Before & After

Also important is recognizing change

“What have I learned...?”

Push your students to do self-reflective exercises

References

Wiley. "Non Sequitur." Cartoon. gocomics. 15 Sept. 2006. 17 Sept. 2006 <http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2006/09/15/>.

Earth Science Geology, the Universe and the Environment. Glencoe, 2002. PDF Version. 17 Sept. 2006. p. 23