Diversity of Demographic Changes - Essay Example

People and the Planet Introduction The earth is the third planet from the sun and it is the densest and the fifth largest in the solar system. Among the four terrestrial planets, it is the largest. The planet earth is sometimes referred to as the blue planet or the world in other cases (Barlow 2013,p.87). So far, it is the only planet in the solar system that sustains life despite there being claims that Mars can as well support life. Over the years there have been rapid changes taking place in the environment that makes up the planet as a result of man interacting with the environment (Burch 2000,p.76). There is also an increase in human population that is coupled with extraordinary levels of consumption that are causing rapid changes in the environment. Given the controversies that surround the issues on human population, consumption and environment, studies have been carried out to assess the impact of human population and the high levels of consumption on the planet. The subsequent consequences that these relationships have on the planet a have also been assessed (Erickson & Lorentzen 2004,p.59). This paper focuses on the implication of the above relationships and the problems that are likely to result. The paper further suggests possible solutions to be implemented that can help address the challenges noted. Diversity of Demographic Changes The human population has increased rapidly during the period between the 19th and 20th centuries. Studies on demographic data indicate that the population increased from approximately one billion in 1825 to around seven billion in 2011 (Gibson 2006,p.68).According to the estimates given by the United Nations, the world will have approximately 9.3 billion people by 2050.At a time when the natural resources are becoming scarce and the population majorly consists of needy individuals, continued population increase is a critical issue that needs to be addressed (Macnamara & Storch 2012, p.92). Population growth is not only the only issue to be considered, differences in population composition especially the density and population distribution are as well important factors to be considered. The 21st Century is a period of exceptional demographic diversity across the world (Officer & Page 2008,p.75). For instance in Europe, the areas is urbanized and from studies undertaken it can be noted that the population is ageing rapidly and it is expected that by 2050, it could decline. On the other hand, the trend is taking a different course in the African nations. It is anticipated that by 2050 the population in Africa will have doubled (Prugh & Mastny 2003,p.71). The African nations are also less developed thus the urbanization levels are also low. These trends in demography and diversity reflect the differences that exist in terms of social, environmental and economic factors. The population structure controls these inequalities that exist (Simms 2005,p.69). The inequalities in turn dictate the migration that takes place in a population whether they are moving out or in a population. The population of a country is the main determinant whether the environment can be able to sustain a given population (Vaitheeswaran 2003,p.94). This is because the environment has its limit beyond which it cannot be able to sustain a given population. In cases where the population increases beyond that which can be sustained then it can lead to adverse effects (Barlow 2013,p.96). Globally it can be concluded that the population is rapidly increasing. This can be deduced from the estimates given by the United Nations that expect the population to increase to around 9.3 billion by 2050 basing on the progressive increase of population in the period between the nineteenth and the twentieth century (Burch 2000,p.73). The increase in population can be attributed to improvements in technology as well as health standards. These have ensured that there are low mortality rates thus this allows the population to have low cases of death rates and in turn produce more resulting to an increase in population (Erickson & Lorentzen 2004,p.58). Decrease in maternal mortality has also been linked to the high population growth. This has been effected due to the existence of improved sexual and reproduction health care and nutrition. The increase in population is coupled with both advantages as well as disadvantages some of which are outlined below (Gibson 2006,p.72). Opportunities and Challenges associated with population changes Changes in population composition as a result of migration or urbanization presents both opportunities and challenges to the health and well beings of humans as well as their environment. On one hand migrants benefit their original countries through remittances and help to offset the workforce gap as a result of the ageing population in the country they will have migrated into (Macnamara & Storch 2012,p.68). On the other hand, population increase is associated with challenges in terms of social, economic and environmental issues. The impacts of these challenges are heavily felt on the less developed countries as their population is made up of more poor individuals in contrast to the developed nations (Officer & Page 2008,p.79). This then hinders development thus making these countries to remain dependent on he developed countries. Increase in population results to overpopulation in a certain region especially in areas where the land sizes are small. This is a common phenomenon in the developing countries. People may then encroach the natural areas such as forests or wetlands and clear them in order to accommodate the increasing population (Prugh & Mastny 2003,p.58). These may eventually lead to the loss of such ecosystems thus leading to degradation of the environment that can result to poor quality of life. Due to the existence of scarce resources, people need to use these resources sparingly to ensure that they serve the present and future generation. The population in developing nations is impoverished and thus when the population found in these areas increases it worsens the problem of resource utilization (Simms 2005,p.98). This is because they may over use the resources available to cater for their needs without considering the future generation. This may be not because they are selfish but because of their circumstances they are forced to use what is supposed to be kept to serve the future generations (Vaitheeswaran 2003,p.56). For instance studies conducted on tropical rainforests indicated that these ecosystems have fallen prey to the communities that are living adjacent to it and it is expected that in the long run these prestigious ecosystems may be lost. One of the factors that leads to the loss of these ecosystems is clearing of the forests so as to accommodate the increasing population (Barlow 2013,p.71). The population adjacent to these ecosystems have been found to be poor and cannot be able to afford other sources of energy. They resort to harvesting of wood from these resources and use it as a cheaper alternative of energy (Burch 2000,p.96). This has been found to impact negatively on these ecosystems as it leads to extinction of plant species. The effect is projected further to loss of animal species. Increase in population also leads to environmental degradation. This is because the high population will over utilize the resources that are present within the area in which they occupy (Erickson & Lorentzen 2004,p.83). There are also environmental limits that are known as carrying capacity that dictate the number of individuals a particular area can comfortably support. When the population increases beyond that which can be sustained it results to degradation (Gibson 2006,p.75). This is because the population over utilizes the available resources resulting to its destruction. In addition, the rapid growth in population culminates to economic stagnation. This is because the population size doubles within a short time whereas the infrastructure remains consistent thus will not be able to serve the increasing population (Macnamara & Storch 2012,p.80). This then results to deterioration in the standards of living. Rapidly increasing population composes of more young age structures. This increase the number of dependent individuals thus exerting pressure on the fewer working population (Officer & Page 2008,p.86). Recent Trends in the Consumption of Natural Resources Consumption refers to the satisfaction that one derives from utilizing a given product whether material or non-material good or service. It serves individual’s needs, tastes as well as values. This functions to ensure the wellbeing of human beings (Prugh & Mastny 2003,p.71). Resource utilization has adverse implications on resource scarcity and environmental degradation. Over time consumption has been hypothesized as the consumption of both material and non-material goods and services (Simms 2005,p.87). It is essential to human development and it contributes positively when it satisfies individuals without undesirably affecting the wellbeing of other individuals. It also contributes significantly in cases where it puts into consideration the carrying capacity of the environment and ensures that it is fair to the needs of present and future generation (Vaitheeswaran 2003,p.90). Individuals should therefore engage in economic consumption that contributes to economic and human development without causing environmental degradation. Natural resources include resources such as water, wood and renewable resources such as minerals that are essential to the life of human beings. Unsustainable use of these resources may result to depletion of the earth’s resources (Barlow 2013,p.70). This may result to adverse environmental consequences that can affect the quality of life of individuals. This is because these resources provide prolific base for the economy and also provides elements required for social, mental and physical wellbeing of individuals (Burch 2000,p.86). This therefore makes the consumption of natural resources a critical issue. There are huge variations in the in the consumption patterns around the world as a result of the varying factors (Erickson & Lorentzen 2004,p.95). One binding factor is that all forms of consumption are correlated with population size and levels of economic development. How Consumption Drives Environmental Changes Due to the increased population, people have encroached natural resources so as to get room for accommodating the increasing family population. This is because some of these communities are impoverished and cannot be able to acquire land thus will go for the free available land (Gibson 2006,p.60). This makes these ecosystems vulnerable to such individuals since in other areas they may be covering large tracts of land. When individuals settle in these areas, they end up introducing alien species (Macnamara & Storch 2012,p.61). This is because most of the species found growing in these regions are not fit for human consumption thus they plant crops that are used for food purposes. Alien species have been known to be great opportunists and they normally spread rapidly. They compete with the indigenous species and in most cases they end up outdoing these species (Simms 2005,p.87). In the long run the indigenous species are wiped out and this has adverse effects on the animal species existing within that particular region. This is because all through the vegetation lifespan, there are animal species that were adapted to it and its absence would mean food loss to this particular animals (Vaitheeswaran 2003,p.84). This may then make them to migrate resulting to loss of biodiversity. This may then impact on the wellbeing of humans since there are those that are bio-indicators. The absence of these species indicate that the environment is not safe for human beings as well (Barlow 2013,p.61). Clearing of forest land has also been found to be a cause of global warming. This is because these ecosystems serve a number of ecological as well as scientific functions (Burch 2000,p.72). Among the functions that these systems provide is carbon sequestration that involves purifying the air to reduce the levels of carbon in the environment. Increased levels of carbon in the atmosphere has been found to cause global warming (Erickson & Lorentzen 2004,p.90). Research carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency found that the effects of global warming are disastrous. They stated that global warming results to increased risks of internal health problems (Gibson 2006,p.59). This is because the higher temperatures can result to problems with the cardiovascular system as people tend to overwork their hearts. The research further indicated that increased global warming could result to depletion of the ozone layer that could result to the penetration of harmful sun’s rays that could increase the growth of cancerous cells (Macnamara & Storch 2012,p.55). This is evident as presently the rate of cancer cases have increased an indication that human activities are almost leading the environment to reach its limits. With the rapid increase in human population with less job opportunities, individuals are embracing self-employment in order to sustain their increasing families. People living near the mineral deposits that are considered open access resources excavate these minerals so as to exchange them for money to help them sustain their family needs (Officer & Page 2008,p.78). Individuals also engage in charcoal burning and other activities that end up creating micro climates that in the long run the micro climate tends to alter the climatic pattern of the region. This climatic changes has been found to be responsible for a range of secondary effects such as change in precipitation patterns, rise in sea level and increased temperature. The increased warming leads to melting of glaciers that leads to increased amount of water in the sea that raises the sea level (Prugh & Mastny 2003,p.87). It is projected that in the future the water in the sea may flow to terrestrial land that did not have water before. This then may result to floods which may lead to loss of lives and property (Simms 2005,p.97). The floods can further destroy food products as it can carry away soil causing anchorage problems thus posing a risk of food insecurity. Recommendations The international community should find ways of helping those individuals living below the poverty line out of their plight. This is essential especially in cases where they want to solve issues related to resource overutilization. This is because the majority of individuals that consume most of these resources are the impoverished individuals in the society. This is because they do not have the money to acquire other products thus resort to the cheap products since they acquire them illegally and are not charged for using them (Vaitheeswaran 2003,p.82). Reproduction health and voluntary family programmes need to be adopted. This will educate individuals on mechanisms of controlling the birth rates .This can then help address the rapidly increasing population (Barlow 2013,p.93). This will save a great deal in solving environmental and social problems since population growth is the root cause that culminates to these problems. Governments should also create awareness programmes so as to enlighten their citizens on the impacts of overpopulation on the environment. This is because population currently is already above the sustainable level beyond which it becomes disastrous to the environment (Erickson & Lorentzen 2004,p.76). As individuals are equipped with these facts, they understand the impacts of having smaller families. They will then plan their families putting into consideration the constraints of the local and global environments. Education and job opportunities should be availed especially for women. This is because women are considered critical components for alleviating poverty, gender inequality and overpopulation. Previous studied indicate that when women are provided with more job and education opportunities, they resort to have smaller families (Gibson 2006,p.64). This enables them to devote quality time to each child thus will help break the vicious cycle of poverty. Politicians and international organizations should therefore help fight poverty by providing education and jobs worldwide. Reference Barlow, M., 2013. Blue Future:Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever. New York: The New Press. Burch, M. A., 2000. Stepping Lightly:Simplicity for People and the Planet. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers. Erickson, G. & Lorentzen, A. L., 2004. Raising the Bar. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Gibson, K., 2006. Business Ethics:People,Profits and the Planet. Boston: Mc Graw Hill. Macnamara, L. & Storch, R., 2012. People and Permaculture. Hampshire: Permanent Publications. Officer, C. B. & Page, J., 2008. When the Planet Rages:Natural Disasters,Global Warming and the Future of the Earth. New York: Oxford University Press. Prugh, T. & Mastny, L., 2003. Purchasing Power:Harnessing Institutional Procurement for Peopleand the Planet. Washington,D.C: World Watch Institute. Simms, A., 2005. Ecological Debt:The Health of the Planet and The Wealth of Nations. Michigan: Pluto. Vaitheeswaran, V. V., 2003. Power to the People. New York: Farrar,Strauss and Girroux. Wasserman , P., 2012. Peple and the Planet. London: The Royal Society. Read More