Population Growth and Natural Resource Consumption Tawnee Williams Bryant & Stratton College NSCI280: Ecology Instructor Tingco October 19, 2017

Research Questions and Hypothesis What significant impacts do population growth have on resource consumption? What are some sustainable solutions to lessen the impact of population growth on natural resources? Significant impacts that population growth has on resource consumption are meeting the increasing demand for food, the availability of freshwater for consumption, and the sustainability of water resources.

History of How Population Growth has Become a Major Force Behind the Destruction of Nature and Natural Resources Throughout history, and especially during the twentieth century, environmental degradation has primarily been a product of our efforts to secure improved standards of food, clothing, shelter, comfort, and recreation for growing numbers of people (The National Academic Press, 1993, pg. 5). Nature and natural resources are destroyed as human populations grow and require more space for habitation and farming, and more fuel for cooking (Choudhary, 2017, para. 5). There is also an ever increasing demand for cultivable land, fuel wood/charcoal and other forest products, arising from the needs of the non-agricultural (mostly, urban) population and the export sector (Choudhary, 2017, para. 2).

Projected Population Growth from 2012 to 2050 The world’s population is projected to grow from about 7 billion in 2012 to 9.6 billion people in 2050. More than half of this growth will occur in sub-Saharan Africa, a region where one-quarter of the population is currently undernourished (Ranganathan, 2013, para. 4).

Global Consumption of Meat & Milk Products In addition to population growth, world’s per capita meat and milk consumption is also growing—especially in China and India—and is projected to remain high in the European Union, North America, Brazil, and Russia. These foods are more resource-intensive to produce than plant- based diets (Ranganathan, 2013, para.5).

Food Production and the Increasing Demand for Food Food production and the increasing demand for food is probably the most basic challenge, as well as the most important population and environmental crises. Crop yields per acre have increased and the amount of land under cultivation has expanded. This is because of the development of fertilizers, pesticides, and more efficient farming techniques. Therefore, world food production has kept pace with population growth. The ironic fact however, is that millions of people do not have enough to eat (Population Reference Bureau, n.d., para. 4).

Growing Global Demand for Freshwater for Consumption With a growing population comes a growing demand for water from the three main sectors of: Agriculture, around 70 percent Industry, around 22 percent Domestic use, around 8 percent. This increase in demand will cause a shortfall of almost 2000 megaliters of water by 2030 (Igeogers, n.d., para. 5). Facts: It takes 5500 liters of water to produce 1kg of beef 2,720 liters of water to produce one cotton T-shirt (Igeogers, n.d. para. 6). This line graph shows shows how water demand grows at almost twice the rate of population growth (Igeogers, n.d., para. 4).

Annual Renewable Freshwater Availability Per Capita In both 1950 and 1955 Bangladesh had the most freshwater availability, with the United States being the second leader in freshwater availability for both years. In 2050, the same countries are predicted to also have the most freshwater available, however the freshwater in these countries is significantly declining (Population Reference Bureau, n.d., para. 1).

The Loss of Freshwater is Due to Human Overpopulation About 75 % of planet Earth is covered in water. 97.5% of that is ocean and 2.5 % is freshwater 70% of freshwater is divided into glaciers and ice caps The remaining 30 % is divided into land surface water, such as rivers, lakes, ponds and groundwater. Most of the freshwater resources are either unreachable or too polluted, which leaves less than 1 % of the world’s freshwater readily accessible for direct human use (Tsiattalos, 2013, para. 3).

The Sustainability of Renewable Water Resources The demand for water has grown significantly over the last 50 years. Distribution has always been linked to the availability of freshwater and the sustainability of renewable water resources. Population growth of course is one factor but we must consider others such as in the uses of water for: Households Agricultural Production Industrial Production The future of the world’s water resources depends on improving management policies and practices globally (Population Reference Bureau, n.d., para. 7).

Research and Design of My Portfolio Project I started compiling my resources during week two of this course. I used the internet to do my research on this topic and collected all of my resources to support my hypothesis from reliable websites.

Research Conclusion I have proven my hypothesis statement to be true through supporting graphs, charts, data, and qualitative resource information. My hypothesis is testable, clear, it can be measured, and it is straight to the point.

Population Growth Issues and The Connections to My Career Population growth has significant impacts on resource consumption and this can negatively affect my career because without sustainable resources for consumption everybody in the world would suffer, not only me. If there were a shortage on food, this would cause sickness and disease. If there were a shortage on water, many people world die due to dehydration and water related diseases. This would impact the economy and therefore jobs all around the world.

Reference Page Choudhary, V. (2017, August 26). Population growth and its impacts on nature and natural resources. Retrieved from http://natureconservation.in/population- growth-and-its-impacts-on-nature-and-natural-resources/ Fitzpatrick, T. (2008, October 22). Population growth drives depletion of natural resources. Retrieved from https://source.wustl.edu/2008/10/population-growth- drives-depletion-of-natural-resources/ Igeogers. (n.d.). Water demand and management issues. Retrieved from http://igeogers.weebly.com/water-demand-and-management-issues.html Population Reference Bureau. (n.d.). Human population: Environment. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/Publications/Lesson- Plans/HumanPopulation/Environment.aspx Ranganathan, J. (2013, December 3). The global food challenge explained in 18 graphics. Retrieved from http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/12/global-food- challenge-explained-18-graphics Tsiattalos, G. (n.d.). (2013, November 20). Effects of human overpopulation. Retrieved from http://www.everythingconnects.org/overpopulation- effects.html