(Malthusian) view of population and resources

Big question…… Can the earth support our growing population?

Over population and Under population Carrying capacity Refers to the number of individuals who can be supported in a given area within natural resource limits, and without degrading the natural environment Underpopulation Some places have many resources but few people such as: Canada and Australia. Overpopulation Some places have too many people and few resources such as: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Kenya,

Negative view – Malthus "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man". Written in 1798 Essays on the Principles of Population Growth - Argued a finite number of people can be supported by food supply. Food increases arithmetically while population increases exponentially. - Result: a ‘Malthusian Catastrophe’ where we are forced return to subsistence levels Time

Checks to Population Growth: Since there are not enough resources to support our population, there must be limits (checks) to our population growth, to maintain an optimum capacity Positive (happen naturally) Lack of Food Disease Warfare Preventative (actions we can take) Abstinence or reduced sexual interaction Delay in marriage (remember this was 1798)

What did Malthus leave out of his theory that has a MAJOR impact on our carrying capacity? Read your article, provide a summary, speak with your ‘partner’ on how a) the article relates to Malthusian theory b) evidence of developments Malthus could not (or did not) foresee…