Section #2: Changing Population Trends Human Populations Section #2: Changing Population Trends

Infrastructure the basic facilities & services that support a community Example = hospitals, roads, subways, schools, sewer lines, power plants, public water supply, etc.

Infrastructure rapidly growing populations can quickly overwhelm the infrastructure which can lead to various environmental problems to the land, water, & air, overcrowding, & suburban sprawl

Rapid Growth people are using resources faster than the environment can replace them vegetation, water & land are the most critically affected

Rapid Growth

Fuelwood in the poorest countries, wood is still the main fuel source when population size is low, people can use fallen tree limbs called deadwood when population size grows, the need for fuel increases to the point where people begin to cut down living trees

Shortage of Fuelwood

Unsafe Water one main use for fuelwood is for boiling/sterilizing water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, & bathing over 1 billion people across the world lack safe drinking water which can spread diseases like dysentery, typhoid, & cholera

Areas like the Rio Grande River (US/Mexico border) have no sewage or water treatment & use the river for everything

Arable Land land that can be used to grow crops countries experiencing growth are having shortages of arable land

Egypt most of the country is desert less then 4% is arable (narrow strip along the Nile) but this is also where the jobs are & where most people want to live building & development for more people means losing more arable land

Limited Arable Land in Egypt is Becoming More Limited

Urbanization worldwide trend where more people are moving to the cities from the rural areas cities become overcrowded, resources are scarce, population density increases which can lead to easier spread of diseases, infrastructure is inadequate

Suburban Sprawl big problem in the U.S. where people want to work in the city (more jobs, better jobs, better salaries) but want to live in the suburban areas (nice place to raise the family, less crime, lower prices)

Suburban Sprawl

Categorizing Countries not every country in the world progresses through the stages of the demographic transition at the same rate or according to the model’s predictions

Categorizing Countries most developed more developed developed less developed least developed

Least Developed Countries show few to no signs of development death rates are increasing, plus birth rates are high given priority for foreign aid & development programs by the United Nations

Crowded & Polluted City Bangkok, Thailand

Managing Population Growth Some countries (China, Thailand, India for example) have created campaigns to reduce the fertility rates of their citizens in an attempt to slow population growth Some campaigns include public advertisements (billboards, magazines, newspapers), family planning programs, economic incentives, or legal punishments

Worldwide Trends in Fertility

ICPD the United Nations held the International Conference on Population & Development in 1994 debates were held about the relationships between population, development, & the environment mainly want to create a plan for stabilizing population growth

ICPD Goals for 2015 provide universal access to safe & reliable family-planning methods & related reproductive health services reduce infant & child mortality rates reduce maternal mortality, especially in developing countries increase life expectancy to 75 years ensure universal access to education (both primary & secondary) for girls

The Reality current worldwide population > than 6 billion (& still increasing) growth is slowing down most countries are moving to having replacement level fertility rates which means population growth would eventually stop projected world population in 2050 = 9 billion