1. Problems with Population
Monday, September 12th, 2016

2. What is the big deal with a growing population?
Lack of food, resources, energy, space, water, and sewage.

3. Poverty and population growth are correlated.
Poorer societies have higher growth rates than wealthier societies.
- Consistent with demographic transition theory
- Higher fertility/growth rates, lower contraceptive use

4. Poverty results in environmental degradation
Wealth also produces severe environmental impacts.
- Affluent societies have enormous resource consumption and waste production
People use resources from other areas, as well as their own
Individuals’ ecological footprints are huge
- One American has as much environmental impact as 6 Chinese or 12 Indians or 12 Ethiopians.

5. The wealth gap and population growth cause conflict
The stark contrast between affluent and poor societies causes social and environmental stress
The richest 20% use 85% of the world’s resources
Leaves 14% of the resources for 80% of the world’s people to share
Tensions between “haves” and “have-nots” are increasing

6. Affluence: having a lot of wealth such as money, goods, or property
Affluence: having a lot of wealth such as money, goods, or property. It is created by economic opportunity.
The per capita ecological footprint is a measure of affluence.

7. Ecological Footprints

8. The IPAT Equation
To estimate the impact of human lifestyles on Earth we can use the IPAT equation:
Impact = Population  Affluence  Technology x (S)

9. Environmental impact (I) may be expressed in terms of resource depletion or waste accumulation
Population (P) refers to the size of the human population
Affluence (A) refers to the level of consumption by that population
Technology (T) refers to the processes used to obtain resources and transform them into useful goods and wastes.

10. Population growth affects the environment
The IPAT model: I = P x A x T x S
Our total impact (I) on the environment results from the interaction of population (P), affluence (A) and technology (T), with an added sensitivity (S) factor
Population = individuals need space and resources
Affluence = greater per capita resource use
Technology = increased exploitation of resources
Sensitivity = how sensitive an area is to human pressure
Further model refinements include education, laws, ethics
Humanity uses 1/3 of all the Earth’s net primary production

11. In Summary
The IPAT equation made a contribution to understanding the multiple causes of environmental impact, and it continues to be developed as a method for improving our understanding of these issues. It has not helped in identifying sustainable scale, but it is a useful framework to assist in thinking about ways of reducing environmental impacts by reducing various types of throughput.

12. UN Conference on Population & Development
September 1994
Saw the relationships between population, development and individual well- being.
179 countries adopted a forward-looking, 20-year Programme of Action (PoA) that placed individual dignity and human rights, including the right to plan one’s family, at the very heart of development.
Universal education: Universal primary education in all countries by Urge countries to provide wider access to women for secondary and higher level education as well as vocational and technical training.
Reduction of infant and child mortality
Reduction of maternal mortality
Access to reproductive and sexual health services including family planning