Botkin Environmental Science Earth as Living Planet 8th txtbk

78 CHAPTER 4 The Human Population and the Environment
KEY TERMS
abundance 62
acute disease 72
age structure 62
birth rate 62
chronic disease 72
death rate 62
demographic transition 69
demography 62
doubling time 65
epidemic disease 72
exponential rate 62
growth rate 62
human carrying capacity 73
inflection point 66
life expectancy 71
logistic carrying capacity 66
logistic growth curve 65
maximum lifetime 71
pandemic 60
population 61
population dynamics 61
species 62
zero population growth 74
STUDY QUESTIONS
Refer to three forecasts for the future of the world’s
human population in Figure 4.6. Each forecast makes
a different assumption about the future total fertility
rate: that the rate remains constant; that it decreases
slowly and smoothly; and that it decreases rapidly and
smoothly. Which of these do you think is realistic?
Explain why.
Why is it important to consider the age structure of a
human population?
Three characteristics of a population are the birth rate,
growth rate, and death rate. How has each been affected
by (a) modern medicine, (b) modern agriculture, and
(c) modern industry?
What is meant by the statement “What is good for an
individual is not always good for a population”?
Strictly from a biological point of view, why is it
difficult for a human population to achieve a constant
size?
What environmental factors are likely to increase the
chances of an outbreak of an epidemic disease?
To which of the following can we attribute the great
increase in human population since the beginning of
the Industrial Revolution: changes in human (a) birth
rates, (b) death rates, (c) longevity, or (d) death rates
among the very old? Explain.
What is the demographic transition? When
would one expect replacement-level fertility to be
achieved—before, during, or after the demographic
transition?
Based on the history of human populations in various
countries, how would you expect the following to
change as per capita income increased: (a) birth rates,
(b) death rates, (c) average family size, and (d) age
structure of the population? Explain.
FURTHER READING
, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest
Pandemic in History (New York: Penguin Books, paperback,
2005). Written for the general reader but praised by such
authorities as the New England Journal of Medicine, this book
discusses the connection between politics, public health, and
pandemics.
, How Many People Can the Earth Support? (New York:
Norton, 1995). A detailed discussion of world population growth,
Earth’s human carrying capacity, and factors affecting both.
, One with Nineveh: Politics,
Consumption, and the Human Future (Washington, DC:
Island Press, 2004). An extended discussion of the effects