Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

Such experience also suggests that the best way toslow population growth is a combination of investingin family planning, reducing poverty, and elevatingthe status of women.In this chapter you have learned how the ecologicalprinciples of population dynamics can be appliedto the human population. In the next three chapters,you will learn how various principles of ecology canbe applied to help sustain the earth’s biodiversity.Our numbers expand but Earth’s natural systems do not.LESTER R. BROWNCRITICAL THINKING1. Why is it rational for a poor couple in a developingcountry such as India to have four or five children? Whatchanges might lead such a couple to consider their behaviorirrational?2. Choose what you consider to be a major local, national,or global environmental problem, and describethe role of population growth in this problem. Compareyour answer with those of your classmates.3. Do you believe the population of (a) your own countryand (b) the area where you live is too high? Explain.4. Should everyone have the right to have as many childrenas they want? Explain.5. Some people have proposed that the earth could solveits population problem by shipping people off to spacecolonies, each containing about 10,000 people. Assumingwe could build such large-scale, self-sustaining spacestations, how many people would have to be shipped offeach day to provide living spaces for the 80 million peopleadded to the earth’s population this year? Currentspace shuttles can handle about 6 to 8 passengers. If thiscapacity could be increased to 100 passengers per shuttle,how many shuttles would have to be launched perday to offset the 80 million people added this year? Accordingto your calculations, determine whether thisproposal is a logical solution to the earth’s populationproblem.6. Some people believe the most important goal is tosharply reduce the rate of population growth in developingcountries, where 97% of the world’s populationgrowth is expected to take place. Some people in developingcountries agree that population growth in thesecountries can cause local environmental problems. Butthey contend that the most serious environmental problemthe world faces is disruption of the global lifesupportsystem for the human species by high levels ofresource consumption per person in developed countries,which use 80% of the world’s resources. What isyour view on this issue? Explain.7. Suppose the cloning of human beings becomes possiblewithout any serious health effects for cloned individuals.What effect might this have on the world’spopulation size and growth rate? Explain.8. Congratulations! You are in charge of the world. Listthe three most important features of your populationpolicy.PROJECTS1. Assume your entire class (or manageable groups ofyour class) is charged with coming up with a plan forhalving the world’s population growth rate within thenext 20 years. Develop a detailed plan that wouldachieve this goal, including any differences betweenpolicies in developing countries and those in developedcountries. Justify each part of your plan. Try to anticipatewhat problems you might face in implementingthe plan, and devise strategies for dealing with theseproblems.2. Prepare an age structure diagram for your community.Use the diagram to project future population growth andeconomic and social problems.3. Use the library or the Internet to find bibliographic informationabout Paul Hawken and Lester R. Brown, whosequotes appear at the beginning and end of this chapter.4. Make a concept map of this chapter’s major ideas, usingthe section heads, subheads, and key terms (in boldface).See material on the website for this book abouthow to prepare concept maps.LEARNING ONLINEThe website for this book contains study aids and manyideas for further reading and research. They include achapter summary, review questions for the entire chapter,flash cards for key terms and concepts, a multiple-choicepractice quiz, interesting Internet sites, references, and aguide for accessing thousands of InfoTrac ® College Editionarticles. Log on tohttp://biology.brookscole.com/miller14Then click on the Chapter-by-Chapter area, choose Chapter10, and select a learning resource.http://biology.brookscole.com/miller14193