Essential Environment: The Science Behind
the Stories
Sixth Edition
Chapter 6
Human Population
Lecture Presentations prepared by
James Dauray
College of Lake County
Modified by
Beatriz Mejia
Florida State University
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This lecture will help you understand
• The scope of human population growth
• The effects of population, affluence, and technology on
the environment
• Demography
• Demographic transition
• Factors affecting
population growth
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Basic Concepts of Population Dynamics
• Population dynamics
• A general study of population changes
• Population
• Group of individuals of the same species living in
the same area
• Species
• All individuals that are capable of interbreeding
• A species is made up of populations
• Demography
• Statistical study of human populations
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The human population is growing rapidly
• Our population grows by over 80 million each year.
Figure 6.3 We have risen
from fewer than 1 billion in
1800 to more than 7.4 billion
today.
Because of exponential growth (increase by a fixed %), even if
the growth rate remains steady, population size will continue to
increase.
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Growth rates vary from region to region
• At today’s 1.2% global growth rate, the population will double in 58
years.
Figure 6.4 Population growth rates vary greatly from place to place.
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Is there a limit to human population growth?
• Technology, sanitation, medication, and food increase
population by reducing infant mortality rates
• Death rates drop, but not birth rates
Can human population continue to
grow indefinitely?
• Earth’s carrying capacity for people?
• 1–2 billion prosperous people
• 33 billion very poor people
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Different views on population growth
•Under the economical view, population growth
poses no problem if new resources can be found or
created to replace depleted ones.
•Under the environmental view, not all resources
can be replaced, so population growth is a problem
if it depletes resources, stresses social systems,
and degrades the environment.
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Population is one of several factors that affect
the environment
The IPAT model: I = P A T
Our total impact (I) on the environment results from:
–Population (P): individuals need space and
resources
–Affluence (A): per capita resource use
–Technology (T): increases use of, or protects,
resources
–Sensitivity (S): a fourth factor showing how
sensitive an area is to human pressure
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China is an example of the IPAT formula
•Modern China’s rapid development is causing
unprecedented environmental challenges
–Intensive agriculture is eroding farmland
–Overuse has dried up the mighty Yellow River
–Increasing vehicles are causing urban air pollution
and massive traffic jams
•China shows us what the rest of the world can
become.
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Demography
•Demography: is the study of human populations
–Applying principles of population ecology to the study of
change in human populations.
•Demographers study:
1. Population size
2. Density and distribution
3. Age structure
4. Sex ratio
5. Rates of birth, death, immigration, and emigration
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1. Population size
Figure 6.5 Almost one in five people in the world lives in China, and more than
one of every six live in India.
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2. Density and distribution
•Humans are unevenly distributed around the
globe
–Most populated areas
▪ Regions with temperate, subtropical, and tropical climates
▪ Seacoasts and rivers
–Many unpopulated areas (e.g., deserts, arid
grasslands) are environmentally sensitive
▪ High S value in the modified IPAT equation
▪ Vulnerable to humans (agriculture, ranching, etc.)
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3. Age structure
•Describes relative numbers of individuals in each
age class within a population.
Age structure diagrams = population pyramids
Figure 6.7 Age structure diagrams show numbers of males and females of different age
classes in a population.
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Age structures: Canada vs. Nigeria
• Canada’s age structure is • Nigeria’s age structure is heavily
balanced (growth rate = 0.4%) weighted toward the young
(growth rate = 2.8%)
Figure 6.8 Canada (a) shows a fairly balanced age structure, whereas Nigeria
(b) shows an age distribution heavily weighted toward young people.
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4. Sex ratios
•Human sex ratios at birth slightly favor males
–For every 100 females born, 106 males are born
–Evolutionary adaptation, since males are more prone
to death during any given year of life
–Tends to ensure that the ratio of men to women is
equal at reproductive age
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5. Rates of birth, death, immigration, and
emigration
•Rates of birth, death, and migration determine
whether a population grows, shrinks, or remains
stable
–Birth and immigration add individuals
–Death and emigration remove individuals
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Rates of birth, death, immigration, and
emigration
•Technological advances decrease death rates
–The increased gap between birth and death rates
resulted in population expansion.
•Decrease in infant mortality
–Due to better nutrition, prenatal care, and presence of
medically trained practitioners during birth.
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Infant mortality rates vary around the world
• Infant mortality rates are closely tied with level of
industrialization
–Highest in poorer nations (sub-Saharan Africa)
–Lowest in wealthier nations
Figure 6.10 Infant mortality rates are highest in poorer nations, such as those in sub-
Saharan Africa, and lowest in wealthier nations.
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Falling growth rates do not mean fewer people
Figure 6.11 The annual growth rate of the global human population
peaked in the late 1960s and has declined since then.
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Total fertility rate influences population growth
• Total fertility rate (TFR): the average number of
children born per woman during her lifetime.
• Replacement fertility: is the TFR that keeps the
population size stable (about 2.1).
• Causes of decreasing TFR
–Medical care reduces infant mortality
–Urbanization increases childcare costs
–Children go to school instead of working
–Social Security supports the elderly
–Educated women enter the labor force
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Total Fertility Rate Influences Population
Growth
Table 6.1 Total Fertility Rates for Major Regions
Region Total Fertility Rate (T F R)
Africa 4.4
Australia and the South Pacific 2.3
Latin America and the Caribbean 2.0
Asia 2.0
North America 1.7
Europe 1.5
Data from Population Reference Bureau, 2020. 2020 World population data sheet.
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Demographic Transition
A model of economic and cultural change
Figure 6.12 The demographic transition models a process that has taken some
populations from a pre-industrial stage of high birth rates and high death rates to a
post-industrial stage of low birth rates and low death rates.
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The 4 stages of the demographic transition
1. Pre-industrial stage: low population growth.
–High death (disease, starvation, few medicines) and
birth (compensation for mortality) rates.
2. Transitional stage: high population growth
–Industrialization, increased food, and medical care
reduce mortality rates, but birth rates are still high
3. Industrial stage: population growth decreases
–Women get jobs and use birth control
–Kids do not need to help produce food
4. Post-industrial stage: population stabilizes
–Low birth and death rates
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Is the demographic transition a universal
process?
• Demographic transition has occurred in Europe, the
U.S., Canada, Japan, and other nations. But it may or
may not apply to developing nations.
• The transition could fail if the population is too large to
allow the transition (demographic fatigue).
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Population and society
Factors that affect fertility in a society
1. Public health factors
▪ Access to medical care
▪ Infant mortality rate
2. Culture factors
▪ Religious traditions
▪ Degree of gender equality
▪ Relative acceptance of contraceptive use
3. Economic factors
▪ Level of affluence
▪ Degree of child labor
▪ Availability of governmental support for retirees
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Family planning is a key approach for
controlling population growth
• Family planning
–Efforts to plan the number and spacing of children
–The greatest single factor slowing population growth
–Clinics offer advice, information, and contraceptives
• Birth control
–Controlling the number of children born by reducing
the frequency of pregnancy
• Contraception
–Deliberate prevention of pregnancy through a variety
of methods
–Hindered by religious and cultural influences
–Rates range from below 10% (Africa) to 86% (China)
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Reproductive window
•Time when women can become pregnant
•Decisions that affect their reproductive window
–Jobs or school: delays the birth of a first child
–Contraceptives: space births
–Women may “close” the window after she reaches the
desired family size
Figure 6.13 Women can
potentially have very high fertility
within their “reproductive
window” but can choose to
reduce the number of children
they bear.
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Fertility decreases as people become
wealthier
• Poor societies have
higher population
growth rates.
• Poverty and population
growth make each
other worse.
Figure 6.15 Poverty and population growth show a fairly
strong correlation, despite the influence of many other
factors.
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Fertility decreases as people become
wealthier
• Most of the next billion
people added to the
human population will
come from developing
countries, meaning that:
–Those countries will
continue to be
economically
strained.
–Environmental
degradation will
Figure 6.16 The vast majority of future
continue due to population growth will occur in developing
regions.
poverty.
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Expanding wealth can increase the
environmental impact per person
• Affluent societies have enormous resource
consumption
• With severe, far-reaching environmental impacts
• Ecological footprints are huge
• One American has as much environmental impact as
3.4 Chinese or 8 Indians or 14 Afghans
Figure 6.17 Material wealth varies widely from nation to nation.
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We must reduce population growth and
consumption
• For a high standard of living and quality of life for all,
developing nations must slow their population growth
• Developed nations
must slow their
consumption
• Our global ecological
footprint is 50% more
than the Earth can
support
Figure 6.18 The global ecological footprint of the human population is estimated to
be 50% greater than what Earth can bear.
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