Homework for 1/10/2012

Answer to question #2 page 144:

The three factors that have led to the rapid increase in human population are the ability that humans acquired to survive in almost any climate or habitat, the emergence of agriculture that meant more people could be fed, and the significant drop of death rates because of improved sanitation and medical care. The world's population increases by about 1.21% every year. The population growth is uneven, however, because the human population in less developed countries growing at an exponential rate, yet the population of more-developed countries has flatlined. In 2010, China, India, the US, Indonesia, and Brazil had the highest populations. It is difficult to project the population years ahead of time because there are so many factors that can be hard to predict. These variables can include fertility rates, the reliability of current population estimate, as well as the reliability of other organizations that conduct censuses and collect information. These projections are done are done by experts called demographers.



Question # 8:

Because the issue of saving our environment is so pressing, it seems as though we should be focusing on both population reduction in less developed countries and trying to contain use of resources in more developed countries. It seems as though the issue has gone past the point where we can choose between dealing with these two major contributors to the environmental issues. Not only do these issues damage our environment, but they also cause high populations that jeopardize qualities of life in developing countries.