Population Growth and the Ecological Balance
Population Growth and the Ecological Balance
GEO 702: Technology and Contemporary Environment
Professor Valentina Capurri
Student Name Zohra Mohammad
Student Number 500 383 844
Submission Date 05/11/2014
With the rapid growth of population in various areas of the world, the global leaders have taken a moment to realize the consequences and the impact this is having on the ecological balance of the earth. While there are several ways in which humans are responsible for the disturbance of ecological balance on earth, for example through chemicals released into the atmosphere through manufacturing and driving, resource availability and climatic factors, this report focuses on the major issue at hand which happens to be the rapid growth of population. Although it can be argued that population growth is healthy for many countries and the development of their nation, there are adverse consequences to the exponential growth taking place on our planet, for example the degradation of living standards in these high populated countries. This report will outline the reasons behind population growth, the impacts population growth has on the ecological balance, provide ways to slow down the excessive population growth and safeguarding the ecological balance.
Some readers may question the importance of ecological balance, but it is important to note that ecological balance creates a sustainable environment. It provides a capacity for the earth’s natural and human systems to survive, flourish and adapt to change. Whereas an unbalanced ecology will cause a country to be unstable and unsustainable which can cause total ecological collapse. So how does population growth cause this ecological collapse? Let’s use rabbits as a hypothetical example to describe the negative effects of population growth. If rabbits were to rapidly reproduce for a few generations, at first this would devastate local plant life and predators such as foxes would have a population boom due the rapid
GEO 702: Technology and Contemporary Environment
Professor Valentina Capurri
Student Name Zohra Mohammad
Student Number 500 383 844
Submission Date 05/11/2014
With the rapid growth of population in various areas of the world, the global leaders have taken a moment to realize the consequences and the impact this is having on the ecological balance of the earth. While there are several ways in which humans are responsible for the disturbance of ecological balance on earth, for example through chemicals released into the atmosphere through manufacturing and driving, resource availability and climatic factors, this report focuses on the major issue at hand which happens to be the rapid growth of population. Although it can be argued that population growth is healthy for many countries and the development of their nation, there are adverse consequences to the exponential growth taking place on our planet, for example the degradation of living standards in these high populated countries. This report will outline the reasons behind population growth, the impacts population growth has on the ecological balance, provide ways to slow down the excessive population growth and safeguarding the ecological balance.
Some readers may question the importance of ecological balance, but it is important to note that ecological balance creates a sustainable environment. It provides a capacity for the earth’s natural and human systems to survive, flourish and adapt to change. Whereas an unbalanced ecology will cause a country to be unstable and unsustainable which can cause total ecological collapse. So how does population growth cause this ecological collapse? Let’s use rabbits as a hypothetical example to describe the negative effects of population growth. If rabbits were to rapidly reproduce for a few generations, at first this would devastate local plant life and predators such as foxes would have a population boom due the rapid
References: Bhatt, Swati, and Sharat Sharma. "Going Green." International Journal of Management Research and Reviews 2.8 (2012): 1400-4. Web. 24 Sep. 2014. Crecana, Cornel Dumitru. "Economic Indicators used in the Holistic Management of Ecological Agricultural Entities." Revista de Management Comparat International 13.5 (2012): 811-22. Web. 24 Sep. 2014. Goklany I. M.: Factors Affecting Environmental Impacts: The Effects of Technology on Long-Term Trends in Cropland, Air Pollution and Water-related Diseases. Ambio., 1996, 25: 497-503 Hamuda, Hosam, and István Patkó. "Relationship between Environmental Impacts and Modern Agriculture." 1.1 (2010): n. pag. Web. Nov. 2014. Koç, Cengiz. "The Effects of the Environment and Ecology Projects on Lake Management and Water Quality." Environmental monitoring and assessment 146.1-3 (2008): 397-409. Web. 24 Sep. 2014. Kurnar, Devendra. "Monitoring Forest Cover Changes using Remote Sensing and GIS: A Global Prospective." Research Journal of Environmental Sciences 5.2 (2011): 105-23. Web. 24 Sep. 2014. Salam, M. A., T. Noguchi, and M. Koike. "Understanding Why Farmers Plant Trees in the Homestead Agroforestry in Bangladesh." Agroforestry Systems 50.1 (2000): 77-93. Web. 24 Sep. 2014. UN: Population and development commission considers `national experiences '; excessive population growth, ecological balance among issues raised -- part 1 of 2. (2001, Apr 04). M2 Presswire