Anyway, in class on September 9th we learned about Thomas Robert Malthus. My comment is about “population checks”. There are two types of checks. Firstly, the Preventative checks, which are voluntary choices made my society which limit births. Secondly Positive checks, which are a result of the LACK of Preventative checks.(1) Positive Population checks are things like wars, the Black Plague, SARS, starvation, and anything else that eliminates any number people from the Earth. Malthus, as we know, theorized that the food rate grew arithmetically, and population exponentially, this means that there will, eventually, be a lack of food, and that is now called a Malthusian Catastrophe, or Malthusian Check.(2) He says that population checks are nature’s way of trying to balance the world. I’m curious as to what you think about population checks? Secondly, where do you think the world would be right now if these population checks hadn’t happened? 1. http://www.stanford. edu/~ ranabr/Malthusian%20and%20Neo%20Malthusian1%20for%20webpage%20040731.pdf 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Malthusian_catastrophe
It is quite clear to many people who take the time to study our constantly expanding population, to see that overpopulation is affecting everything around us in negative way. It is most definitely increasing our carbon output. Dr. Allan P. Drew, a forest ecologist, put it this way: “Overpopulation means that we are putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than we should, just because more people are doing it and this is related to overconsumption by people in general, especially in the ‘developed’ world.”(1) The list could go on as to how many problems we are facing, but soon will face the worst. Some of the consequences of overpopulation include: shortage of drinking water, deforestation to increase area of agriculture, pollution (in water, land, food), decreasing space for living and shelter, increase in waste disposal, more vehicles (accidents, pollution, etc), food shortages, unemployment and poverty, and shortage of medical facilities and schools. This being said, it is obvious that there are many negative consequences involved with overpopulation; however, the only way to help stop these problems from spinning out of control is to get to the bottom as to “why our population is growing so rapidly”?
So last week we talked a lot about Thomas Malthus and his theory of overpopulation. He stated 1798, that in seven generations; we would overpopulate ourselves to the point where we won’t have enough food to feed that world’s population. We are currently in the sixth generation, with a population over seven billion people. Although many people agree with the Malthusian theory, I am arguing that overpopulation is a myth. In an article from prospect magazine, written in March 2010, the author, Fred Pearce, argues that overpopulation will not destroy the planet, but that over consumption will. He talks about how half of the carbon dioxide emissions come from only seven percent of people from the richer countries in the world, and that fifty percent of the world, from the poorer countries, only produce seven percent of the emissions. He also addresses that population growth is going down, stating that women today have half the amount of children their mothers had out of choice. He makes a lot of good points to support the concept of overpopulation as a myth. (1) My other source is the video that we watched on September 14th: Overpopulation is a myth. The title of the video strongly states its position, and after watching the video, I found it hard to disagree with any of the points that it made. It defended every point that the Malthusian theory claims, and it does that using logical and mathematical points. (2) After saying all this, I was curious to know why people believe Thomas Malthus, even though his entire theory was created in a completely different era. He didn’t know how the world would look today, and how much it has changed, in the way of technology, so why is his theory still used as proof of overpopulation?
This is my first week’s official post.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, in class on September 9th we learned about Thomas Robert Malthus. My comment is about “population checks”. There are two types of checks. Firstly, the Preventative checks, which are voluntary choices made my society which limit births. Secondly Positive checks, which are a result of the LACK of Preventative checks.(1) Positive Population checks are things like wars, the Black Plague, SARS, starvation, and anything else that eliminates any number people from the Earth. Malthus, as we know, theorized that the food rate grew arithmetically, and population exponentially, this means that there will, eventually, be a lack of food, and that is now called a Malthusian Catastrophe, or Malthusian Check.(2) He says that population checks are nature’s way of trying to balance the world. I’m curious as to what you think about population checks? Secondly, where do you think the world would be right now if these population checks hadn’t happened?
1. http://www.stanford. edu/~ ranabr/Malthusian%20and%20Neo%20Malthusian1%20for%20webpage%20040731.pdf
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Malthusian_catastrophe
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is my post:
ReplyDeleteIt is quite clear to many people who take the time to study our constantly expanding population, to see that overpopulation is affecting everything around us in negative way. It is most definitely increasing our carbon output. Dr. Allan P. Drew, a forest ecologist, put it this way: “Overpopulation means that we are putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than we should, just because more people are doing it and this is related to overconsumption by people in general, especially in the ‘developed’ world.”(1) The list could go on as to how many problems we are facing, but soon will face the worst. Some of the consequences of overpopulation include: shortage of drinking water, deforestation to increase area of agriculture, pollution (in water, land, food), decreasing space for living and shelter, increase in waste disposal, more vehicles (accidents, pollution, etc), food shortages, unemployment and poverty, and shortage of medical facilities and schools. This being said, it is obvious that there are many negative consequences involved with overpopulation; however, the only way to help stop these problems from spinning out of control is to get to the bottom as to “why our population is growing so rapidly”?
(1)http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090418075752.htm
http://www.tutorvista.com/content/biology/biology-iv/population/population-growth-impact.php
This is my weekly post
ReplyDeleteSo last week we talked a lot about Thomas Malthus and his theory of overpopulation. He stated 1798, that in seven generations; we would overpopulate ourselves to the point where we won’t have enough food to feed that world’s population. We are currently in the sixth generation, with a population over seven billion people. Although many people agree with the Malthusian theory, I am arguing that overpopulation is a myth. In an article from prospect magazine, written in March 2010, the author, Fred Pearce, argues that overpopulation will not destroy the planet, but that over consumption will. He talks about how half of the carbon dioxide emissions come from only seven percent of people from the richer countries in the world, and that fifty percent of the world, from the poorer countries, only produce seven percent of the emissions. He also addresses that population growth is going down, stating that women today have half the amount of children their mothers had out of choice. He makes a lot of good points to support the concept of overpopulation as a myth. (1) My other source is the video that we watched on September 14th: Overpopulation is a myth. The title of the video strongly states its position, and after watching the video, I found it hard to disagree with any of the points that it made. It defended every point that the Malthusian theory claims, and it does that using logical and mathematical points. (2) After saying all this, I was curious to know why people believe Thomas Malthus, even though his entire theory was created in a completely different era. He didn’t know how the world would look today, and how much it has changed, in the way of technology, so why is his theory still used as proof of overpopulation?
1. http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-overpopulation-myth/
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsAracLBCxI&feature=related&noredirect=1