Population growth and human activities' effects on the environment

Ecology

Population growth is a serious issue facing today's civilization. For example, there are currently over 6.6 billion people living on earth, with one-fifth of the world's total population living on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Further, in the not so distant future, this total earth population is predicted to rise to at least 9 billion.

Population growth is the total change in population over a period of time. It is measured by the formula: Growth rate = {births + immigration) - (deaths + emigration}/population. Thus, in the world, such things as birth and immigration effect the rate of population growth. In the United States currently, population growth is heavily influenced by immigration. Other factors related are the level of health care, as the better a population's healthcare system the lower the rates of death and thus the higher the rate of population growth.

If population growth goes unchecked, eventually overcrowded conditions occur, which leads to a diminishing of necessary resources and thus an eventual decrease in population growth. For example one could say that the carrying capacity of the planet depends on the amount of oil available as it is needed, currently, for heat and other necessary life sustaining activities. Demographic transition describes the moving of a population in accordance to gaining better access to necessary resources. This may be seen as coastal waters rise and the heavily populated coastal regions begin to flood. This being said, the future population and development of our planet will be continued rapid population growth in low-developed areas with an eventual shift of general population location towards the planet's interiors.

Migration also plays an important role in population growth. As people migrate from one place to another for numerous reasons. Most often migration occurs in order to gain access to better economic and political conditions, however other factors include climate, recreation and employment opportunities. Therefore, the push and pull factors of migration depend on the migrating population. For poorer populations, the factors are typically political and economical. For richer populations, the factors are typically for personal betterment.

There are also different types of migration. For example, place utility means the benefit offered by the location being migrated to. The migration field is the total group of all migrants. Step migration refers to a migration shift that takes place in steps, where the final destination is reached via numerous little migrations. Chain migration refers to the migration of a population, whereas hierarchical migration refers to the migration of a certain segment of a population.

As can be gathered by these factors that influence population growth, community interactions plays a dominate force in population dynamics. The concept of community interactions can be used to encompass such factors as migration, wealth and trade. In other words, each community has specific needs and resources. Based on the available means, or lack of means, humans will interact with other communities in order to satisfy their needs, even if this need is nothing more than selling resources to another community.

Further, as our world continues to become more and more globalized, there continues to be an increasing interaction between the world's communities. Although much of these interactions are beneficial to humanity, in terms of the long-term effects they have on population growth, many can also be viewed as negative interactions. Take for example the many organizations and government programs that are established with the sole purpose of improving the health and lives of poorer nations. Although all of these programs are seen as being noble efforts of humanitarian aide, the end result is that it allows populations to live longer. This increase in life expectancy equates to an increase in population growth, which will lead to the numerous previously mentioned unhealthy effects as diminishing resources and increased pollution, to name only a few.