Population, Global Inequality,
and the Environmental Crisis
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Chapter outline
Population
Growth
Problems
Population and
Environment
Perspectives
•
•
•
•
Fertility
Mortality
Migration
Theories on growth
• World Hunger
• Controlling Fertility
• Immigration
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•
•
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Environmental Degradation
Air Pollution and Greenhouse Effect
Water, soil, and forests
Solid, toxic, and nuclear waste
• Functionalist
• Conflict
• Interactionist
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Overpopulation
The world’s population:
 Is 6.72 billion
 Was 2.5 billion in 1950
 Has doubled in the last 50 years
 Will double again in the next 50 years, if trends continue
Concern: Can the earth’s resources support this growth?
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Population Growth
 Growth rates vary among nations
 High-income nations (i.e. US) have lower growth rates
 Low-income nations (i.e. Africa) have higher growth
rates
 Population
 All people living in a specified region
 Demography
 Study of size, composition, and distribution of
populations
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Factors affecting growth
 Fertility
 Actual number of children born to an individual or
population
 Associated with social and biological factors
 Mortality
 Number of deaths in a specific population
 Infant mortality (death of infants under age 1)
 Life expectancy (average lifetime of a person)
 Migration
 Movement of people from one geographic area to another to
live
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Impact of Population Growth
Population growth affects the biological and social
characteristics of a population
 Age, sex, race
 Marital status
 Education, occupation, income
 Size of household
Example: In the U.S., age distribution of population
affects the need for schools, employment
opportunities, health care, and age-appropriate
housing.
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Perspectives on Growth
Malthusian Perspective (1798)
 Global population will exceed the available food supply
 Population expands geometrically (1,2,4,8,16...) while food
supply increases arithmetically (1,2,3,4,5...)
 Disaster can be averted by:
 Positive checks (e.g., famine, disease, war)
 Preventive checks (e.g, sexual abstinence, delayed
marriage)
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Perspectives on Growth, cont.
Neo-Malthusian Perspective
 The earth is a ticking time bomb because population
exacerbates environmental problems
 Need to reduce our world population growth
Demographic Transition Theory
 Societies move from high birth and death rates to low
birth and death rates as a result of technological
development
 Technology can help overcome problems predicted by
previous 2 theories.
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World Hunger
 Proposals to avert global food shortages:
 Green revolution


Dramatic increases in agricultural production through
growing of high yield “miracle” crops
This has been helpful in some areas but not in all areas
 Biotechnological revolution
 “Improving” plants or animals or using microorganisms in
innovative ways
 This has also helped but is not without problems.
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010
Controlling Fertility
 Researchers believe limiting fertility is best way to
control overpopulation.
 Government focuses on family planning measures.
 Zero Population Growth: totally stable population
from year to year.
 U.S. approaching zero population growth
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Immigration
 Proportion of immigrants in the U.S. population is the
highest since 1940
 In 2006, 12% of total population were from other nations
 Immigration leads to higher taxes but also brings
substantial economic benefits
 US population policies focus on immigration – particularly
illegal immigrants
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010
Population and the Environment
 Environmental Degradation
 Disruptions to the environment that have negative
consequences for ecosystems
 Causes
 As humans pursue economic development and growth,
they cause environmental degradation
 Removing natural resources and increasing pollution
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Air Pollution
 Acid Rain
 Rainfall with large concentrations of sulfuric acid and nitric
acids
 Greenhouse Effect
 Environmental condition caused by excessive carbon dioxide,
water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere
leading to global warming
 Causes

Fossil fuel pollution, mostly from vehicles but also from industry
 Hole the size of North America in ozone layer, steps being
take to reduce this problem.
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Water,
Soil,
and
Forest
Problems
 Water scarcity is increasing on a global basis
 Water pollution further diminishes the supply
 A major water polluter in the U.S. is the papermanufacturing industry
 15 million acres of forest are lost to desertification
 Usable land turned into desert due to:



Overgrazing
Harmful agricultural practices
Deforestation (greatest in middle- and low-income nations)
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Solid, Toxic, and Nuclear Waste
 High-income nations are running out of space for
solid waste produced by “disposable societies”
 236 million tons of solid waste created each year
 Typical North American creates 1,500 lbs solid waste per year
 Toxic waste from hazardous by-products of
industry causes death and disease if not disposed
of properly
 Love Canal (1970’s New York)
 Nuclear waste most dangerous of all toxic wastes
and remain deadly for prolonged period.
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Sociological Perspectives
 Technological Innovation serves important functions
 Latent dysfunctions of technology cause problems, but
new technologies can solve them
 Solutions to overpopulation and environmental
degradation lie in social institutions.
 Especially education and government
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Sociological Perspectives, cont.
 Conflict:
 Classic Marxist
 If poverty were alleviated, there would be enough food
for all
 Poverty exists because capitalists skim workers’ wages
for profit
 Contemporary conflict
 Corporations and government make economic decisions
that result in environmental problems
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Conflict
 Eco-feminism:
 Patriarchy is a root cause of environmental problems as
nature is viewed as something to be possessed and
dominated
 Environmental Justice Framework:
 Environmental racism: disproportionate amount of
hazardous facilities placed in areas populated by
minorities.
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Sociological Perspectives
 Interactionist:
 Through socialization, children learn core values that
are often detrimental to the environment
 However, there is some indication that concern for the
environment is becoming a core value in the U.S.
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