The population growth is the speed in which a population increases.
Effect of population growth
In regards to climate change
There is a popular myth that population growth alone determines our impact on the environment. In reality though, it is the combination of both the population size, as the (degree of) participation of each member on the economy, as the way in which each member chooses to use this wealth[1][2].
Considering almost half of pregnancies in the USA are unplanned[verification needed] there is a strong environmental argument for information on family planning to be made widely available.
However, the effects of birthrates are cumulative and act over the long-term. Reducing birthrates may be positive, but does not address the need to greatly reduce our impact on climate in the short term.
See also
Literature
Iin his book Development as Freedom, Amartya Sen compares population control measures in Kerala (based on education and free choice) with China (often forced) and finds that Kerala's were actually slightly more effective.
Notes and references
External links
- Stop blaming the poor. It's the wally yachters who are burning the planet, George Monbiot, guardian.co.uk, 28 September 2009.
- Falling fertility, The Economist, Oct 29th 2009. Argues that there is little more to be achieved through population policy, as growth is already falling about as fast as can be expected. Thus reductions in impact must come through technology and governance.
- ↑ Ie someone with millions of $ on his bank account can decide to park it there untill he dies
- ↑ Ie someone with a limited budget can still have a major negative impact on the environment, ie by starting a forest fire, and/or can also have other negative impacts (ie by disposing all his organically non-decomposable waste in the environment (littering), ...