Slides
Population growth
Theories
Population Growth is…..
Population Growth is change in population over time or the change in the number of individuals in a population per unit time.
Population Growth Rate is the rate at which the number of individuals in a population increases.
Population growth is….
The population growth rate has increased exponentially since humans first landed on the earth millions of years ago.
Population growth is…..
The main problem with having too high of a population growth rate is that people are multiplying so quickly that there will not be enough resources on our planet to serve the people.
2 Types of Population Policies
Pro-natalist: policy that encourages child bearing & population growth
Anti-natalist: policy that discourages child bearing & population growth
For example: europe’s low fertility rate
Many areas of Europe have a low fertility rate because of the following reasons:
Education: people are more aware of the availability of contraception and consequences an unplanned pregnancy can have on their career
Women in careers: Women may choose to follow their career choice rather than start a family while young
Later marriages
State benefits: couples no longer need children to help care for them when older
Pro-Natalist Policy: France
France was a country with concerns that professional women were choosing not to have children.
The government were worried that the population was not going to replace itself over time.
Pro-Natalist policies were put in place
Pro-Natalist Policy: France
Cash incentive of £675 monthly (nearly the minimum wage) for a mother to stay off work for one year following the birth of her third child
The 'carte famille nombreuse' (large family card), giving large reductions on train fares
Income tax based on the more children the less tax to pay
Three years paid parental leave, which can be used by mothers or fathers
Government subsidised daycare for children under the age of three, and full time school places for over threes paid for by the government
This has resulted in mothers considering having children and remaining in work.
The fertility rate in France is one of Europe's highest.
Anti-Natalist Policy: China
The republic of China has introduced a Anti-Natalist Policy in 1978 called "One child Policy".
Restricts the number of children married couples can have to ONE.
If the couples do not follow the policy, they are fined unless they have a specific reason such as a twin.
*EDIT: This has since changed.
Read The Following:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/02/china-population-control-two-child-policy
Anti-Natalist Policy: China
Effective in lowering birth rate
Unexpected Downfall: killing of female babies because the culture of China is that males traditionally carry on the family name, care for the parents in their old age and earn a living for them
Result:
Imbalance to male:female sex ratio at birth.
Four Basic Theories
Cornucopian
Bogue
Malthus
Catton
Frank J Tipler: Creator of the Cornucopian Theory
• Wrote the book “The Physics of Immortality”
• Claims to have proven of the existence of life after death called the “Omega Point”
Cornucopian is…..
A cornucopian is someone who believes that continued progress and provision of material items for mankind can be met by advances in technology.
Cornucopian is…..
They believe that there is enough matter and energy on the Earth to support the peaking growth of the population which is estimated to be about nine million in 2050.
Looking further into the future they believe that outer-space will give humanity almost unlimited room for growth.
There is no historical evidence that society will run out of resources.
Bogue is…...
Optimistic
Theory of demographic regulation
Over time, society naturally limits or increases its population
Believes strongly in the “baby boom” theory
Believes there should be limits to the immigration laws
Industrial revolution dramatically increased Earth’s carrying capacity which caused a dramatic increase in birth rate China’s one child law
Malthus is…..
Has a pessimistic view towards the future of population growth
He predicted a scenario in which the earth will eventually run out of its natural resources and that the planets agriculture will be eventually outstripped by the growth of population.
This scenario is called the “Malthusian Catastrophe”
Malthus is…..
He based this scenario on the fact that the earth’s population grows exponentially when the earth’s resources and agriculture grows linearly.
Therefore eventually there will be too many people on the earth compared to our resources.
He used many mathematical equations to help him prove his scenario.
Key Points: Population level is severely limited by subsistence. When the means of subsistence increases, population increases. Population pressures stimulate increases in productivity.
William Catton: Creator of the Catton Theory
Wrote a book on his theory called “Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Evolutionary Change”
Came up with the idea of the “Overshoot” in population
Catton is…..
This is an expansion on the Malthus view
Phantom Carrying Capacity: is when the population is using non-renewable resources that while they sustain the current generation, will not be enough for the next to survive.
This is directly related to the Overshoot theory.
Catton is…...
An overshoot condition occurs when the population growth rate exceeds the planet's carrying capacity.
At this point, the population will start to die out and eventually even out with the carrying capacity again.
The biggest problem with this situation is that the actual carrying capacity will be significantly decreased due to the planets environmental damage.