Growth of Human Population and Its Effect on the Environment

In 18th century America, medicine was in a transition mode. While some pre-modern practices were still around, the 18th century saw the beginnings of a new modern medical practice. Replacing the passed down wisdom from the ancient world was clinical observation, the first American medical school, and experimental science, along with many physicians beginning to replace midwives. During the 18th century, a transition from pre-modern practices and theories to modern medical practice occurred because of medical education and the growth of hospitals, advances in medical procedures, and different types of medical practitioners.

Although medicine today is comparatively more advanced, that is a more recent change than one would like to think. For instance, not even 150 years ago, “Hippocrates and Galen would have recognized and largely agreed with most medical practices.” Barry addresses this topic of medical advancement at the beginning of his book by producing a well researched, albeit a little too long, history of western medicine. He provides examples of how medicine evolved from the teachings of Hippocrates, Galen, and Vesalius to a more “modern” form of medicine. This was done in order to explain how prepared the medical community was in the face of this impending virus. Unlike the other epidemics, the people of the early 19-century should have been prepared to face the influenza with all of their exciting and new medical equipment and practices, but there was something in their way of advancement—universities.

In the preindustrial era, 1800s, the United States fell behind other countries in health services. There was no medical training until around 1870 (Shi & Singh, 2013). Medical training began with students training under the supervision of physicians. Physicians saw patients by making house calls. Health care was delivered in a free market (Shi & Singh, 2013). No one had insurance so costs were out of pocket. For most Americans, this was a problem and some rural areas relied on folk medicine to heal the sick. The medical institutions during this era were not sanitized properly and nurses were not trained to practice safety and hygiene care. The government provided facilities for elderly, chronically ill patients, and clinics that offered free care.

Culture wasn’t the only thing that the Europeans brought over to the Americas. Along with their customs and rules, came the diseases that the Native American’s have never been exposed to. The Europeans brought many communicable diseases such as small pox and measles which were transmitted to the Native Americans through trade goods or someone infected with them. This quickly annihilated most of the Native American population.

Human population growth was relatively slow for most of human history. Within the past 500 years, however, the advances made in the industrial, transportation, economic, medical, and agricultural revolutions have helped foster an exponential, "J-shaped" rise in human population (Southwick, Figure 15.1, p. 160). The statistics associated with this type of growth are particularly striking: "Human beings took more than 3 million years to reach a population of 1 billion people...The second billion came in only 130 years, the third billion in 30 years, the fourth billion in 15 years, the fifth billion in 12 years..." (Southwick, p. 159). As human population has grown, there has

The human population rate has changed throughout the ages. By looking at the table we were given the human population has increased heaps from 2000 years ago. If we look at our ancestors they lived with a small existence but this has changed as we have developed and there is more agriculture in this world. Population grew very slowly in the 1000 A.D. also decreased after the Black Death causing large numbers of people wiped out. Then in the 1800 A.D. the industrial revolution came, soon living standards were raised and there was food shortage with the population. In 1927 medicine was introduced this meant that there was increased life expectancy, so the human population grew more. There was more advantages from agriculture, medicine and sanitation

increase in population due to food, there was a huge decline in population due to diseases like

In the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, the average person was treated within their own home for many of the illnesses that now send us rushing off to the doctor’s office or the hospital. Doctors were only called upon for extreme situations or epidemics, and for the most part, they made house calls. This was only possible because of low population densities in early America and the relatively primitive state of medical science. As time passed hospitals began to follow American settlement westward providing more centralized and

If science has taught us anything, it is that one event invariably effects countless others. This is no more evident than when a species is introduced into a new environment. Once a foreign species finds itself in new surroundings, it can either die or adapt. Often, these introduced species take over the environment, irrevocably changing it to fit their needs. This usually leads to a serious deteriorating in the well being of species currently existing there. Such is the case as when the Europeans introduced themselves to the New World. The new arrivals not only brought themselves, their technologies, and ways of life, but, most disastrously, their diseases arrived as well.

In the early 1800s, both in Europe and in the United States, physicians with formal medical training began to stress the idea that germs and social conditions might cause and spread disease, especially in cities. Many municipalities created "dispensaries" that dispensed medicines to the poor and offered free physician services. Epidemics of cholera, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and yellow fever, and concerns about sanitation and hygiene, led many city governments to create departments of health. New advances in studying bacteria were put to practical use as "germ theory" became the accepted cause for illness. It was in the face of epidemics and poor sanitation, government-sponsored public health, and healthcare that private healthcare began to systematically diverge.

The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.

With the introduction of agricultural and the rise of the Industrial Revolution, living standards have been elevated, while epidemics and famine have been diminished (prb.org). Ever since the 18th century, the human race has only continued to make improvements. For example, in the medical field. The creation of vaccines, medicine, and an increased knowledge of the spread of diseases have all helped to eliminate common causes of death, leading to overpopulation. Not only is overpopulation caused by an accelerated number of births, but it is also due to a decrease in the number of deaths, with 360,000 people are being born every day and only 151,600 deaths a day

To fully understand the projection of human development over prolonged amounts of time, we must first comprehend the progression of humanity from the same amount of time into the past. 10 000 years ago, the world population was around 5 million, most of whom were around the Fertile Crescent just east of the Mediterranean. In this area, agriculture and the breeding of livestock have just been popularized and utilized throughout the land. These applied skills spread to other hotspots of human

Population growth has impacted the environment in my community because some of the farmland has had to been converted into residential areas, this would overall effect the amount of crops that this area of Iowa would be able to produce. Technological advances have impacted the environment the development of better farm tools has enabled farmers to grow more crops in a smaller area.

Medicine is a very important part of any functioning society. A person uses medicine on a daily basis. Whether it is to treat a mild cold or to tame a chronic sickness, we can not live without medicine. Advancements in medicine have helped people live better lives and also dramatically increase life expectancy. During the late 1800 and early 1900s medicine was obviously at a very primitive state. Because of this, it was easier for a sick person to suffer fatal consequences. With how intense the environment was, it was even more difficult for young children to stay healthy. This is the sole purpose of establishing the Children’s Hospital. This hospital was meant to help and treat sick children. This is something of impact because the hospital is dedicated to treating kids and younger individuals. These kids are the ones who will one day continue to develop the towns and cities of this country.