Joel E. Cohen's Human Population: The Next Half Century

The United States of America experienced a nearly one percent population growth rate in 2014 (Lafayette Parish, Louisiana). This growth rate is higher in comparison to Britain, France, and other first world countries. To many, this statement is not surprising. There is always an exaggerated news story about the increasing number of people immigrating to America and how it affects the country. Each woman in America is replacing herself and her spouse by giving birth to an average of nearly two babies in her lifetime (Louisiana). As America grows, more and more people migrate to cities because, generally, living in a city provides an easier life. Cities have plentiful jobs, more housing, and a multitude of places to shop and to eat. Cities also

The indefinite growth of the human population, has monumental impacts on the natural environment, not only in the UK, but around the globe. Architecturally, the entire process of designing and constructing a building, both domestic and not, can lead to the rapid exhaustion of natural resources across the planet. Building with environmental design strategies in mind not only combats the impact we as humans have on the natural environment, but also has considerable economic benefits, due to lower running costs of buildings and advanced occupant productivity. There are also many social benefits, such as improved air quality which resultantly leads too enhanced health of a buildings occupants.

The Unites States of America is currently working to combat climate change in order to protect people from its effects. By combatting climate change, the USA hopes to prevent its effects from becoming worse in the future because the USA cares for its citizens and doesn’t want them to keep experiencing the consequences of climate change. The USA is putting great effort into dealing with climate change and also hopes that other businesses, organization, and individuals will join them in their effort (Environmental News Service). One concern the USA has towards climate change is its cause of natural disasters. Climate change is bringing more natural disasters by making weather patterns stronger, and weather patterns are becoming stronger as climate change grows which is bringing more natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and drought to the USA (Rice). One example of a natural disaster that occurred in the USA as a result of climate change is the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. In this event, a tornado rated 5 on the Enhanced Fuijta scale hit Oklahoma and had a negative impact on this city by destroying many of its houses and buildings also resulting in the destruction of businesses such as schools (Cable News Network). Another major concern of the USA towards climate change is that it will cause a rise in the global sea level which will result in many of its coastal cities to be submerged underwater. There will be a permanent 4 feet rise in the global sea level

Irrespective of its cause, the impacts of climate change include more frequent and severe weather, higher death rates, dirtier air, higher wildlife extinction rates, and higher sea levels (IPCC, 2014). Although each of these impact areas are significant and worthy of further discussion, it is the ramifications of sea level rise that brought me to discuss climate action today.

On top of the issue above, there is an annual increase in population of nearly 76,000,000 (Worldometers.info, 2016) and the world’s urban population is also on the increase; expected to be at 70% of the planet’s population by 2050 (Berg, 2016).

Throughout the last few hundred years, humans have built a foundation. Compared to all of the other animal species on Earth, humans are the most intelligent. We have built houses everywhere, developed a system to sustain ourselves, and now inhabit almost every piece of land on earth. Humans are smart, strong, and know how to fend for themselves. But, humans have a tendency to take it too far, and we have already done so. There have been numerous advancements over the past few hundred years which could ultimately lead to the downfall of the human race. The main issue is overpopulation due to the advancements in technology and general knowledge. The statistics from an article by Kenneth Smail show that “In the year 1900, there were almost 2 billion humans living on Earth. Throughout the 1960’s, the baby boom, there were 3 billion humans on Earth. Today in 2016, there are just over 7 billion humans living on Earth.” Currently, we have taken up just over half of all available land on this planet, and with increased amounts of people having kids, our population will only increase. Overpopulation is becoming a serious problem all around the world, especially in countries such as China and India. There are many global problems associated with overpopulation that are becoming more and more prevalent, which will all have dangerous effects on the foundation that humans have

Over the past 20 years the 100 largest US urbanized areas have sprawled an additional 14,545 square miles according to the US Bureau of Census on Urbanized Areas. That was more than 9 million acres of natural habitats, farmland and other rural space that were covered over by asphalt, buildings and housing of suburbia. A major controversy in the efforts to halt the rural land loss is whether land-use and consumption decisions are the primary engines of urban sprawl, or whether it is the nation’s growing population boom that is providing the driving expansion. A good example of this rapid sprawl is the city of Chicago. It has had astonishing growth in the past years bringing about

One can describe urban sprawl as a city's people region spreading further and further into more provincial regions, until rural areas become non-existent. While this dispersal and advancement of land is an issue over the world, it is exceptionally prevalent in the United States of America. “The developed acreage per person has nearly doubled in the past 20 years, and housing lots larger than 10 acres have accounted for 55 percent of land developed since 1994, according to the American Farmland Trust” (CWAC 2008).

Development: As the population grows there is need for urban development which could be intrusive on the

The United States is an ecologically rich and diverse nation. Ever since the United States became a country so many years ago, they have remained one of the places that everyone from all over the world strives to make a living in. But what if in the future the United States couldn't offer people the basic needs of life such as water, food, land, and clean air? Well that harsh reality isn't too far away after all. Due to the increase in land and water usage in the United States it has become a cesspool of urbanization and disease. Because of this the United States is quickly running out of natural resources and shows no sign of stopping. “The US Environmental Protection Agency Resource Conservation website begins: Natural resources and

Throughout this recommendation, one will find several reason why this topic is important and why it is a relevant topic to address. The recommendation contains information that was discovered after researching further into the problem at hand. One will find the methods that were used while conducting the research and the results that this research reveals. Most importantly, the recommendation will show what these results mean when discussing conclusions. Throughout the document, one will find that by overpopulating an urban area, the economies of not only rural communities but the state as a whole will suffer.

America is at risk with the climate change going on. Climate change is a serious problem, it’s effecting all the regions in America and more. As individuals we need to make a change, not today, not tomorrow, now. The first step is to to inform everyone on the risks of climate change and how it has affected the world since the 1800’s.

In 2007, for the first time in human history, more people lived in urban areas than rural. Today slightly more than half of the world’s population resides in cities, and by 2050 that proportion is expected to rise to two out of every three people (Human Population: Urbanization). This is momentous development to say the least; especially when you consider that human population density was less than one person per square mile for the first 100,000 years we existed on Earth (Dechant, 1). This huge jump in population density was facilitated by the development of planned settlements that could house and provide for large numbers of people, otherwise known as cities.

An emerging issue is that of urban sprawl. While some aspects of urban sprawl has been seen since ancient times, this phenomenon has started gaining the most momentum in the past century, aided by the advancement of technology, especially with the rise of mass produced automobiles, houses and highway systems. Many people unknowingly contribute to this environmental problem, as is the nature of it. Urban sprawl deals with the growth of the suburbs, the area between the urban and rural areas of a city. Most of America’s largest cities and states, in terms of population, are prime examples of urban sprawl. Opponents of urban sprawl usually cite the government as a major cause of sprawl. The government may be a major catalyst of

The first challenge is due to high population. A quick rise in population will cause housing and food shortages and a rise in the price of general living. According to Yujun, Z. (2011), in developing countries, the fastest population growth rate will be 7-8% annually; a burden in most developing countries is that there is no population control, for example, in Beijing, China. By the end of 2013, according to census data in China, the population of Beijing will be over 20 million. Huge population problems for the city’s infrastructure have brought tremendous pressure, housing and food shortages. Grain yield is lower than the population growth rate so many people