Week 3 - ENV 120 - Environmental Sciences II - LibGuides at Hostos Community College Library

Human Populations

Readings

Chapter 6: History & Global Distribution
A population is a group of individuals living together in a given area at a given time. Changes in populations are termed population dynamics. The current human population is made up of all of the people who currently share the earth. Every birth and death is a part of human population dynamics. Each time a person moves from one location to another, the spatial arrangement of the population is changed, and this, too, is an element of population dynamics.
Chapter 7: Carrying Capacity
The human carrying capacity is a concept explored by many people, most famously Thomas Robert Malthus, for hundreds of years. Carrying capacity, "K," refers to the number of individuals of a population that can be sustained indefinitely by a given area. At carrying capacity, the population will have an impact on the resources of the given area, but not to the point where the area can no longer sustain the population... Unlike most other organisms, humans have the capacity to alter their number of offspring, level of resource consumption and distribution. This ability makes it difficult to determine the human K.
Chapter 8: Population Growth
Many economic and cultural influences affect family size. Depending upon the prevailing cultural values and economic forces, a nation's people can be induced to have larger or smaller families.
Although human population dynamics are often considered on a global scale, factors that affect population growth vary in different parts of the world. Therefore, it is essential to understand the different forces acting on people throughout the world.
Chapter 18: Impact on Human Health
When environmental conditions are degraded such that the range of tolerance is exceeded, there will be a significant impact on human health. Our industrialized society dumps huge amounts of pollutants and toxic wastes into the earth's biosphere without fully considering the consequences. Such actions seriously degrade the health of the earth's ecosystems, and this degradation ultimately affects the health and well-being of human populations.

World Population Growth

Mapping global population and the future of the world

United Nations: World Population Expected To Hit 8 Billion By November 2022

Additional Materials

In this chapter we will look at the human population. We’ll look at the size of it, and whether it may be growing or shrinking. We’ll explore the role of scale. We’ll look at differences between countries. And we’ll do all of this through the lens of spatiality.

Environmental Ethics

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that explores and defines what behaviors we consider to be right or wrong. Environmental ethics is the area of ethics that addresses the ethical relationship between humans and the non-human environment, including other species and the land itself.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)

Environmental Site Remediation Database Search to identify planned or ongoing remediation sites by zip code, addresses, etc.

Urban Environmental Management

Solving the global environmental challenges we face today, particualrly climate change, requires a fundamental shift in our urban lifestyles, our behaviour and ethics. The UEM Programme looks at urban areas as the intersection of natural, built, and socio-economic environments, to create sustainable urban ecosystems.

The Overpopulation Bet

Overpopulation – The Human Explosion Explained

The infamous overpopulation bet: Simon vs. Ehrlich - Soraya Field Fiorio

Julian Simon on Resources, Growth and Human Progress

Assignment

See Slow Fashion Assignment tab for readings and videos

Attributions

Chapter 6, History and Global Distribution
Chapter 7, Carrying Capacity
Chapter 8, Population Growth
Chapter 18, Impact on Human Health
Source: AP Environmental Science by University of California, University of California College Prep
License: CC BY 2.0

Population and Health
Source: Chapter 2 of Introduction to Human Geography, University System of Georgia
License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Environmental Ethics
Source: Environmental Science by Sean Whitcomb, Maricopa Open Digital Press
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Environmental Site Remediation Database Search
Source: Department of Environmental Conservation, all of the content on the website of the New York State DEC is the property of DEC or its content suppliers and is protected by copyright laws.

Urban Environmental Management
Source: The Global Development Research Center (GDRC), contact: Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org

Mapping global population and the future of the world
Source: The Economist on YouTube

The Overpopulation Bet
Source: Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell YouTube

The infamous overpopulation bet: Simon vs. Ehrlich - Soraya Field Fiorio
Source: TED-Ed YouTube

Julian Simon on Resources, Growth and Human Progress
Source: Free to Choose Network YouTube