The World at 7 Billion: Can We Stop Growing Now?

“The World at 7 Billion: Can We Stop Growing Now?” Yale E360, e360.yale.edu/features/the_world_at_7_billion_can_we_stop_growing_now.

1.     What You Already Knew

I already knew that the population of the planet has increased at alarming rates in the last 60 years and that while it took until the 19^th century to gain the first billion people, since then the population has increased by almost 6 billion people. I also knew that this increase in population had a major impact on Earth systems as humans used up resources at an increased rate. With our increased consumption, we have also greatly impacted other species that live on the planet.

2.     What you learned

The debate over whether the large human population or the way each individual uses resources is an important one. As the human population grows, we need to pay attention to the fact that it is almost impossible for every individual to live sustainably. While the number of people compared to the area of land that humans cover on the planet is not very large, the way we demand resources from the planet is becoming concerning. As countries develop and people have access to more resources, it is only natural for people to use more of them. Even if populations grow without increased per capita consumption, it is often followed by bursts of increased consumption as economic development takes place in those areas. A lot of the world’s resources are predicted to become scarce within the century. While it isn’t possible to stop the growth of human population immediately, we can put in measures to ensure that this growth eventually stops. Women’s rights are an important step in the right direction to help secure the future of the planet.

3.     Relevance to this class or topic we are covering

This article focuses on the ways we can work towards a sustainable future for the planet, referring to the different ways we can use sustainable practices and technologies to help secure the future of the planet. It refers to topics discussed later in Chapter 5 about demographics and how we can build a better society to reach a sustainable future.

4.     Thoughts

I think that this article brings to light some important points on the debate on the issue of whether population growth or the way we use resources is leading to reduced sustainability. It notes that it is becoming increasingly difficult to live sustainably as countries develop and people have access to more resources. I agree that it is important to set systems to help ensure a sustainable planet in the future. I also think that relying on and hoping that technology will reach a point to help achieve sustainable use of resources is dangerous and that we should work on things that we know are under our control.