How do the environmental impacts of a growing population of a developed country, the United States,

1
Population Growth

• How do the environmental impacts of a growing
  population of a developed country, the United
  States, compares to the undeveloped country of
  India?

By Leonardo Caion-Demaestri Zoë Freedberg
Taken from http//www.claybennett.com/pages/divid
e.html
2
Introduction

• Our world population is rapidly growing.
• Today Over 6 billion people and on the rise
• Increased immigration / lack of migration
  (urbanization)
• Lack of education and contraceptive use
• Medical advancements
• Leads to environmental and social impacts.
• Deforestation
• Global Warming Natural disasters, sea level
  rising
• Lack of natural resources
• Lack of freshwater
• Pollution
• Diseases
• India and United States may differ in
  demographics, etc. but the growing populations
  both result in similar environmental impacts.

3
Hypothesis

• We predict that a growing population will cause
• Higher rate of deforestation
• Greater loss of freshwater resources
• More pollution
• Increased global warming
• Strains of natural resources
• Social issues
• The differing nations will compare in that the
  trends will be the same, rates will differ.

4
Methods

• We first searched to find what causes a growing
  population.
• We then looked to see the effects of the growing
  population on the environment.
• Stella and Excel were used to display the impacts
  of the population growth on
• Forest Area
• Fresh Water Availability
• We also compared the two different growing
  populations.

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What are we modeling?

• India Population growth.
• United States Growth.
• Effects on Environmental Resources
• Fresh Water Availability
• Forest Areas
• Effects of varying levels of these subcategories.

6
Why a growing population?

• United States
• Increased Immigration Rates
• Better health care
• Higher living standards
• Abortion Laws
• Unintended Pregnancies 40 births
• Teenage Pregnancies

• India
• Lack of Migration
• Lack of Education
• Desire for Male children
• Fertility rate declining
• Younger women having children

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s-1896.gif
Taken from http//wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-
zone/asia/india/images/india-flag.jpg
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Water and Forest Factor

• Freshwater Availability
• Misconception of Oceans as freshwater
• Human Bodies 60 water
• Sewage deposited in water
• Health problems
• Per Capita Water Use

• Forests Area
• Urbanization more paved areas
• Less parks and nature
• Lack of Oxygen production
• Increase Quantity of Carbon Dioxide (Greenhouse
  Gases)
• Global Warming

Taken from http//static.flickr.com/33/38490644_4
1f946c4f2_b.jpg
Taken from http//pantransit.reptiles.org/images/
1996-07-28/washington-rain-forest.png
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Environmental Impacts

• Pollution increase in cars and emission of
  greenhouse gases into atmosphere
• Deforestation increase in paved areas to house
  increasing population
• Freshwater Availability increase in waste
  production and contamination of water
• Natural Resources increase burning of fossil
  fuels, excessive use of coal
• Global Warming overall increase in temperature
  and chances of natural disasters
• Habitat Loss change in ecosystems affecting
  trophic levels

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Stella Models

• Stocks population, freshwater availability and
  forest areas.
• Flows births and deaths precipitation and
  water use and forest regeneration and trees cut
  down.
• Converters birth rate and death rate
  deforestation rate and per capita water use.

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Stella Models
India Population vs. Environ Impacts
United States Population vs. Environ Impacts
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Stella Model
India Population (In billions)
US Population (In millions)

• Population of India and US with no external
  pressures
• India is increasing at a faster rate than U.S.
• This is worrisome due to the lack of resources
  and financial stability to support such an
  increase.
• We only chose to model birth and death rate, but
  there are other limiting factors that encompass
  each, however they were not imperative to include
  in this research.

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Excel Model

• Comparing the Population of India and US with no
  external pressures
• Both increasing.
• India growth rate per year
• 1.51
• US growth rate per year
• 0.92
• India starts at a greater population.
• WHY DO THEY DIFFER?
• Education
• GNP
• Immigration/ Migration

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Excel Model

• Population growth influencing water availability.
• Water availability decreases because there is not
  enough fresh water available due to the
  increasing demand.
• US per capita 6932 m3
• India per capita 1211 m3
• US consumes more water at a faster rate due to
  its higher surface area and easier access to
  clean water, whereas India does not.
• USs financial status permits usage of high-end
  technology to purify water.

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Excel Model

• Comparing Population growth of India and United
  States influencing water availability.
• WHY DO THEY DIFFER?
• Pollution rates
• Technology
• Surface Area
• Financial Stability
• Per Capita Water Use

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Excel Model

• Population growth influencing forest area
• India The forest area started at 67 million
  hectares, and continued at a steady deforestation
  rate of 0.0294 million.
• United States There is a clear exponential
  decrease in the forest area, leading to its
  possible crash, which can result in major
  ecosystem changes if actions not taken.

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Excel Model

• Comparing population growth of India and United
  States influencing forest area
• India, although with a higher population than the
  United States shows a steady decrease in its
  forest area, whereas the United States has an
  extensive decrease due to its high immigration
  rates and urbanization, demanding more paved
  areas than India.
• Growing population puts pressure on forest areas
  because of urbanization and higher demands for
  wooden products.

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General Conclusions

• Our models show that there are negative
  environmental impact related to population growth
  both in developed and underdeveloped countries.
• For every scenario, there were increases in
  deforestation rate and water usage
• Although the reasons for the growth differed, the
  results were similar

Taken From http//www.greenberg-art.com/.Toons/.T
oons,20Environ/qqxsgOverpopulation20eclipse.gif
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Implications

• What Ifs
• If we increase the number of people educated,
  then the birth rate would go down, resulting in a
  lower deforestation rate.
• Decreasing the forest area will prevent natural
  processes from occurring (photosynthesis,
  nitrogen cycle) and increase global warming,
  natural disasters, damage to ecosystems, loss of
  animal life.
• Decreasing water resources may in fact bring down
  the population due to decreasing food sources.

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Solutions

• Increase education programs
• Later marriages
• Contraceptive use
• Less of a need for urbanization (jobs)
• Be energy efficient (wind/ solar)
• Organic farming
• Sustainable development (build vertically)
• Plant more trees!
• Have better governmental regulations for an
  improved economy

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Take Home Message

• Because this is an inevitable problem we must
  raise peoples awareness and environmental
  stewardship to lessen the effects of
  overpopulation.
• Focus on the present, but have in mind the
  future, thus we must start changing our actions
  now to foresee the future we want!

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Works Cited

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