Category: Books Online
PG8. Choosing a World
Chapter 8 { Population Growth Contents } It has been almost two hundred years since Thomas Malthus began the discussion of human population growth. The discussion continues even today in a world six times more populated than it was in Malthus’ day. Many people are concerned about the problem, but the majority of people are […]
PG7. Can We Limit Human Population Growth?
Chapter 7 { Population Growth Contents } CAIRO — Years ago, when the water buffalo gave plenty of milk and the pigeons and chickens were paraded nightly to the dinner table, Om Mahmoud was healthy and happy with the annual ritual of giving birth to a new baby: another pair of hands in the lush […]
PG6C. Stay Current—One Child
Staying current for Chapter 6 { Population Growth Contents } 2023-04-25. Hong Kong: some schools face closure as birthrate and exodus take toll. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/25/hong-kong-some-schools-face-closure-as-birthrate-and-exodus-take-toll] By Helen Davidson, The Guardian. Excerpt: Hong Kong schools are being forced to merge or prepare for closure as a decade-long decline in the birthrate and a recent exodus of residents […]
PG6. One Child
Chapter 6 { Population Growth Contents } Scenes from China’s “One Child” policy. Episode 1 – The young girl She was frightened. She had not told anyone that she had missed her last two periods. Telling her parents was impossible. Her mother would be shocked, her father so angry she didn’t know what he would […]
PG5.1. How Much Land Does It Take to Produce Your Food?
{ Population Growth Contents } { All GSS Books } Investigation by David Masterman In this Investigation, you calculate the amount of land required to produce the food eaten by an individual for one year and compare the amount of land required to produce animal versus plant products. Background Humans require energy and their energy […]
PG5. The Environmental Impact of Populations
Chapter 5 { Population Growth Contents } More humans means more demands of nature. The demand for wood, wood products, and additional space for agriculture has resulted in worldwide loss of forests. What people all over the world are beginning to recognize is that the world’s resources are finite. There is just so much land, […]
PG4. The History of Human Population Growth
Chapter 4 { Population Growth Contents } All living things have evolved with the capacity to reproduce at very high rates. What would happen if this were not so? What if a maple tree produced only one seed in a year? What are the chances that a single seed would find a hospitable patch of […]
PG3. Population Reproduction, Growth, and Change Over Time
Chapter 3 { Population Growth Contents } Unfortunately, neither the Spanish nor the English sailors were terribly interested in taking a census of the number of goats or dogs on the island during any of their visits, and they did not do a mark-recapture that we know of. We can only guess at the number […]
PG2. Patterns in Populations
Chapter 2 { Population Growth Contents } Understanding the patterns of population change has become possible by creating mathematical models, or equations, that have the same characteristics as actual populations. An equation that successfully models population growth must display some of the same patterns that we saw on Goat Island. Making a graph that is […]
PG1. What is a Population?
Chapter 1 { Population Growth Contents } The word “population” can refer not only to people, but to groups of beetles, or cacti, or even fireflies! A population is a group of individuals of one species living in an area and occupying a particular ecological niche. This book is about the impacts of populations on […]