First Question (Chapter 1): Do you think current worldwide population growth and economic growth are sustainable? Why or why not?
The current economic and population growth are not sustainable. Sustainability depends on the willingness of the developed countries to reduce their resource consumption. Although the high population growth in less developed countries increases the impact on the environment and resources, the severity of the impact comes from the rate of resource consumption. If the developed countries can reduce their rate of resource consumption, the world would move towards equality in terms of consumption. The less developed countries would have access to more resources and improve their living standards. When living standards improve around the world, people would be able to control population growth through family planning methods. Consequently, population growth would slow down, reducing negative impacts of increased population on the environment. However, the developed countries are not willing to reduce their consumption, which limits access for less developed nations. Poverty levels lead to lack of family planning knowledge, which translates to increased birth rates. The birth rates increase the population that encroaches on the environment.
As technological innovations continue, people’s ability for mass production increase, which translates to economic development. The quest to achieve increased economic growth has shadowed the need to use the technological innovations to create new ways to control environmental pollution and degradation. Consequently, activities that are aimed at increasing economic development have resulted in pollution of the environment. Pollution has reduced the ability of the environment to sustain the current population because it increases disasters such as drought. The disasters have destroyed the ecosystem and has led to extinction of various species. The reduction of species from the ecosystem means that the future generations will not benefit from them. Therefore, the current economic development and population growth have reduced the ability of future generations to sustain their needs.
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Second Question (chapter 2): How forest destruction relates to declining biological diversity?
Biodiversity is the variety of organisms, their variability and the complex habitats within which they live. Therefore, it refers to the number, types and variations of species living on the earth’s surface. Forest destruction is related to the reduction of biological diversity in a variety of ways. First, about half of all organism species live within the tropical rainforests around the world. Each of the tropical forests in various locations on the globe harbor unique species of organisms. The destruction of these forests, therefore, means that some animals living there are killed by humans during deforestation. Secondly, as forests are cleared, the natural habitats of many organisms are destroyed, exposing them to predators and other harsh elements of nature. Such exposure reduces their number within the destroyed habitat.
The destruction of forests reduces earth’s vegetation cover, which limits the atmospheric potential to lose carbon dioxide. Consequently, excess carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, increasing the earth’s temperatures. The increased temperature cause melting of ice in regions far away from the destroyed forests. The melting glaciers flow into oceans and rivers and cause flooding in low lying lands. The organisms living in these lands get submerged in the floods and perish. Therefore, the effects of forest destruction lead to the reduction of biodiversity within the destroyed forests and in other regions. In addition, forested regions are the most productive areas and provide food to human populations. The destruction of forests reduces the area’s productivity and may lead to famine and droughts in the long run. Human deaths through droughts and famine also reduces biodiversity.
(Word Count: 263)
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