Planet under pressure: too many people on earth?

50 Pages·2013·12.052 MB·English

by  Anniss, Matt

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ISBN: 978-1-4339-8643-7
Matt Anniss
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Matt Anniss
Please visit our website, www.garethstevens.com. For a free color catalog of all our
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Anniss, Matt.
Planet under pressure : too many people on earth? / Matt Anniss.
pages cm. — (Ask an expert)
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4339-8644-4 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-4339-8645-1 (6-pack)
ISBN 978-1-4339-8643-7 (library binding)
1. Overpopulation—Juvenile literature. 2. Nonrenewable natural resources—Juvenile
literature I. Title.
HB883.A56 2013
363.9—dc23
2012037835
First Edition
Published in 2013 by
Gareth Stevens Publishing
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Contents
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You’re the Expert 44
Glossary 46
For More Information 47
Index 48
Right now, there are around 7 billion people
living on Earth. Sixty years ago, there were
just 2.5 billion. In less than the lifespan of the
average human, the world’s population—the
number of people living on the planet—has
gone up by an amazing 4.5 billion.
A Ticking
Time Bomb?
According to the United Nations, around 134 million
babies are born each year. If this continues, in 100
years from now there could be twice the number
Face Facts
of people in the world as there are today.
“Humans everywhere must
understand that rapid
population growth damages
the Earth and diminishes
human well-being.”
David Pimentel, Professor
Emeritus at Cornell
University
Africa is one of the areas in
which the population is rising
at incredible rates.
4
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current rates, by 2050 there will be
10 billion people on Earth.
Different Viewpoints
Some experts think that there are
far too many people on the planet.
They say that if the population keeps
rising at current rates, we will one day
run out of food, clean water, and other
resources such as oil, coal, and gas.
Other experts disagree. They believe
askthe
that instead of increasing, in the future
the world’s population will decrease.
experts
Big Questions
Many experts say that it is not just
So, should we be worried? Are there
the world population we need to be
too many people living on Earth? If
concerned about, but the growing
there are, what can we do to change
populations in our cities. More and
the situation? In this book, we ask the more people are moving to cities.
experts for answers to these questions. We urgently need to build more city
We’ll then ask you to become the housing to cope with the demand
of an ever-growing population.
expert and make up your own mind
about our growing population crisis.
5
Every year, more and more people are being born
around the world. Added to this, in the West, most
people are now living for longer than ever before.
Our longer lifespans are putting further pressure
on resources such as food, oil, and gas. The question
is, will Earth be able to provide enough resources
for a potentially huge future population?
A Global Crisis
Face Facts
“Think of the Earth as a
living organism that is
being attacked by billions
of bacteria whose numbers
double every 40 years.
Either the organism dies,
the virus dies, or both die.”
American writer
Gore Vidal
Parents in the West can expect their
children to live longer than them,
6 thanks to advances in healthcare.
Better Health
So why are we living longer?
There are two main reasons.
The fi rst is the increase in the
quality of healthcare. Over
the last 100 years, doctors
and scientists have found
ways to cure many diseases.
The invention of vaccines to
protect us against disease,
and of new methods to treat
other illnesses, has cut death
rates dramatically.
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the number of people on Earth
will continue to rise.
de
the
debate
More Food
Experts are divided on the
impact of the “Green Revolution”
Most people around the world are also
in farming. Some think that in
healthier because the quality of their diets
the future it will become too
has improved and they also consume more
expensive to produce as much
food. This is because of changes in the way
food as we do now, and people
we grow and harvest food crops. The “Green will starve. Norman Barlaug, the
Revolution” of the 1960s and 1970s made man credited with driving the
food cheaper to produce and buy than ever “Green Revolution,” disagrees.
He says it has been “a change in
before for people in the developed world.
the right direction” and
Because of this, fewer people go hungry
“transformed the world.”
and die of starvation than in the past.
777
A Farming Crisis?
As the world’s population increases,
Face Facts
it puts greater pressure on Earth’s
natural resources. At present, the
world produces more than enough “Our food reserves are at
food, and fewer people than ever a 50-year low, and by 2030
before go hungry. However, some we need to be producing 50
experts think that if the population percent more food. If not,
keeps increasing, by 2030 there might many people will starve.”
not be enough food to feed everyone. Professor John Beddington,
Government Chief Scientist
for the United Kingdom
Asian farmers currently produce around
500 million tons (454 tonnes) of rice every year,
but will they be able to produce more in the future?
888
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starve if we do not fi nd ways
to grow more food.
Running Out of Land
At present, around 12 percent of the de
land available on Earth is used for
the
growing food. However, experts say
debate
there is only an additional 7 to 10
percent of land available to grow more
food in the future. If we don’t fi nd ways
to increase production within the land Some experts deny that there is
we already farm, people may starve. a food crisis. In 2000, population
experts Michael Haynes and
Rumy Hussan wrote: “In a world
Possible Solutions
that now produces more food
Some experts have suggested that the than is necessary to feed all its
way forward is to build skyscrapers in population, there is no excuse for
hunger.” However, many others
which food is grown. Others say that
disagree. They point out that we
people in rich countries should eat and
already use 90 percent of the
waste less food. At present, Americans
land that can be farmed, and
throw out more than 200,000 tons
demand for food will soon
(181,000 tonnes) of edible food every be too great for many
day. Many say that we should distribute farmers to cope.
99
the food more fairly around the world.