population effect on the envirionment?

Question

how can a single child born in the united states have a greater effect on the environment and natural resources than a dozen or more children born in a developing country???

Answer 1

No simple relationship exists between population size and environmental change. However, as global population continues to grow, limits on such global resources as arable land, potable water, forests, and fisheries have come into sharper focus. In the second half of the twentieth century, decreasing farmland contributed to growing concern of the limits to global food production. Assuming constant rates of production, per capita land requirements for food production will near the limits of arable land over the course of the twenty-first century. Likewise, continued population growth occurs in the context of an accelerating demand for water: Global water consumption rose sixfold between 1900 and 1995, more than double the rate of population growth.

The ways in which populations are distributed across the globe also affect the environment. Continued high fertility in many developing regions, coupled with low fertility in more-developed regions, means that 80 percent of the global population now lives in less-developed nations. Furthermore, human migration is at an all-time high: the net flow of international migrants is approximately 2 million to 4 million per year and, in 1996, 125 million people lived outside their country of birth. Much of this migration follows a rural-to-urban pattern, and, as a result, the Earth's population is also increasingly urbanized. As recently as 1960, only one-third of the world's population lived in cities. By 1999, the percentage had increased to nearly half (47 percent). This trend is expected to continue well into the twenty-first century.

The distribution of people around the globe has three main implications for the environment. First, as less-developed regions cope with a growing share of population, pressures intensify on already dwindling resources within these areas. Second, migration shifts relative pressures exerted on local environments, easing the strain in some areas and increasing it in others. Finally, urbanization, particularly in less-developed regions, frequently outpaces the development of infrastructure and environmental regulations, often resulting in high levels of pollution.

Answer 2

America is basically a super power country. People here have much more chances at life then people anymore. Take in for example places that dont have too many jobs.... places that require you to have excellent grades, and yet you still get a horrible job. Places that you have to study 24/7 or you'll never have a chance. And even if you study 24/7 it doesnt mean you will have a chance. I mean look at americans, being held back in grades, getting very low grades, never studying at all, lazy couch patatoes, and all those are things. Even when americans do all this they still have all these jobs avaiable.... if a person from other countries did what they did there here they would have really good jobs and stuff. I mean comeon the worlds smartest man may be at a place like what i said and he might only get 70k a year when if he were here in america he would get more than that because people would want to hire him/her wether he/she is a scientist, engineer, or what ever. Americans have a easy life here and they still take it for granted, they dont notice how lucky they are. Too bad for me, im getting use to their customs.... Just one more thing you can never expect a person from other countries like what i mentioned to have the life as we have here in america. And americans arent even taking advantage of this, so this is why i belive americans have the best chance to have a better effect on the world, then people from places like those.

Answer 3

The scarcity of resources and wars over them. Pollution and deaths because of that. Famine and misery because of that. And finally, when the ordinary citizen is ready to throw up his hands in despair, population growth stabilizes, rates drop, population even declines a little and we all take a deep breath and enjoy the spectactle of the misty sun over a grey concrete landscape. Education and wealth brings down population growth. What we need is taking it under control BEFORE above said wars and deaths occur.

Answer 4

It's not based on the child's birth - it's based upon the expected (or average) consumption of each U.S. citizen as s/he grows older, compared to the consumption of an average citizen of a developing country.

Check out this site:

http://www.unfpa.org/6billion/ccmc/consumptionandresources.html