Do Now:

• By now you are aware that the human population is still growing rapidly around the world. Can our planet handle this growth? Do we need to slow population growth? Can we?

• Explain your answer using data and examples to back it up!

Aim: How Can We Slow Human Population Growth?

• We can slow human population growth by reducing poverty, elevating the status of women, and encouraging family planning.

As Countries Develop, Their Populations Tend to Grow More Slowly• Demographic transition – First death rates decline– Then birth rates decline

• Four stages1. Preindustrial2.Transitional3.Industrial4.Postindustrial

Fig. 6-17, p. 140

Four Stages of the Demographic Transition

Fig. 6-17, p. 140

Stage 1 Preindustrial

Stage 2 Transitional

Stage 3 Industrial

Stage 4 Postindustrial

Population grows very slowly because of a high birth rate (to compensate for high infant mortality) and a high death rate

Population grows rapidly because birth rates are high and death rates drop because of improved food production and health

Population growth slows as both birth and death rates drop because of improved

Population growth levels off and then declines as birth rates equal and then fall below death rates

80

70

60Total population

50 Birth rate

40

30

20 Death rate

Bir

th r

ate

an

d d

eath

rat

e (n

um

ber

per

1,0

00 p

er

yea

r)

10

0Low Increasing Very high Decreasing Low Zero Negative

Growth rate over time

food production, health, and education

Fig. 6-18, p. 140

TFR in Bangladesh and U.S., 1800-2010

Do you understand how to read an demographic transition graph?

Fig. 6-19, p. 141

Slum in India

Empowering Women Can Slow Population Growth

• Factors that decrease total fertility rates:– Education– Paying jobs– Ability to control fertility

• Women– Do most of the domestic work and child care– Provide unpaid health care– 2/3 of all work for 10% of world’s income– Discriminated against legally and culturally

Fig. 6-20, p. 141

Burkina Faso Women Hauling Fuelwood

Promote Family Planning• Family planning in less-developed countries– Responsible for a 55% drop in TFRs– Financial benefits: money spent on family planning saves

far more in health, education costs

• Two problems1.42% pregnancies unplanned, 26% end with abortion2.Many couples do not have access to family planning

Read A Loud

• Case Study: Slowing Population growth in India

Case Study: Slowing Population Growth in India

• 1.2 billion people, most populous country by2015• Problems– Poverty– Malnutrition– Environmental degradation

• Bias toward having male children• Poor couples want many children• Only 48% of couples use family planning

Do you understand how we can slow population growth?

Pause…Think…Write

• Based on population size and resource use per person is the U.S. more overpopulated than China or India? Explain giving support from the case study.

Movie Clip:

• Slowing human population growth in India

Summary

• Our numbers expand but Earth’s natural systems do not.

Lester Brown

Three Big Ideas

1. The human population is increasing rapidly and may soon bump up against environmental limits.

2. Even if population growth were not a serious problem, the increasing use of resources per person is expanding the overall human ecological footprint and putting a strain on the earth’s resources.

Three Big Ideas

3. We can slow population growth by reducing poverty through economic development, elevating the status of women, and encouraging family planning.