Becky TysonDate April 26th, 2015Biology IIProfessor Raven
The human population has grown tremendously worldwide since time immemorial. Originally, there was one ancestor from whom the present 7 billion human populations grew (Miller & Spoolman, 2015). The original human ancestors lived in one particular part of the globe. However, as the population increased and the need for more resources and better living conditions emerged, the people spread to different parts of the earth. The origin of man is not well known yet. However, many theories have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Most researchers believe that Homo sapiens originated from Africa from where its descendants moved to the Middle East and other parts of the world. On the other hand, some researchers believe that the ancestor of the present surviving human species originated from the Middle East from where its descendants migrated to other parts of the earth. The debate about the origin and evolution of the human being continues to inspire research efforts aimed at addressing the issue. Despite the lack of a clear explanation of the origin of man, there is no doubt that the human population has grown significantly, and people now occupy a wider proportion of the earth’s surface area than before.
The human population has witnessed a significant change since the beginning of the existence of humanity. In this case, the human population has grown from a negligible number to the present seven billion. In general, the human population has exhibited an upward trend since the emergence of the ancestor its ancestor. The trend has occurred regardless of mortality that has also characterized the history of humanity due to major events such as wars and natural calamities such as adverse weather conditions and geographical phenomena. However, there have been fluctuations of the rate of the human population growth at different eras in the human history. This has been largely influenced by various factors influencing the ability of human being to survive and adapt to the ecosystem. The study of statistics concerning the human population, births, disease incidence, and mortality is called demography. In general, demography entails the statistical study of the human population (Bagad, 2009).
The historical trend in human population change has taken place in three main periods namely the pre-agricultural period, agricultural period, and the industrial period. To begin with, the first phase of human population growth took place during the pre-agricultural period. The pre-agricultural period, also referred to as the Archaic period, also marks the first phase of human development. It covers any period before 10,000 years ago (Smil, 2013). During this period, the human economic activities mainly included hunting and gathering of foods. In other words, the period was characterized by the simplest activities primarily intended for survival. Additionally, the simplest tools were used in conducting these activities since man had not invented more sophisticated tools.
In the pre-agricultural period, the human population exhibited the lowest growth rate in history. Indeed, it is estimated that the population took tens of thousands of years to double during this period (Cunningham, n.d., Pre-Agricultural period, para. 1).). Many factors could be attributed to this occurrence. First, it is important to note that the pre-agricultural period is one of the periods in the human history during which the human being faced most challenges. Such hardships include limited access to food and medicine, poor ability to adapt to the environment, and the effects of various geographical phenomena. Access to food must have been the main challenge that faced the human being during the pre-agricultural food. First, man had not developed tools that are sophisticated enough to transform foods into edible forms. Consequently, even though many diverse species of plants and animals were available at the time, most of them could not be converted to edible forms. Hence, only the foods that could be eaten in the raw form were used for human consumption. As a result of the limited access to food, the nutritional status of man living in the pre-agricultural period remained poor. Consequently, man’s efforts to reproduce were limited.
Threats to the human health could also have contributed to the low rate of population growth during the pre-agricultural period. In this case, since man’s understanding of the environment was still low, little was known about ways of avoiding or preventing danger. For instance, methods for detecting if an individual plant or animal is poisonous or unsuitable for human consumption were limited. Consequently, people were highly predisposed to health hazards associated with toxic substances. Additionally, man had not gained adequate understanding of the disease. Therefore, little could be done to prevent disease occurrence or the development of complications associated with certain disease conditions. Children were the most affected by the then prevailing situation. Indeed, infant mortality rate must have been very high during this period. These health-related challenges must have contributed to a high mortality rate. The high mortality rate, in turn, must have greatly affected the human population growth during the pre-agricultural period.
The second phase of human population growth occurred during the agricultural period. The agricultural period is simply the period of transition from hunting and gathering activities to the period characterized by agricultural activities. The agricultural period ranges from the period starting from 10,000 years ago to approximately 1,000 years ago (Cunningham, n.d., Agricultural period, para. 1). During this period, man covered many milestones in development in nearly all aspects. For instance, the human economic activities shifted to incorporate tilling of land for cultivation and the domestication of animals. More variety of tools and more sophisticated methods of agriculture were invented. For instance, the human being developed more sophisticated methods of irrigation and plowing. As a result of these advancements, the supply of a variety of nutritious food improved significantly. An improvement of man’s insight into different aspects of diseases was also noted during this period. The human welfare improved owing to all the advancements achieved during the agricultural period. Therefore, birth rate increased while mortality rate decreased, hence resulting in an overall growth in the human population. Indeed, the human population grew more rapidly during this period than the pre-agricultural period. In this case, it took nearly 1,000 years for the human population to double unlike in the pre-agricultural period where the population doubled after tens of thousands of years (Cunningham, n.d., Agricultural period, para. 2). The human population is estimated to have grown to approximately 500 million by the end of the agricultural period (MacMichael, 2001).
The next phase of human population growth is the industrial period. Industrial period started 1,000 years ago and continues to the present time (Cunningham, n.d., Industrial period, para. 1). This period is characterized by a tremendous advancement in technology in all aspects of human life. Indeed, the human life depends greatly on technology in the industrial period. Industrial revolution has come with the advancement in techniques used in growing crops, manufacturing and storage of food, and health care activities. There is no doubt that the technological advancement witnessed during the industrial period has recorded a profound effect on human civilization. For instance, it has resulted in lower infant and child mortality rate, improvement of living standards, and improvement in access to adequate food supply. Concerning food supply, technological advancement has resulted in improved methods of irrigation and production of crops. This has led to an increase in food supply. Besides, the improvement in techniques for manufacturing and preserving foods has further helped improve the human nutritional status. The human understanding of health has also improved significantly during this period. This has reduced human mortality to a great extent.
Following the technological advancement witnessed in the industrial period, the human population has increased tremendously. Indeed, industrial period exhibits the highest human population growth rate among the three periods discussed in this paper. Indeed, it is estimated that the human population has grown from 500 million recorded at the beginning of the industrial period to the current size of 7 billion. This change indicates that the population has been rapid during the industrial period than in any time in the human history. This growth has occurred regardless of the effects of events such as war that have registered significant impact on the human population. In general, the human population growth has been on an upward trend since the beginning regardless of the occurrence of events such as war that threaten human population growth.
Human activities rely on resources supplied by nature. These activities result in wastes that get disposed to the environment. As the human population continues to grow, more resources are exploited for human consumption. Ecological footprint is the measure of the impact of human activities. It is measured “in terms of the area of the biologically productive land and water needed for the production of good consumed and assimilation of wastes generated” (World Wide Fund for Nature, n.d., para. 1). The earth can supply human needs only to a certain level. Therefore, the continuous growth in human population will not be sustainable if it not controlled since it continuous to cause massive depletion of resources and accumulation of wastes.
The size of human population is the primary factor responsible for the environmental degradation. As the human population continues to grow, the exploitation of the natural resources to meet these needs increases too. With time, the resources get depleted. Besides, high human activities result in increased accumulation of wastes. Wastes pose a threat to the environment if not managed properly. It is also important to note that large population often results in competition for available resources. Competition for resources is usually characterized by irresponsible methods of resource exploitation that causes further degradation of the environment. This explains why management of wastes in slums and areas with a high population density is difficult. Such areas are likely to witness poor waste management practices. Additionally, a large human population is responsible for human encroachment into forests and areas initially reserved to help in environmental conservation. Indeed, the constant growth in human population has contributed to a significant reduction of forest cover worldwide.
Human population size is a factor that must be taken into consideration in the efforts towards environmental restoration. In this case, population size determines whether the available resources are adequate to meet people’s needs. Environmental restoration efforts should focus on ensuring that appropriate approaches are taken to ensure that the current and future demands of the human population can be met using the available resources. Therefore, such efforts should include the promotion of human population control. In conclusion, the human population is projected to increase over the coming several decades. However, this trend will continue to pose serious environmental impact. Therefore, there is the need to control human population to ensure that the available resources can supply people’s needs.
References
Bagad, A. (2009). Environmental Studies. Technical Publications.
MacMichael, T. (2001). Human frontiers, environments and disease: Past patterns, uncertain futures. Cambridge [u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Smil, V. (2013). Harvesting the biosphere: What we have taken from nature. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.Top of Form
World Wide Fund for Nature. (n.d.). Ecological Footprint. Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/webfieldtrips/ecological_balance/eco_footprint/ Bottom of FormTop of Form
Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S. (2015). Essentials of ecology. Australia: National Geographic Learning.
Cunningham, M. (n.d.). Human Population Growth. Retrieved from http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-history-of-human-population-growth-and-carrying-capacity.html
