In the last 200 years, there has been rapid world’s human population growth as a result of high fertility rate, drop in death rate, and unemployment (McCuen, 2013). The current increase in population is due to high fertility rate. The high rate of fertility may be partially elucidated by work force required to perform agricultural tasks. In addition, population increase has been attributed to drop in global death rate since the beginning of industrial revolution. Personal hygiene as well as improved sanitation has made great contribution to decrease in deaths. Moreover, unemployment results to poverty. Poor people spend more time together, and because they have nothing to do, more often than not they engage in sexual intercourse.
According to WHO (2010), currently, there are approximately 7 billion persons in the world, with a growth rate of about 1.14% per annum. Change in population is currently approximated to be 80 million per annum. The annual population growth rate is presently decreasing and is estimated to continue decreasing (McCuen, 2013). Presently, it is approximated that PGR will be less than one percent by 2020 and below 0.5% by 2050 (WHO, 2010). Therefore, it means that population will continue to increase in the 21st C, though at slow rate. World population doubled by 100% between1959 to 1999 (3 billion to 6 billion), that is 40 years (WHO, 2010). It is projected that it will take another forty three years to grow by another fifty percent, to be nine billion by 2042. This means that by 2050 the world population will be over 9 billion.
Technology has been used to alter nature to meet human wants and needs. Technology has been used to increase crop yields, reduce requirement for pesticides, reduce food production cost, reduce drug production cost, improve nutrient composition, as well as enhance food quality. With technology there is greater security of food, and medical gains to the global growing population (McCuen, 2013).
Cultural carrying capacity refers to the maximum population of individuals or species which the human population can tolerate. Cultural carrying capacity relies on human feelings towards a species (McCuen, 2013).
References
McCuen, G. E. (2013). Population & human survival. Hudson, Wis: G.E. McCuen Publications.
World Health Organization (2010). The new emergency health kit: Lists of drugs and medical supplies for a population of 10,000 persons for approximately 3 months. Geneva: WHO.
