Questions on Population and the Environment

1RL What is the fertility of a population? What is the crude birth rate? What is crude about the crude birth rate?

2RL What is the mortality of a population? What's the crude death rate? What's the infant mortality rate? Why, in so many cases, is the crude death rate lower in poor societies than it is in rich societies?

3RL What's the rate of natural growth? How do demographers calculate the actual growth rate of a population? What is the doubling rate and how is it calculated? How large is a growth rate of 3%?

4RL What's the demographic transition and when did it occur in Northern and Western European nations and the U.S.? What are the four stages of the transition? In what stage are the U.S. and Western Europe? In what stage are the Southern-tier, developing countries?

5RL What are some of the factors leading to low population growth rates among Northern tier countries?

6RL Given the high population growth rates in poorer countries, what are some population reduction strategies. Why should giving more opportunities to women reduce population growth?

7RL In the formula, I=PAT, what do the "letters" refer to, i.e., what are the factors that go into determining the level of environmental impact that a given society produces? Why do the choices Americans make have such a disproportionately large impact on the global ecosystem? What are some impacts of our choices to eat billions of fast food hamburgers?

8R Why has industrial technology had such a great impact on the environment?

9R What's the ratio between population and energy use for a)the USA and b)the industrial countries?

10R What's an environmental deficit? What are the three reasons that this concept is important?

11LR What's the logic of growth?

How do those who assume this orientation answer more pessimistic observers who caution about pollution and resource depletion?

12LR What's the limits to growth thesis? In what sense is this a neo-Malthusian position

For the authors of "Limits to Growth", how long can current growth rates be sustained before collapse occurs?

What would happen if all of the poor countries of the world enjoyed the material prosperity that we in the USA do?

13L What's the "treadmill of production" and what are its implication for our social and environmental future?

What is the attitude about economic growth typically exhibited by other (other than corporations) societal interest groups such as (a)consumers, (b)government officials, (c)workers/labor

14L What's the Kyoto Treaty and what does it suggest about the conflict between the environment and society?

15R What percentage of our solid waste is recycled? Why is this likely to increase in the future?

16R Why, in the last twenty years, is air pollution less of a problem in rich countries and more of a problem in poor countries?

17R What percentage of the world's rain forests are already destroyed? Why is this continuing destruction a problem? What's the likely impact of increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere?

18R Why is declining biodiversity through the extinction of plant and animal species a problem?

19R What's environmental racism?

Why are the most hazardous environmental sites located in the neighborhood and regions with the poorest people?

20R What's an ecologically sustainable culture?

21R What are the three basic strategies for achieving an ecologically sustainable world?

Questions on the Video on Global Warming

• Some, like those representing the energy industry, argue that increases in CO2 emissions and the resulting global warming are not a serious potential problem. What are some of their arguments?

• How much have CO2 levels increased since the industrial revolution? If current CO2 emissions continue at the current rate, what will happen to atmospheric CO2 levels in fifty years?

• What are some projected consequences of allowing CO2 levels to double or triple their current levels as some predict?

• What's the range of predicted increases in temperature over the next 100 years? What would be some consequences of an increase in one degree in temperature?

• What might be the impact of global warming on ocean currents, particularly the gulf stream?

• Why are greenhouse emissions in the future likely to be much greater than they are now?

• What was the December 1997 Kyoto Meeting designed to accomplish? Why was the global role of the USA, in particular, but industrialized nations, in general, the focus of the debates? What was the argument of the poor countries? The rich countries? What was the final agreement?

• How much of the world's yearly energy is consumed in the USA? How many pounds of greenhouse gases are generated yearly by the average use of one car? How much greenhouse gases are generated yearly for each American?

• What was the reaction of the Kyoto Agreement in the USA? Of spokespersons for the energy companies? Of politicians? Of climatologists?

• What's the relationships between greenhouse gas emissions and continued economic growth?







• What's the "bitter pill" at the bottom of all discussions of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions?