Joel E. Cohen once stated in his How Many People Can the Earth Support?, “A little boy wanted to know the sum of one plus one. First he asked a physicist, who said, “If one is matter, and the other is antimatter, then the answer is zero. But if one is a critical mass of uranium and the other is a critical mass of uranium, then that's an explosive question.” Unenlightened, the little boy asked a biologist. She said, “Are we talking bacteria, mice or whales? And for how long?” In desperation, the boy hired an accountant. The accountant peered closely at the little boy and said, “Hmmm. One plus one? Tell me, little boy, how much do you want one plus one to be?” (Cohen 261) Every living thing on planet Earth requires a certain amount of resources to survive. In the anecdote by Cohen, the accountant tells the boy that he is able to choose the sum of one plus one which accounts in this case to the limits that humans have on the resources. One plus one in this case is also the ratio of the specific supply of each resource per human being which cannot be accounted for. Humans have the potential to act for themselves in knowing how to balance out their needs. Every person on planet Earth needs space and resources to survive but as the population grows, the natural resources begin to decrease due to their ever-growing demands. As time goes by, these natural resources undergo increasing pressure, threatening public health and development. As the human population expands, its effects on the environment will multiply, such as the depleting of Earth’s natural resources, biodiversity, and the slowing dynamic economy, and therefore the citizens of Earth must help in the recreation of the planet. As the world’s population grows, improving living ...
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An Inconvenient Truth is a documentary film in which basis are put long-term researches of changes of climate, level of carbonic gas in the atmosphere, and conditions of polar ices. In this film, El Gore, a presidential candidate of 2000 and former vice president of the United States, explains the scientific and political view of global warming and its serious consequences that we already observe on Earth, and other more tragic consequences that are still to come in the near future if we do not reduce emissions of exhaust gas in the atmosphere. Nothing especially new about the global warning is presented in the film, but what made this film effective is, firs of all, the fact that El Gore, a public and well known figure in the United States, is the main protagonist of the film. Another effective point in the film is that El Gore put all the scientific work together and showed that the problem is real, it is not a myth, and it should not be ignored any longer.
It is obvious from the tone of this report that Michael Pollan really wants to stop climate change; he just doesn’t know how to make a lasting effect. Even so, he never ceases to pull at the readers’ heartstrings. The author does a great job at coercing the readers to jump on board; the only problem is there is no destination in mind. So, instead of inciting his readers to act out against this problem, Pollan leaves them dumbfounded and uncertain on how to
Gore’s logical appeals emphasize the danger and significance of global warming in a cogent, engaging multimedia platform. Rather than monotonously expounding upon detail after detail, he uses interactive visual aids to clarify his claims. As Stefan Lovgren, in “Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ Movie: Fact or Hype?,” abbreviates, “the documentary handles the science well.” Gore is confident in the delivery of his information; he talks to his audience with ease and precision. He states, “[t]he relationships are actually very complicated, but there is one relationship that is far more powerful than all the others and it is this: When there is more carbon dioxide...
The worldwide population is approaching 7 billion and is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 (Baird). This projected population number is down from a once predicted 16 billion (Baird) and while some are not concerned, others are worried about any increase in population. Population growth is discussed in the articles “Too Many People?” by Vanessa Baird; “Population Control: How Can There Possibly Be Too Many of Us?” by Frank Furedi; and “The Population Bomb Revisited,” by Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich. Baird and Furedi concur that a concern for population growth has been around since mathematician Thomas Malthus, in 1798, warned that overpopulation could lead to “the collapse of society” (Furedi). Furedi claims that too much human life is being used as an excuse, by population control supporters, for the world’s current and future problems. Baird tries to discover if “the current panic over population growth is reasonable.” For Ehrlich and Ehrlich the concern over population growth is very real, and they reinforce and support their book “calling attention to the demographic element in the human predicament” (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 63). While taking different approaches to their articles, the authors offer their perspectives on population growth, population control and the environmental impacts of a growing population.
Michael Pollan, on his essay “Why Bother” published in the New York Times in 2008 recounts his concern on the lately increased of global warming. He begins contrasting Gore’s writing about changing a light bulb as a perfect way to make a change in the environment. This upset him, because he thinks that such things are not enough that
Gore’s purpose in his essay is to convince America of the dangers of global warming and prompt the world to take measures to prevent the advancement of this dangerous event. Gore promotes his purpose by appealing to his audience’s emotions. He references the countless hurricanes that have impacted millions of Americans on the Gulf Coast and appeals to Americans’ morals as human beings.
(4) In Nick Anderson’s cartoon, he is able to convey the idea of how politicians and humans alike are ignoring the unsettling fact that climate change is very real and is happening right in front of our very eyes. He shows how mankind is very clearly able to see the effects of our actions, such as, melting ice caps, habitat alteration, and diminishing quality of life for animals in affected areas. Despite these harrowing images, however, people have done nothing to change their behaviors or attitudes on the matter, and instead, turn a blind eye to protect their own comfort and convenience, and it is this kind of thought process that is destroying planet Earth.
It is becoming increasingly certain that climate change will have severe adverse effects on the environment in years to come. Addressing this issue poses a serious challenge for policy makers. How we choose to respond to the threat of global warming is not simply a political issue. It is also an economic issue and an ethical one. Responsible, effective climate change policy requires consideration of a number of complex factors, including weighing the costs of implementing climate change policies against the benefits of more environmentally sustainable practices. Furthermore, this analysis must take place amidst serious gaps in the existing research and technology concerning the developing climatic condition.
Humans have greatly impacted the global environment. Throughout the course of history, human populations have rapidly increased. Especially in Africa, these numbers have reached extraordinary proportions. Out of all the continents in the world, Africa’s population is increasing the most. The type of growth here is exponential. “Overpopulation is a condition when an organisms numbers exceeds the carrying of its ecological niche.” The growth rate of a population is equal to the birth rate minus the death rate. Therefore, for overpopulation to occur, the birth rate must surpass the death rate (Wiley). The current population of Nigeria is estimated to be 155,215,573. Most of the population consists of the younger generation. More specifically, 41% of the population is between the ages of 0-14. 56% of the population is between the ages of 15-64. However, only 3.1% of the population is 65 and over. This age group represents a very small part of the population. (CIA)
"Overpopulation: Environmental and Social Problems." Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment and Society. Institute for Population Studies, 2010. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
Subpoint A: Not long ago, a documentary film called “An Inconvenient truth” came out in 2006. This film raised international public awareness of climate change and reenergizing the environmental movement. A former U.S Vice president Al Gore campaigned to educate citizens about global warming through a simp...
Gore, Al. The Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do about It. New York: Rodale, 2006. Print.
Williams, Laurence O. An End to Global Warming. Ohio: Pergamno, 2012. Web 13 May 2015
There are various systems in handling population rates and its various issues that connect with threatening our environment. The population and environment debate will forever be a back and forth problem because there is possibly no way to completely stop carbon emissions but ease its production. To help the environment, we must incorporate all potential solutions in governing population such as family planning and governmental involvement and practice renewable resources and stop on using nonrenewable resources, as well as ways to tackle overconsumption to support our corrupting environment.
One of the problems facing our world is population. It began about ten thousand years ago when the humans settled and began farming. The farming provides more food for the people thus making the population grow. Now we are about 6 billion in population and in a few years we will be around 10 to 11 billion. Therefore, our population will almost double in size. This means that we will need more food to support us. A study in 1986 by Peter Vitonesk, a Stanford biologist, showed that the humans are already consuming about 38.8 of what is possible for us to eat. Thus, if the population keeps increasing, the percentage will increase also, making us closer and closer to the biophysical limits. By studying the earth's capacity, Dr. Cornell, another biologist, believes that we are already crowded for this would. He believes that our world can only support two million people. Not only this, but population can cause complicated problems to the countries with very high population. These countries will need more schools to educate its people, they will need more hospitals and public health to take care of their people, and they will need more water and more soil for farming to feed all the people. In order to solve the population growth problem, the people should be educated. Once the people are educated they will be aware of the problems they ca...