Smail lists many reasons for why a fully effective program of zero population growth would not be enough to reduce the worlds population. We have already surpassed our carrying capacity for the earth. At this point we have doubled it. He states that it would take two to three generations of not producing to reach a point of population stability. We have an unusually high proportion of the current worlds population under the age of 15 which has not yet reproduced. Birth rates remain high why mortality rates have fallen. In less developed worlds reproduction has doubled.
The earths carrying capacity is beyond as i mentioned.A carrying capacity is defined as humans in long term adaptive balance with their ecological surroundings. He states it is finite meaning there is an end no matter what people think. We have tapped out our resources. There is no way that the earth is going to be able to withstand the high probability of continued scientific and technological progress. We are now at six billion people, there is no way we can support nine billion. Experts believe by 2050 we will reach that point. A solution to this problem is people learning how to live in their means. As consumers we need to buy less junk. We need to only buy food that we are going to eat. The world wastes a huge amount of food a year. We also throw away things that could very well be fixed. We would rather just buy something new. Conservation is the best way to solve the problems that our world is facing.
When Smail states “come to regard ourselves more as the Earths long term stewards than its absolute masters,” he means that we need to take in account all of the species that lives on this earth. We act as if we are the rulers of this world and everything falls second. Humans were not here first. There are so many different species that are just as important if not more than we are. We talk about this in Conservation class often. Humans do what we feel is right for us and don’t think about the big picture. We are all a huge web and if we are missing parts everything is affected. We have to leave our Rain forests and National Parks alone. Conserve and preserve, that should be our motto. If you cut a tree plant another one. Its as easy as that. It is scary to think that our children will see this happen. Disease, hunger, and violence are going to be more common than now because of over population. It needs to be addressed right away.
BY ASHLEE