Name: ___________________________
ENVR 1401 – EXERCISE
Lab 3– Population Dynamics, Ecological Footprint & Environmental Impacts
The United States Census Bureau is a good resource for population data of the U.S. and the
world. Namely:
- World Population Clocks - http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html
- International Data Base http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/informationGateway.php
You will consider some of this data today. The big questions you will try and answer are:
A. What do you think: does world population seem too big or maybe too small?
B. With regards to the U.S., how is population changing and which groups are contributing
most to this change?
C. How does resource use factor to into the world outlook on population growth and
sustainability?
D. How do Americans compare with the rest of the world in estimated resources use?
E. How do you compare to other Americans and the rest of the world in resource use?
Estimated World Population and Growth
Year (AD)
Population in Billions
Growth Rate
(%)
1
0.17
--400
0.19
--800
0.22
--1200
0.36
--1600
0.55
--1800
0.90
--1850
1.21
--1900
1.63
--1950
2.56
1.458
1960
3.04
1.346
1970
3.71
2.090
1980
4.45
1.862
1990
5.29
1.569
2000
6.09
1.261
2010
6.86
1.121
2020
7.63
0.959
2030
8.31
0.756
2040
8.90
0.596
2050
9.38
--The data for this table was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s International Data Base
“Total Midyear Population for the World: 1950-2050”
1. Use MS Excel to make a graph of the World Population Growth from 1 AD to 2050 using
the data from your table. Remember to label the graph with a short, descriptive title and
label all axes. In addition, be sure to “print preview” before printing. Print out your
graph and attach it to the end of this handout.
a. Note: this graph will have two lines, one for population and one for growth rate.
2. Describe the general pattern and meaning of your Population curve.
3. Describe the shape of your Growth Rate curve. Is it misleading? Why or why not?
4. Looking at your graph, list three factors that may have kept the world population
numbers low until the 20th century:
a. __________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________
5. List three factors that have contributed to world population growth in the 20th century:
a. __________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________
6. Why has the number of people in the world increased if the human population growth
rate has decreased?
7. Describe the relationship between growth rate and doubling time:
a. Mathematically (circle answer):
b. Verbally:
DIRECT
INVERSE
8.
If 1 billion people are added to the world every 13 years, on average, how many people
would that be in:
a. one year?
b. In one month?
c. In one day?
(show each equation to be solved with the answer)
9. The population growth rate due to the difference in births and deaths in the U.S. is
estimated to be 0.5% per year. Given a 2001 population size of about 285 million,
calculate the projected population size in 2025. (show the equation to be solved by
applying Nt = N0ert and calculate your answer)
10. Immigration from legal sources (660,000 in 1998) and illegal sources (estimated to be
about equal to legal immigration) minus emigration (usually less than 200,000 per year)
adds about 1 million people per year to the U.S. population. This amounts to a total
population growth rate from all sources of about 0.8% per year (differences in births,
deaths, immigration and emigration). What is the projected U.S. population size in 2025
considering the growth rate from all sources? (show work)
11. How many people were added to the U.S. population due to immigration between 2001
and 2025? (show work)
12. Do you think it would be easier for the U.S. to control the population growth due to births
or due to immigration? Why?
13. Discuss the potential differences between immigrants and native-born Americans with
regard to their impact to the environment.
14. Is it equally important to control growth from births as well as from immigration?
15. Based on your knowledge of food webs and energy flow through ecosystems, why would
you expect that a footprint would be smaller for a vegetarian than for someone who eats
meat?
16. Developed countries with the highest per-capita income usually have low population
growth rates but high rates of resource consumption, while developing countries have
high growth rates but lower ecological footprints. Which of the following two methods
would be more effective to reduce our environmental impact? (circle your answer)
by reducing population growth
by reducing resource use
Discuss why this method of reducing environmental impact would potentially be easier:
17. On Blackboard, as a supplement for this lab, is a data table of Total Primary Energy
Consumption (in Quadrillions of Btus) for the entire world. It was downloaded from the
U.S. Energy Information Administration: http://www.eia.doe.gov/. Review the energy
consumption statistics.
a. Who is using resources in a more sustainable way?
U.S.
other countries
b. What is your evidence?
c. List at least two specific ways in which we might change how we use resources?
i. ____________________________________________________________
ii. ____________________________________________________________
d. Explain what impact these changes would have on the global carrying capacity for
the human population?
18. Each individual in the U.S. produces an average of 4.6 pounds of solid waste per day.
The average “Texan” produces about 5 pounds of solid waste per day. It is estimated that
the world average of solid waste produced per day is 1.47 pounds per person. Assuming
you are a typical average Texas, how many pounds of solid waste do you produce:
a. per Week? _______________________ (show work)
b. per Year? _______________________ (show work)
19. Now, assume you produce the same amount of solid waste as world average, how much
less waste would be produced:
a. per Week? _______________________ (show work)
b. per Year? _______________________ (show work)
20. Computing your ecological footprint. Go to the following website and take the
(http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/) ecological
footprint quiz.
a. If everyone lived like you, how many Earth’s would be necessary? __________
b. How many global acres do you need to survive? _____________
c. How much carbon dioxide do you produce? ______________
d. What is your biggest source of energy usage? __________________
e. Do you think it biased? Why or why not? Be detailed. Continue on the next page
if necessary.
21. List two simple changes that you could make to reduce your consumption in each of the
following categories. (NOTE: your answer should be something more than just “using
less”)
Food
� __________________________________________________________________
� __________________________________________________________________
Shelter
� __________________________________________________________________
� __________________________________________________________________
Mobility
� __________________________________________________________________
� __________________________________________________________________
Goods
� __________________________________________________________________
� __________________________________________________________________
Services
� __________________________________________________________________
� __________________________________________________________________