Life expectancy has risen and the global population of women of childbirthing age in 2011 was 1.8bn. Population rising by 80 million a year. with almost 1bn going hungry every day, Water table falling and glaciers melting with fish stocks diminishing. Impoverished countries are expected to follow MEDCs - slashing and burning rainforests, using pesticides and burning coal and oil, using finite natural resources.
If the Earth is going to support the demands of our ever-growing population, we will have to go about this very cautiously. Medical science saved lives and sustained population so far and it can only improve in quality as research is further developed into new medicines and scientific breakthroughs will continue to be made. This means that millions of impoverished women in developing countries who would have otherwise died in childbirth have been spared through improved access to medical treatment.
Life expectancy in India shot up from 38 in 1952 to 64 in 2011, and in China from 41 to 73. 18th century Europe and 20th century Asia the average woman had 6 children as survival rate into adulthood was low. A decline in child mortality means people have less children as the survival rate increases. However it would take a whole generation for this change to occur. A steady population can be maintained in a developed country by each woman having an average of 2.1 children.
Where are we Now?
Although this article was published in 2012, it is still relevant today, as our population continues to demand more from our planet Earth. I believe that we have met some demands through charity work and governments aiding other countries in times of crises (natural disasters and war) but the food shortage can never be resolved.
I think that religion plays a role in population - Catholics do not believe in using contraception and at an Indian wedding (muslim?) the wife promises her husband during the ceremony that she will bear him many children.
It is not physically possible for the world to remain with natural spaces untouched by man if we have to use that space for agriculture.
As medicine has come a long way in the past decade, life expectancy has shot up and some people are even living to be centenarians (over 100).
With medical care available to more people, births are successful for both mother and baby, and modern medicine can treat illnesses arising in pregnancy and just after birth.
It is great that we don't need to have so many children to ensure the survival of our genetics and the next generation, but at the same time I can see why China introduced the 1 child policy for a time - our planet simply cannot support such a huge and demanding population. However, it also became a problem as most people wanted boys to carry the family name baby girls were often aborted or killed after birth as unfortunately they were not seen as valuable as boys were.
Today these actions have had a knock on effect as there is a generation of single men, who struggle to marry as there are few women of their age group.
I think that we should try to keep the population stable by not having loads of children, but of course that is up to each individual and their personal opinions.
The surge in the use of renewable energy such as wind turbines, solar panels, green fuel, and sustaining rainforests has helped so much with our rising demand of energy - for gas, electricity and car fuel (as well as many more).
Solar panels are incredibly useful and can help overcome electricity shortages, as can wind turbines. However, I think that we still have a long way to go as natural sources of energy may not be as reliable as finite sources (i.e. on a rainy day solar panels will not be as effective, and on a day with little wind, wind turbines won't produce as much energy).
To Get to The Point
Medicine and Science have recently experienced incredible breakthroughs, but this knowledge needs to be shared and education improved worldwide. Funding is tricky as it can be difficult to maintain for research and 1/3 of our food in Britain is still wasted. There are so many changes that need to be made - it simply won't work unless we are in global agreement as what to do to overcome the huge shortages in energy, food, and materials as well as technology we are require to survive in the 21st century.
The bottom line is that in my belief, if we don't all chip in, we could be facing wars over food and water in years to come.
Sources
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/01/seven-billion/kunzig-text
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