The idea of carrying capacity

The idea of carrying capacityBy the end of the 21st century, human population growth may make it Earths carrying capacity. Discuss.The idea of carrying capacity is non a new one. Carrying capacity is the utmost population size that the environment can support without deterioration (McGraw-Hill, 2002). The commencement idea of carrying capacity applied to natural organisms was introduced in the 1980s so the concept that the earth is a ship with only enough feed and resources to be able to sustain a finite population is not new (Sayre 2007).The population of Earth currently stands at around 6.8 one million million and is expected to reach 7 billion by the year 2011. In just 12 years, the population of earth has risen by well-nigh 1 billion after a population of 6 billion was reached in 1999 (Unknown 2009). race has been projected and estimated to reach 9.4 billion by 2050. (Ehrlich.P, A 2009). The rate at which population is increase causes a suppuration precaution with the c arrying capacity of the planet and whether or not the planet will be able to sustain the population. servicemans waste already put variant on the environment and an increasing population puts an ever-growing strain on the environment. Human and environmental transports that need to be considered such as climate change and over-consumption, new industrialising countries such as India and China. Countries with rapid population growth atomic number 18 already finding it hard to improve, or even maintain the health of their people and their economies. (MacKenzie 1994).There are umpteen people who believe in Ester Boserups view that human innovation and ingenuity will prevail and repress any problems that pose a threat to mankind. There have been many another(prenominal) technological advances, which has allowed for increased yield of crops, one such advance is the subterfuge by Fritz Haber in 1909, the nitrogen fixing process known as the Haber-Bosch process (Matthews 2005). T his process has helped feed many millions and saved them from death and starvation (Bhagwati 1996). Many other technological advances such as one from norm Borlaug where he devised a system to accelerate the breeding of disease-resistant wheat and commove the stem rust fungus in Mexico (MacKenzie 2009).The gains have not been without cost scandal quality has been damaged, crops like bananas have become less genetically diverse, exalted breeds of animal have been pushed close to extinction, and habitats have been destroyed. Increasing demand for centerfield also puts pressure on agriculture (Marshall 2009).However factors such as climate change that may lead to rising temperatures, which is accelerated by our over consumption causing massive amounts of pollution and use of semiprecious resources is of great concern to the humanitys carrying capacity and even with the advances in technology that macrocosm succeeded in the future still looks grim.The six most widely great(p) c rops in the world are wheat, rice, maize, soyas, barley and sorghum. Results suggest that yields of maize, cotton and soybean drop by roughly 0.6 per cent for each degree-day spent in a higher place 29 C. At present, agricultural regions across the US spend an total of 57 degree-days above 29 C during the growing season. A growing season could rise to 413 degree-days by the end of the century (Barley 2009). As premature as 2020 several countries in Africa are likely to experience a reduction in crop yields by up to 50%. Droughts in Kenya have become 4 times more common in the last 25 years. In 2009, Kenya has had its third failed harvest in a row. (Alagiah 2009)Overfishing of the worlds oceans has also led to great damage, causing population crashes in many species although in recent years, fish farms have become more far-flung and they reduce the burden on wild fish but have problems of their own with escaping fish, excessive food consumption, infectious viruses and louse infes tations (Barley 2009)The problem of increasing population makes the situation much more difficult to manage. It may be possible that human innovation and ingenuity will overcome any difficulties that mankind faces, although it does seem that the limit of the planets carrying capacity is close to reaching its blossom with depleting reserves of minerals, oil, agricultural yields and loss of biodiversity and that along with environmental changes in the world it will be difficult for the entire planet and that carrying capacity is a subject that needs careful consideration today.Alagiah. G (2009). BBC Future of food for thought TVBarley.S (2009). Climate tipping point defined for US crop yields Online. Available http//www.newscientist.com/ member/dn17680-climate-tipping-point-defined-for-us-crop-yields.html AccessedBhagwati .K (1994). No Clean Hands Online Available http//www.newscientist.com/article/mg14920116.100-no-clean-hands.html Accessed 24/01/2010Ehrlich.P, Ehrlich.A (2009). Po pulation Enough of us now Online. Available http//www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327271.500-population-enough-of-us-now.html Accessed23/01/2009MacKenzie.D (1994). testament tomorrows children starve? The People problem Online. Available http//www.newscientist.com/article/mg14319413.600-will-tomorrows-children-starve-the-people-problem.html Accessed24/01/2010Mackenzie.D (2009). norm Borlaug the man who fed the world Online. Available http//www.newscientist.com/article/dn17778-norm-borlaug-the-man-who-fed-the-world.html Accessed 25/01/2010Marshall. M (2009). Instant Expert Food and Drink Online. Available http//www.newscientist.com/article/dn17140-instant-expert-food-and-drink.html Accessed 25/01/2010Matthews.R (2005). The real Dr Faustus? Online. Available http//www.newscientist.com/article/mg18725172.600-the-real-dr-faustus.html Accessed 23/01/2010McGraw-Hill (2002). Dictionary of Environmental Science. McGraw-Hill. united States.Sayre.N (2007). Carrying Capacity Genesis, Histo ry and Conceptual Flaws Online. Available http//globetrotter.berkeley.edu/GreenGovernance/ColloqPapers/Sayre2007.pdf Accessed 23/01/2010Unknown (2009). 2009 creative activity Population Data Sheet Online. Available http//www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2009/2009wpds.aspx Accessed 23/01/2010