The overall growth of the human population in the last 2000 years has been a J-shaped growth. This can also be expressed as an exponential growth. A big question that can only be answered in time is how this population growth will slow down or stop. The planet can only handle so many humans before the effects of overpopulation send the environment into an unrecoverable tailspin of degradation. So the question is will the overall maximum human population be reached in a gradual manner with a trend resulting in an S-shaped population growth, or do we as humans need to experience some kind of catastrophic event that will let us know that the maximum capacity of our planet has been reached, or will we overpopulate gradually and realize that we need to reduce the population to a lower level? These three different theories have been termed the logistic, Malthusian, and domed theories of projected population growth, respectively(Southwick, 159-160). The trend that we have seen in recent history of human population growth can obviously not be sustained, so will the future of humans be played out in an optimistic or pessemistic light? Or will it be somewhere in between?

Throughout human history, people have always been pressed to provide nourishment for themselves and their families. With the dawn of agriculture humans were provided with leisure time, and with that time they were able to develop many different trades beyond hunting, gathering, and agriculture. This meant that the food necessary to feed a population was able to be provided by a small portion of the population. With industrialization the portion of the population that was employed to feed the rest of the population grew ever smaller, while the overall human population grew. As the population of the planet grew, the geographical separation of peoples saw the simultaneous development of many different cultures. These cultures developed over time into a global system of countries and governments. The distribution of food, and for that matter wealth, has followed those countries that developed indutrial techniques fueled by the global economy. As we became ever more efficient at producing food with the domestication of animals and development of horticulture the human population grew to meet the supply. However the fact that humans have been able to produce massive amounts of food does not mean that everyone on the planet is living healthy and well fed lives. The distribution of food has been controlled by the global economy and interaction of the governments and countries. The control of the global economy has lead to the relative prosperity of a few people, while the general population has seen a gradual increase. But there are still people that live malnurished and poor lives. In fact the largest population growth is seen in the less developed countries(Soutwick, 161), which means that the number of people living below the average standard of living is increasing. This poses the question of how we want to distribute the resources of our planet, or how we can. Do we want to have a smaller population that all lives well, or a larger population with people that don't all live comfortably? and how is it possible to reach that goal? These questions are too difficult to answer now, but it is necessary to think about them since they are pertinent concerns for the future.

We can already see some of the harmful effects of overpopulation in the harmful side effects of industrialization. The ecological integretiy of the planet has decreased since the indutrial revolution. Problems with air pollution, water pollution, nutrient depletion in farmlands, acid rain, global warming, and a host of other environmental factors have lead to the increased need for environmental cleanup. Of all the options it seems that the tech-fix solution has been used to meet the needs of our population. But have we already passed the point where we are able to live a sustainable lifestyle with the environment that we have helped to create? Humans, unlike any other animal on the planet, have the ability to effect the environment in which they live. Up until recently the main concerns of humans have been only the output of our environment, namely what are we able to produce. Environmental concerns have only come to the foreground recently since we have seen some of the harmful effects of the industrial revolution. Many studies have been done on global warming varying from the amount of CO2 uptake measured by the dissolved innorganic carbon and the alkalinity of the surface of the ocean(Quay), to the measurement of methane escaping from ice and permafrost all over the globe(Blunier), and the tracking of other anthropogenic greenhouse gases(Hansen).

Obviously the size of the human population has effected the environment by stressing the land to produce enough food to feed us all. Up to now we have had a degrading effect on the environment. I feel that it should be our role as human beings to take care of the environment that we need to live. This is a necessary step in order to prolong our survival on the planet Earth.

Works Cited:

Southwick, Charles H., Ch. 15 from "Global Ecology in Human Perspective" Oxford Univ. Press, 1996, pp. 159-182

Quay, Paul, "CLIMATE CHANGE: Enhanced: Ups and Downs of CO2 Uptake" Science 2002, vol. 298, pp. 2344-2346.

Blunier, Thomas "PALEOCLIMATE:"Frozen" Methane Escapes from the Sea Floor" Science 2000, vol. 288, pp. 68-69.

Hansen, J., Ruedy, R., Sato, M., Lo, K., "Global Warming Continues" Science 2002, vol. 295, p. 275