Carrying Capacity

Carrying Capacity

Chaz Welch

Mrs Pierce

AP Language and Composition / English 101

30 November 2015

Conclusion

In conclusion, the world needs help with its capacity. With the proposed solution, there would be a chance that the capacity could be increased as it would be man made resources instead of earthly.

Affects on Pocketbooks

This is probably in the middle as we already build a lot of skyscrapers, we just need to put money towards some that people cannot live in, but rather rely off of. The technology would cost the most and the owners would make a big profit. The public would probably need more money as the owners could put a price tag on the goods coming from the building.

Effects on the Planet

Where Can They Build?

This is a great solution for the planet because it does not produce pollution and would most likely be built in an already populated area so it does not harm much of the ecosystem around it. It also would produce more oxygen and use not pesticides as there is no need for soil because of its nutrient rich water. These all are green lights for the Earth.

This could easily be constructed in rural areas, or even small cities. It would most benefit places like africa, india, and even china so it can feed the 1/3 of the worlds inhabitants. It would benefit other countries, but not as much as the more dense countries. It can be carried out by clearing rural areas, taking down useless buildings, or even just using land outside of cities.

When Can This Be Done?

Works Cited

These greeen houses would be extremely helpful in major cities, as it would be able to supply much of it. Birds Eye, a food company, is investigating these structures currently. They would like to have already have them done by 2014, but further research was needed. They do, however say they are closer than ever before. This needs to happen withing the next ten years so there can be a surplus by the time the world reaches its expected population.

Background

1. “As World Population Booms, Will its Resources Be Enough for Us?” National

Geographic. Dennis Dimick. 21 September 2014. Web. 14 November 2015.

2. “How Many People Can Earth Support.” Livescience. Natalie Wolchover. 11 October

14. Web. 16 Nov. 2015

3. "International Programs." - World Population: 1950-2050. 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Nov.

2015.

4. "The plant skyscrapers: Giant greenhouses in city centres to herald a new age of

farming." DailyMail.Com. Sean Poulter. 31 Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.

Since there is a limit of about 9 billion, and the human race is projected to reach it in 2043, we need to find a solution fast. With this many first world countries, the carbon footprint is insanely big, using fossil fuels like no other, cutting down all the forests to make room for homes, polluting the water supply with "necessary" products. This is unnecessary and can easily be diminished to extend earths lifespan. Since we cannot simply just start killing people, we need a more ethical solution.

Effects on People

This is a great solution as it feeds many people for what it holds, which is 60 lbs of fruit and vegetation every square foot, and could feed an entire city. Since there could be climate control in the model that Sean Poulter shows, harvest would be all year and nobody would have to worry about stocking up or running out.

Whats Going to Happen?

The world is growing in population at an accelerating pace, increasing the mortality rate, which means the birth rate is higher than the death rate. At this rate, according to the US Census Bureau, we will reach the carrying capacity of the earth in just over 25 years, around 2043. This means that at that time, at that capacity, there will be little to no extra resource to sustain human life and it will be almost impossible to add on to the population without extreme consequence. the deforestation up to this point is catastrophic and oxygen will thin, fossil fuels are running low and will evidently run out faster as the population grows, and even animals will start dying off as they do not have enough space due to sharing more land with humans. These will, according to Dennis Dimmick editor of National Geographic, states that the population will fluxuate from there, going down from all the limiting factors that arise from overpopulation. Afterward, it will rise again and reach the capacity and repeat the cycle until something kills the human race off, like disease.

Solution

I believe that the solution to this problem that would be most effective is greenhouse skyscrapers. Sean Poulter, a mechanical and industrial engineer, spoke about these in a city situation. He estimates that the design would be able to feed roughly 350,000 people in a 25 story building. They would need a great deal of planning and building as it is a conveyor belt of floors, bringing the floor to be harvested to the bottom.

Causes

The main causes of this so-called "Doomsday" is because of the increased birth rate over the years after the baby boomers in the 50's and 60's. The rate has gone nothing but up. And to make it worse, the death rate has gone down with the use of modern medicine and advanced science that is used to lengthen lifespan with advances in surgery, infection study, bacteria discovery, etc. According to the US Census Bureau, there are 4 births every second, while there are only two deaths every second, thus increasing the population by 2 every seconds.

My Position

I believe that the main cause of world overpopulation is just that; population. It is almost inevitable to stop the population growth. Since the United States Census Bureau says that the birth to death ratio is 2 to 1, the world will simply keep growing in population. This growth being exponential, it will get faster and faster, bringing that capacity even closer. Therefore, we need to find a solution as to where we can house these people. Whether it be relocating them, saving the world we have now, or even building our own resource to supply this bigger population. Natalie Worchover, speaker for livescience, says that recycling needs to increase, our use of fossil fuels needs to decrease and the earth needs help to replenish. This would include planting trees, not using fossil fuels, cleaner energy, etc. We need to do something and those who say we don't need to do anything obviously have not read about how fast the world can produce 2 billion people. being at 2 births per second, and rising, added to the world, we would reach 9 billion people in under 30 years, which means most of the people will still be alive.

Already Doomed

There can only be so many people on the planet. The earth has an estimated carrying capacity (the limit of population it can support) of about 9 billion to 11 billion. We reached 7 billion in 2011, growing at an alarming rate.