Visit the website listed below and post answers to the following questions. The link will allow you to find out the world’s population when you were born. Be sure to have viewed the lecture video on population before doing this assignment as well.

• The World Population & Me

Answer the following questions:

1. How has population size changes since the year of 2001? Were you surprised at the current size of the human population or its change?
2. How many people do you believe the Earth can support without dire environmental damage? Explain.
3. Should developed countries help slow the population growth of developing countries? If so, what sorts of methods should be employed to do this?

Your posts should consist of about 300 words (not including the questions).

Importantly, I am looking for you to have studied the reading material first. There are several mistakes students make in this section. One is that many think population will grow forever. It will not. Population growth is coming down all over the world; in some places the population is shrinking.

Two, it is not just about how many people there are, it’s about how they live. One American consumes 300x as much energy as a sub-Saharan African. Lastly, it’s not just about education and contraceptives. Many families in poor countries have children because children can help the bottom line of the household. Once children become an expense (in cities, with mandatory schooling) then people choose to have fewer.

Lastly, when it comes to assisting the developing world, think beyond contraceptives. What are the factors that bring down birth rates, and how could wealthier countries help on that front?