Essential Question(s)-
How has the global population grown and what specific challenges and problems have arisen as population has surpassed six billion?
How has the United States grown as a country and what challenges and problems have arisen as we have materially improved our lives.
Part I World Population
The human population of the planet has grown in ways that no other large species ever has grown. Our massive expansion is best explained through the lens of ecology. First, we will examine the explosion of homo sapiens and early theories through this John Green video. It highlights the early population theories of pessimistic Europeans at the beginning of the enlightenment period.
Earlier in the course we had an opportunity to examine the Gapminder site that has been compiled by the Swedish demographer (and sword swallower!) Hans Rosling. As you may remember Rosling took a very large data set and created an interactive and illustrative way to compare social science data. One of the takeaways from that experience is massive disparity in quality of life throughout the world. Developing nations and developed nations have unique challenges but life outcomes are certainly more likely to be better in the developed world. Now we have an opportunity to hear from Rosling again. In this presentation he illustrates his theory about global development and the 21st century.
Now read the Atlantic article (dated) linked to the bottom of this page and consider the long term implications of population growth as the world's standard of living improves. Then visit my discussion page to post a response to this question:
What is the most critical aspect of world population control and how does the developed world and non-developed world each need to modify their progress to successfully limit the growth?
Part II- America's Health Challenges
The biggest issues for Americans can be found in issues that are not related to food scarcity and lack of access to basic services (by world standards). Social scientist have created an indicator number that encapsulates the variety of issues and data that affect development in the United States. The "Human Development Index" is a valuable and insightful tool. Your task is to visit the site with a partner and find a spectrum (5 to 7) of places that people live in the United States and rank them based on health outcomes. In your spectrum (the final copy should be a simple table) you should describe the locations, population make-up, life expectancy, health challenges, and income levels. Remember, this is not exactly an apples to apples comparison it is more of a method of exploring data and considering why health challenges still remain in the wealthiest country on the planet.
Use this website to examine the various health challenges and outcomes of the United States
Article by the very important and influential physician Paul Farmer.
Falling Life Expectancy in the United States
Americans are Dying Earlier and the Reasons are Clear