Solve a World Problem

Overpopulation

Our Project

We were given the task to solve a world problem. We decided to try to fix overpopulation. We chose overpopulation because it is a major issue in many parts of the world, and if it doesn't stop, the already limited resources of this planet will be unavailable to the next generation..

Science Concept

An interesting cause of overpopulation is the medical field. The recent advancements in the medical field have partially caused overpopulation. The difference between developed countries' medical abilities, and underdeveloped countries' medical abilities have been a major issue overlooked for overpopulation in Africa. Sub saharan Africa is very underdeveloped. This means that many diseases, that have been solved in America, have not been solved in sub saharan Africa. Developed countries then see this and send vaccines over to eradicate the diseases. This, undoubtedly is a great thing to do. Unfortunately, other aspects of developed cultures, such as birth control, has not been properly taught. Because of this, people are living longer in underdeveloped countries, but they are also reproducing accidently at a higher rate than developed cultures. This causes long lasting, large populations. This was the problem that we aimed to solve.

How We Used The Engineering Design Cycle

For the first step, we researched where and how overpopulation affects the largest amount of people. Next, we brainstormed numerous ideas for how to solve overpopulation. for step three, we decided that sending birth control to the affected countries would be the best, and most reasonable solution. We gathered the research for the most effective birth control options, and how to ship them. Next, we created a website that allowed people to donate to the cause. We were using this website as an example. It did not allow you to actually donate money. We then that shipping to sub saharan Africa was expensive, and we would need someone in Africa to distribute the birth control. This caused us to reevaluate and improve. We improved by pivoting to creating pamphlets for education. We started the cycle from the start. We went through the steps and ended up getting rid of the website, and sending individual addresses pamphlets in various African languages. These would act as education on how to plan for a family, and how to prevent a family.

What I Did Well

I believe that the first thing I did well at was understanding different cultures. I understood their view points, and I was able to come up with a way to help their problems. The second thing I did well at was critical thinking. I was able to be realistic and come up with a reasonable solution. I was capable of thinking through problems and understanding why some solutions worked, and some did not.

What I Could Improve On

I believe I could improve on creativity. While our project was realistic, it was not very creative. I could have come up with a more interesting idea that was still realistic. I also could have worked more collaboratively. At some points, I worked on something alone, while other teammates were doing their own things. We should have collaborated to complete the project faster.

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