"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
What caused overpopulation in Africa? (part 1)
As a Geography student focusing on the overpopulation problem in West Africa, It has given me much insight into this issue that could be the root of certain problems being faced in Africa today. I'm going to break things down into simpler terms for easy understanding for everyone. As for this part of the blog, I'm going to talk about what caused overpopulation.
In the 1st 99% of Human History:
-Death rates were very high
-Infant Mortality rate were very high too
-Life expectancy was about 30 years
-High birth rates (But that doesn't mean all the babies survived)
As a result, people marry and started giving birth at a very young age due to the low life expectancy and an average woman would have given birth to an average 6 (correct me if I'm wrong) babies, as a result of high infant mortality rate as 90% of the delivered 6 babies wouldn't survive due to underdeveloped sanitation, food and health care issues at the point of time. Thus women were encouraged to keep giving birth to preserve the bloodline.
Agriculture Revolution in the later part of Human History:
-Fertility rates increased due to better diets (We're talking an avg 12 babies per woman)
-Better food for babies
-Eliminate need for spacing of births (Hunters and gatherers needed to hunt and find food)
-Mortality rate remained high due to sanitation problems and communicable diseases form living in high density.
Why are recent increase so rapid?
-Due to rapid declines in death rate accompanying industrial Revolution
-Economic development
-Higher standard of living (Better food, clothes, better homes, sanitation, cleanw ater, lower exposure to disease) + 1900 better medical science and Vaccination against diseases.
***The causes of overpopulation apply to other developing nations too, not just Africa
Part 2 continued on Population pressure in Africa
In the 1st 99% of Human History:
-Death rates were very high
-Infant Mortality rate were very high too
-Life expectancy was about 30 years
-High birth rates (But that doesn't mean all the babies survived)
As a result, people marry and started giving birth at a very young age due to the low life expectancy and an average woman would have given birth to an average 6 (correct me if I'm wrong) babies, as a result of high infant mortality rate as 90% of the delivered 6 babies wouldn't survive due to underdeveloped sanitation, food and health care issues at the point of time. Thus women were encouraged to keep giving birth to preserve the bloodline.
Agriculture Revolution in the later part of Human History:
-Fertility rates increased due to better diets (We're talking an avg 12 babies per woman)
-Better food for babies
-Eliminate need for spacing of births (Hunters and gatherers needed to hunt and find food)
-Mortality rate remained high due to sanitation problems and communicable diseases form living in high density.
Why are recent increase so rapid?
-Due to rapid declines in death rate accompanying industrial Revolution
-Economic development
-Higher standard of living (Better food, clothes, better homes, sanitation, cleanw ater, lower exposure to disease) + 1900 better medical science and Vaccination against diseases.
***The causes of overpopulation apply to other developing nations too, not just Africa
Part 2 continued on Population pressure in Africa
Views: 4529
-
Comment by Sylvain Ratelle on March 15, 2010 at 7:23pm
-
Hello Cornelia, nice to read you again, very interesting first part of your research, I will follow your blog for other parts, when you get a minute, please try to look at mine, as I added 3 new messages this week-end, please don't hesitate to comment and support, talk to you soon, regards
-
Comment by Comelia Tang on March 15, 2010 at 7:30pm
-
@Michelle sure, why not? I'll take a look at it now =]
-
-
@Panamericana I know right? I often thought about it. It's happening rapidly in China and yet it doesn't appear to be an issue. And sometimes I wonder why and like you mentioned Overpopulation in Africa = Poverty problems.
And yes the question of " why do poor people have soo many children?" I'll talk about it later on and thanks again for your words that made me think as so often.
-
Comment by Yumna Moosa on March 15, 2010 at 7:39pm
-
Can somebody please confirm whether Africa is in fact overpopulated? I want to echo what Panamericana says about underempowerment vs. overpopulation. According to what I've heard, Africa has a relatively low population density. What does "overpopulation" mean?
-
Comment by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 15, 2010 at 7:43pm
-
Just about to post a blog on a related issue which gives statistics on Africas popoulation - stay tuned. +1 Knowledge Share
-
-
@Yumna, It is forseen. Even though Africa's share of the total population although increasing, remain rapidly small compared to the other parts of the world. BUT, rates of natural increase are higher in Africa than any other continents and since 45% of the population in Africa is age 15 and below, growth will accelerate rapidly in very near future. At least that's what I've learned from lectures.
-
-
@Renee Thanks for mentioning..I wanted to talk about the 1st point you made, the possible cause on the contrast between the birth rates in developed and developing societies. but was afraid it might offend others.
-
-
@Panamericana, just curious, why did you ask Renee if she works for WBI?
-
Comment by Jeffery D Brock on March 16, 2010 at 2:17am
-
Here are some interesting points from an article I read.
Over the next 30 years, almost 98 per cent of global population growth is projected to take place in developing countries
Africa’s 1999 population of 767 million people is projected to nearly double by 2035.
AIDS will have a major impact on several African countries. In Botswana, for instance, life expectancy has fallen from 61 years in the late 1980s to 50 in the late 1990s, and is expected to plunge to 33 by 2010. Because of high fertility rates, most sub-Saharan African countries are still expected to experience population growth, but for the most affected nations the pace will be much slower than it would be without the devastating consequences of AIDS.
-
Comment by David J on March 16, 2010 at 2:25am
-
@Yumna It looks like the population in many regions of Africa are larger than the infrastructure/resources can support, according to this Web page:
http://www.overpopulation.org/Africa.html
On the other hand, here's another page that argues that Africa is not as densely populated as other parts of the world, so it should not be classified as "overpopulated".
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/af_pop.html
Africa contains so many different regions, that I suspect both views are correct.
Latest Activity
Fourth of July on the Lake
This past weekend was the annual celebration at the lake house in Connecticut. It is amazing that the lake is still so clear and beautiful after all these years. The watershed association has done a wonderful job protecting these waters from the damaging effects of development.The wood grill was finally ready to cook on, so we didn't miss the propane tank fueled grill anymore. The food actually tasted fresher than in the past and was easy to keep fueled.Dad was very proud of the solar hybrid…See More
Stinging Nettle
In this blog post I will focus on a plant that is abundant in our nature, and which is immensely nutritious. It's of course the Stinging Nettle. Let's start with the chemical constituents of this plant:37 % Non-Nitrogen-Extracts19 - 29 % Ash9 - 21 % Fiber4 % Fat22 % ProteinOnce the leaves are drid, their protein content can reach an astounding 40 %, which is much higher than beef, which even under the best of circ**stances can never exceed 31 % protein. In addition the Stinging Nettle consists…See More
The meal
It is 7'oclock, I was late home from work due to an assignment that i wanted to get ahead on. By the time I get home I am feeling extremley tired and I cannot be bothered to make a proper meal. I walk to the fridge and open it to see what there is for me to eat. All of the out of date foodstuffs have been automaticaly thrown away by the fridge, they will be recycled tomorrow as animal feed or something. I see i have organic local eggs and some local cheese. Foods are vacc** sealded for easy…See More
Future
FutureToday is 2020/1/1. It is just like yesterday. The war is still continuing. It has started since 2010. In 2010, that year was a horrible year. Almost every energy ran out. Every country’s governments were crushed down at the same time. There were riots everywhere. All of the big company’s bosses were killed xdeadx in the riots. Troops fought each other everywhere. Food was bought up xawayx at once. There were no more food supplies in any shops. The economy was all crushed down. All the…See More
public servants
The exchange works directly for state and public workers and servants. It gives them credit in exchange for the amount of public work they contribute to the community. The more constructive they are based off a base rate the more credit they recieve.
© 2024 Created by Alchemy.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!
Join Urgent Evoke