1. AN ANALYSISINTO HUMAN POPULATIONGROWTH AND CONSUMPTIONPATTERNS AS PRIMARY DRIVERS OF
CLIMATE CHANGE AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT REPERCUSSIONS ONTHE ENVIRONMENT
By Danielle Holland
INTRODUCTION
Overthe pastcentury humanpopulationgrowthhasskyrocketed,anditisonlyexpectedtocontinue toincrease
at anexponentialrate.Anincreaseinpopulation,naturallyleadsto anincreaseinconsumption,andsubsequently,
through the natural course of societal progression, an increase in industrialization ensues and questions of
sustainability arise. The combination of human population growth and an incessant rise in consumption and
industrializationoverthe pastcenturyhas collectivelyservedasthe primary driversof climatechange,negatively
impacting our environment.
HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH
The currentglobal populationasestimatedbyrecentUSCensusBureaustatisticsweighsinat7 billionasof 2015,
and it is only getting bigger. The academic journal “Science” recently found through the use of research and a
Bayesian probabilistic methodology that there is “…an 80% probabilitythat world population, now 7.2 billion
people, will increase to between 9.6 billion and 12.3 billion in 2100.” (Gerland & Raftery, 2014).
Thisprojectionisby no meansconservative.There isnodoubtthat a rise in populationisdirectlycorrelatedtoa
rise inconsumption,industrializationandglobalization,all of whichserve asethical dilemmastothe environment
we live in.The questionisnotonlyhow will we sustainourenvironment,butconsequentiallyhow dowe sustain
life in the event we cannot.
CONSUMPTION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION
Industrializationisa benchmarkof progressioninsociety.But withthe an increase inprogressionhasprovento
be inversely correlated with the health of the environment in which we live. An increase in pollution from
processes such as the burning of fossil fuels, and mobile methods of transportation have served to facilitate a
significant depletion in the stratospheric ozone protecting our atmosphere.
The rise in carbon emissionsand pollution have facilitated the GreenHouse Effect by increasing the amount of
GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions,therefore significantlycontributingtoclimate change.The subsequentrise in
global temperatures due topollutionandthe resultingriseinGHGs, hashada butterflyeffectof repercussionson
the environment. The decrease in ice volume has led to a subsequent increase in water levels/temperatures,
which is leading to the significant disruption of the hydrosphere with effects such as coral bleaching as well as
other types of marine ecosystem disruptions.
Intermsof the atmosphere,thesedisruptionsmanifestthemselvesinthe formsof decreasingstratosphericozone
(which protects us from the deleterious effects of UVB rays) and the resulting rise in global temperatures has
contributedtothe progressionof droughtsworldwide andthereforeanoveralldecrease in notonly harvesttimes,
but agricultural productivity overall, significantly impacting our agricultural sector.
Population numbers are directly correlatedwith agricultural production. As the numbers increase, so then does
the amount of food production for the purpose of population sustainability, and as of 2015, we are already in
significantlack.Accordingto recentWorld Bank foodsecuritystudies,we as a populationneed“…toproduce at
least50%more foodtofeed9billionpeopleby2050.Butclimate change couldcutcropyieldsbymore than25%.”
(The World Bank, 2015).

2. Ironically,the verythingthat helpsto sustainlife issimultaneouslyacontributingfactorto a compromise of the
health of our environment.Recent studies have shown that the number one source of water impairment is due
to nutrient run-off from agricultural production. It is estimated that around 45% of our waters are “impaired”,
defined as not capable of adequatelysupporting their use. An increase in pesticide use has also served to be a
significantfactorinozone depletionandasevere detrimenttothe atmosphere (Dickinsen&Cicerone,1986). The
question arises, how much longer can we continue in the same path until we reach a point of no return.
CONCLUSION
There isnodoubtthatincreased humanpopulationgrowth,consumptionand societalprogressionhave all served
to be of significantdetrimenttothe environmentandare consideredprimarydriversof climate change.Studies
have shown that we cannot continue as a population in the direction in which we are heading, or we will very
soon come to a point where we cannot turn back.
The environmentisafinite source andonlythroughthe expansionof publiceducationandawareness,aswell as
an increase in industrial regulations and sanctions can we begin to come to a point of change. We need to
proactivelystrive forthe transition froma dominantsocial paradigmto a more progressive environmental/deep
ecology paradigm, and begin to rectify the issues currentlyfacing the continuedprogression of the human race
and life as we know it.

3. WORKS CITED
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