Population, global growth

Climate change, population growth, improvement of technologies for natural resource utilization, change in the social structure of population, globalization, and an increase in living standards are all interactive components of the NSS. Therefore, consideration of each component leaving out of account its interaction with other... 

Global growth will further compound the societal challenge. Figure 4.13, shows chemical industry sales and population by country/region of the world. The arrows show the incremental sales that developing countries/regions would have if they were to reach one-half of the developed world s chemical intensity. 

Figure 2.1 Global Growth Source "The World at Six Billion," United Nations, 2004 The World UN Population Assessment 2006 Unsustainable World. April 15,2008, BBC...

Globally, undernutrition is widespread, leading to impaired growth, defective immune systems, and reduced work capacity. By contrast, in developed countries, there is often excessive food consumption (especially of fat), leading to obesity and to the development of cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer. Deficiencies of vitamin A, iron, and iodine pose major health concerns in many countries, and deficiencies of other vitamins and minerals are a major cause of iU health. In developed countries, nutrient deficiency is rare, though there are vulnerable sections of the population at risk. Intakes of minerals and vitamins that are adequate to prevent deficiency may be inadequate to promote optimum health and longevity. 

The recent gains in world population and the pressure they place on natural resources is having an impact on the economics of weed control currently and will have far reaching impact on it in the future. Since the early 1940 s the world s population doubled -from less than 2.3 billion to over 4.6 billion in 1983. The annual rate of growth is about 1.7 percent and recent projections indicate the global population will increase to slightly over 6 billion by 2000. 

Core problems Climate change Loss of biodiversity Soil degradation Scarcity and pollution of freshwater i Threats to world health Threats to food security Population growth and distribution Man-made disasters Over exploitation and pollution of the world s oceans Global disparities in development... 

Vegetational carbon banks would compete with agriculture for land and nutrient resources. It is estimated that a land area about the size of Alaska would need to be planted with fast-growing trees over the next 50 years to use up about half the projected fossil-fuel-induced C02 at a cost of about 250 billion or 50 per person for the global population. One problem is that once the trees are fully grown they no longer take up C02 very rapidly and would need to be cleared so new trees could be planted to continue a quicker uptake. Old trees could be used for lumber, but not fuel, since this would release the C02. If used as fuel, a delay of 50 years, (the typical growth time) would occur and move up the buildup rate of atmospheric C02. 

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