EXPLORATIONS -January 30, 2002: Population and the Environment
By Cynthia Kirk
VOICE ONE:
This is Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we tell about how the
growing population around the world is affecting the environment.
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VOICE ONE:
A new report says the growing population around the world is harming the environment. More people are using
more of the Earth’s natural resources than ever before. Experts say poor people around the world will suffer
most in the future unless environmental damage is stopped. They say more should be done to balance human and
environmental needs.
The United Nations Population Fund is responsible for studying population growth.
Its new report is called the State of the World Population Two-Thousand-One. It
examines the links among environmental conditions, population growth and efforts
to help poor people in developing countries.
The world’s population now is more than six-thousand-million people. That
number is two times more than it was in Nineteen-Sixty. The population is expected
to increase to more than nine-thousand-million by the year Two-Thousand -Fifty.
VOICE TWO:
The U-N Population Fund says that in fifty years, more than four-thousand-million people will be living in
countries that can not provide for people's daily needs.
The report says all the expected growth in world population will take place in developing countries. The
population of the forty-nine least developed countries is expected to be almost three times greater in fifty years.
Yet, the U-N agency says people in the richest countries use much more of the world’s resources than people in
developing countries. It says a child born today in an industrialized country will do more harm to the
environment during his lifetime than as many as fifty children born in developing countries.
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VOICE ONE:
Almost sixty -percent of people in developing countries lack ways to deal with waste. About thirty -percent of the
people in those countries can not get clean water. Unclean water and a lack of ways to deal with human wastes
kill more than twelve -million people each year.
The Earth’s natural resources such as water, land and air are being used at ever-increasing rates. Experts
estimate that more than one-thousand million people do not have clean water. By the year Two-Thousand -
Twenty-Five, as many as three -thousand-million people may be living in areas where supplies of freshwater are
extremely low.
VOICE TWO:
Carbon dioxide and other gases trap heat in the atmosphere and raise average temperatures on Earth. There is a
strong link between population growth and the increase in what are called greenhouse gases. The population grew
almost four times larger in the past one-hundred years.
This means more people using greater quantities of fossil fuels such as oil gas and coal. These fuels produce
carbon dioxide when burned. The U -N report says twelve times more carbon dioxide gas was being released at
the end of the century than was at the beginning.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates the Earth ’s atmosphere could become more than
five degrees Celsius warmer during this century. The group estimates the sea levels will rise about half a meter in
the next one hundred years.
The climate changes will affect rainfall as well as temperatures worldwide. This will affect food production and
the supply of natural resources throughout the world.
VOICE ONE:
The U-N Population Fund says the warming of the Earth is already causing infectious diseases such as malaria
and dengue fever to spread. Higher temperatures mean that the insects and animals that carry disease can now
survive places they could not before. This leads to diseases being spread in new places.
The U-N report says forests are being destroyed at the highest levels in history. Trees are being cleared for extra
agricultural land and to make room for housing. Trees absorb greenhouse gases and act as a barrier from more
global warming. Over the past one-hundred years, the world has lost almost half its forest area. The destruction of
forests leads to the loss of many species of plants and animals.
There is a direct connection between people and the health of the Earth’s environment. Right now, the U -N
report says the rate at which people are using natural resources threatens the health of the planet. It also threatens
the supplies of water, forests and other resources needed for future populations.
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VOICE TWO:
The U-N Population Fund says water may be the Earth’s most valuable resource. However, many developing
countries are suffering from severe water shortages.
More than seventy-percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. Yet only three-percent of the total water
on Earth is fresh-water. Only one-percent of the entire supply of water on Earth is available for human use.
Worldwide, more than fifty -percent of the yearly available fresh water is being used, much of it for agriculture.
Ground water levels in some cities in China, Latin America and South Asia are decreasing more than one meter
every year. Experts say that in about fifty years, more than four-thousand-million people will be living in
countries that can not provide enough water for daily needs.
VOICE ONE:
The U-N says most developing countries do not produce enough food to feed their people. Nor are they
financially able to import the amount of food they need.
About eight-hundred million people living in poor countries do not have enough to eat. Food production in many
poor countries is threatened by soil damage, water shortages, poor agricultural methods and fast population
growth. Supplies of fish around the world are also under threat.
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VOICE TWO:
The U-N group says a combination of changes has led to sharp growth in the world population. Improvements in
diet, health care and waste removal systems have helped people live longer, more productive lives. However, this
means more people are in their reproductive years and having more children. For the first time in human history,
one-thousand-million people are between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four.
As populations grow, demand increases. So does the search for water, food and energy resources.
VOICE ONE:
In developing countries throughout the world, women are half of the world’s agricultural workforce. In the
world’s poorest countries, women head almost twenty-five percent of homes outside cities. In many countries,
they are responsible for food, water, fuel and other duties in their homes.
Yet, women usually do not have control of their lives. National law or local traditions often deny women the
rights that would help them improve their conditions.
The U-N report finds that programs that increase education and economic opportunities for women help to slow
population growth. Women who gain from these programs are more likely to stay in school longer, have more
control over their reproductive lives, and choose to have smaller families.
VOICE TWO:
The U-N Population Fund says the AIDS crisis could sharply increase death rates in some areas of the world. In
many countries, women and young people are the worst affected.
AIDS directly affects health and the family. In severely affected areas, communities cannot support the large
numbers of surviving children and older people. AIDS kills women who work on family farms and men who own
them so the farms no longer produce food for the families.
VOICE ONE:
The U-N Population Fund says international policies need to be put into effect to improve economic conditions,
increase social development and ease pressure on the environment. It also says women should be given more
control over their lives. Empowering women could slow population growth
The U-N Population Fund says high population growth makes it more difficult for poor countries to improve their
economic development. It says measures to help improve conditions for growing populations could also protect
the natural environment. The report says humans have always changed and been changed by the natural world. It
says the future of human development depends on wise choices made now.
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VOICE TWO:
This Special English program was written by Cynthia Kirk. It was directed by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of
America.
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