Page 229 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

4.0 Figure 8.25 Nearly 2 million people die from
Number of people newly infected with HIV AIDs worldwide each year, and even more are
newly infected with HIV each year. However,
Annual number of deaths due to AIDS (millions) 2.5 The error bars indicate the range of the number
3.5
extensive efforts to combat the disease are begin-
ning to bear fruit; infections have been decreasing
since 1998, and deaths began decreasing in 2006.
3.0
of deaths attributable to AIDS, as not all deaths
caused by the disease are reported. Data from UNAIDS
and WHO, 2012. UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS epidemic.
Geneva, Switzerland.
2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Year

FaQ Why hasn’t HIV/AIDs drastically lowered of us at the current North American standard of living, nor can
we venture out and bring home extra planets. We must make
Africa’s fertility rates?
As shown in Table 8.2, Africa’s TFR remains the highest, by the best of the one place that supports us all.
a wide margin, of all world regions despite high rates of HIV/
AIDS infection. This seems contradictory, but it is related to
the mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS and the time it takes for Conclusion
the disease to affect its victims’ health. Because the disease
is typically spread in Africa through sexual behavior, it afflicts Today’s human population is larger than at any time in the
individuals who are already in the reproductive age group. past. Our growing population and our growing consumption
Hence, many people already have children by the time they affect the environment and our ability to meet the needs of all
contract the disease and continue having children even after the world’s people.
becoming HIV-positive as infected people often live for several However, there are at least two major reasons to be
years before succumbing to AIDS. As a result, nations with encouraged. First, although global population is still rising,
high rates of HIV infection still have extremely high fertility. The the rate of growth has decreased nearly everywhere, and some
southern African nation of Swaziland in 2012, for example, countries are even seeing population declines. Most devel-
had one of Africa’s highest HIV infection rates (21% of females oped nations have passed through the demographic transition,
and 30% of males infected) but also one of the region’s high- showing that it is possible to lower death rates while stabiliz-
est total fertility rates (3.5 children per woman). ing population and creating more prosperous societies. Sec-
ond, progress has been made in expanding rights for women
worldwide. Although there is still a long way to go, women
(pp. 198–199) population policy geared toward pushing con- are obtaining better education, more economic independence,
traception and lowering populations to preset targets. Instead, and more ability to control their reproductive decisions. Aside
it urged governments to offer better education and health care from the clear ethical progress these developments entail, they
and to address social needs that affect population from the are helping to slow population growth.
bottom up (such as alleviating poverty, disease, and sexism). Human population cannot continue to rise forever. The
The connections we have discussed in this chapter should question is how it will stop rising: Will it be through the gen-
show that to achieve sustainable development, both popula- tle and benign process of the demographic transition, through
tion growth and resource consumption levels will need to be restrictive governmental intervention such as China’s one-
addressed. If humanity’s overarching goal is to generate a child policy, or through the miserable Malthusian checks
high standard of living and quality of life for all of the world’s of disease and social conflict caused by overcrowding and
people, then developing nations must find ways to slow their competition for scarce resources? How we answer this ques-
population growth. However, those of us living in the devel- tion today will determine not only the quality of the world in
oped world must also be willing to reduce our consumption. which we live, but also the quality of the world we leave to our
228 Earth does not hold enough resources to sustain all 7 billion children and grandchildren.

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