Fernandez, Joanna Lynne M.

Geog 1 THY Reaction Paper on Population Myths

February 27, 2014

Climate change, global warming, and sustainable development these are some of the many new terms that seem to interest humans now. Different proposals and sound arguments have been made known about these three. Debates have been nonstop regarding these issues. While it is true that understanding these concepts may solve our problems in one way or another, it is also important to understand our own nature first. More importantly, knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of human population must be obtained. Demography is basically the study of population. From it, we have known different principles that have helped build our society today. Though there is already a scientific study of population, it seems that full understanding of it is still a mile away. Joel Cohen said in his article that different misconceptions have arisen for the past few years leading to certain uncertainties that build up inside humans minds. The question therefore that needs to be asked is, Are they really misconceptions? Two of the misconceptions that Cohen stated in his paper are about how people believe that human population grows exponentially and that scientists could predict human population in 25, 50 or so years. Well, I must admit I was one of the many who truly believed in these concepts. Figures and facts have clearly shown enough proof to believe the exponential growth of human population. Use of modern tools and concepts could predict the future was what I thought. But I was wrong. Thanks to physics, I now know that the universe is in a state of entropy. Randomness is a part of its nature and tools that humans use to predict are a no match for it. On the claim that there is a single factor that limits how many people Earth can support, I totally disagree. Humans have a wide variety of needs. There may be one major factor that can limit us all, but there are also several independent factors that could change any situation. To be honest, I first disagreed with the author on his claims about space colonization and technology. I couldnt help it. I am a sucker for space. I have long dreamt of actually going to the outer space and of being an astronaut. I also have high respect for technology basically because my life wouldnt have been much easier and fun without its various applications. Honestly, I still do not know what to say on this. I cant totally agree with the author. For now, I will keep my hopes with me that one day, technology will be able to help solve any population problems. Space colonization will be possible. Time is all it needs. The next two misconceptions focused on the United States. Well, what can we do? United States is considered to be one of the most powerful countries in the world. With this, many think that US does not face any population-related problem and it is entirely immune from the problems that developing countries face. I must say it is really normal to assume such stuff but people need to search for facts more. Claims like these two need to be heavily supported by scientific figures. While it is true that US remains to be on top of the ladder, it also faces problems that threaten its people. Proof of this is the fact that there is a high rate of abortion in the country. While seemingly having a minor effect on the entire American

population for now, continuously rising abortion cases will surely be a major factor in the future of the US. The aging population will be in need of young ones to take their place. The next issue talks of Roman Catholicism of which I am a part of. To be clear, I am not totally a devout but I at least know their beliefs and doctrine. While it is true that it was an order for the first humans to go forth and multiply, I do not think that Catholics could be entirely judged and be blamed for population explosion. You see, Catholics have their own will and they do whatever it is they want to do as long as they think it is right and good for others. It is of no use to deny that there may be cases where Catholic couple have children of 6 or more but it is also important to point out that there are also Catholic families of only 1 or 2 children. In the end, it will still be up to the parents to decide what number of child they will have and raise. Blaming nature for the problems that we face is so old and barbaric. Years of research will be turned to dust if this belief continues. Sacrifices made in order to obtain knowledge on certain things will be for nothing. Seriously though, this notion is so obsolete. No one should dare say this thing. Another thing, women are not the only key to solving population issues. Cooperation is the key. Quoting Cohen, it takes two to tango.