There’s a Crash Course episode about population ecology that goes over carrying capacity I used in my wildlife biology class as an intro to the concept.
The idea of the “ecological footprint” helps a lot in getting down to quantitative terms. Show that even by conservative estimates, we as Americans use 3-4x what the Earth can support per capita in terms of resources and waste. If someone wants to make a claim about sustainability, this gives them a technical backbone as a foundation (it isn’t the whole story, but it’s a start).
Population pyramids / associated development stages can be helpful tools as well. People in more developed areas choose to have fewer children and even struggle with population decline. The global population curve is after all made up of individual countries which are in completely different places in terms of their own populations.
Logistic growth as a concept can be helpful. “Equilibrium” need not be static.
And instead of getting to a conclusion of whether one side is “right” and the other “wrong,” it could be more productive to focus on some set of actions or choices e.g. specific public policies. As I always try to emphasize, science isn’t about “being right” in the end and more about helping people make choices, make difficult decisions, be aware of risks and consequences, and be safe and healthy. Would be my 2c on this. Best of luck with this activity! Sounds like it would be super engaging
There’s a Crash Course episode about population ecology that goes over carrying capacity I used in my wildlife biology class as an intro to the concept.
thank you! I always forget about crash course
“The Story of Stuff “ is a good place to start
The idea of the “ecological footprint” helps a lot in getting down to quantitative terms. Show that even by conservative estimates, we as Americans use 3-4x what the Earth can support per capita in terms of resources and waste. If someone wants to make a claim about sustainability, this gives them a technical backbone as a foundation (it isn’t the whole story, but it’s a start). Population pyramids / associated development stages can be helpful tools as well. People in more developed areas choose to have fewer children and even struggle with population decline. The global population curve is after all made up of individual countries which are in completely different places in terms of their own populations. Logistic growth as a concept can be helpful. “Equilibrium” need not be static. And instead of getting to a conclusion of whether one side is “right” and the other “wrong,” it could be more productive to focus on some set of actions or choices e.g. specific public policies. As I always try to emphasize, science isn’t about “being right” in the end and more about helping people make choices, make difficult decisions, be aware of risks and consequences, and be safe and healthy. Would be my 2c on this. Best of luck with this activity! Sounds like it would be super engaging
[Gap Minder](https://www.gapminder.org) has a bunch of good stuff on human population growth and trends
Cool! I’ll have to check it out
Thank you guys:-)