“A pond has a single water lily growing on it. The lily doubles in size each day. In thirty days, it covers the entire pond. On which day does it cover half the pond?” When you realize the answer, discuss the implications of this example with regard to population increase and runaway growth

A pond has a single water lily growing on it. The lily doubles in size each day. In thirty days, it covers the entire pond. On which day does it cover half the pond?

Let area covered in one day be x

Hence area covered in 30 days is 2^30.x

Area of the pond is 2^30.x

Let two lilies can cover the same area in n days

Hence 2^30.x = 2.2^n.x

n+1 = 30

n = 29

By then it is too late to do anything about it and it will, in one days’ time, snuff out the entire ecosystem of the pond.

Accelerated population growth, as mentioned earlier, actually makes the issue poverty worse. A surging population offsets any increase in productivity so that living standards stay the same. If a society’s population doubles, doubling economic productivity amounts to no gain at all in standard of living. Other associated problems with this theory are: Environmental degradation: Global environmental problems. Environmental stresses have been building up over time and are likely to become much more severe as populations and economies expand further. Economic stagnation, As a result, industries, housing, schools, health clinics, and infrastructure must be built at least at the same rate in order for standards of living not to deteriorate. Many communities are unable to keep up, as is evident from high unemployment rates, explosive growth of slum populations, overcrowded schools and health facilities and dilapidated public infrastructure.

Reference

Barkan, S. (2013, October 06). Sociological Perspectives on Education . Retrieved December 23, 2014, from Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World: http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/socfwk/ch/ch16b.html

Barkan, S. (2013, October 06). Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World. Retrieved November 18, 2014, from PEOI: http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/socfwk/contents/frame16.html

Hammond, R. J. (2010). Introduction to Sociology. Orem, Utah: Smashwords.

Sadovnik, A. R. (n.d.). Sociology of Education. Sage. Retrieved from http://www.uk.sagepub.com/leonguerrero4e/study/materials/reference/05434_socpersp.pdf

The summary of the learning activity for the unit 7

The unit topic this week was Overview.

The learning activity for the week covers issues such as Population, Urbanization, and

Environment. Others are: the theories and principles related to births in a population, demographic transition theory and how it compares with the views of Malthus, the views and methodology of the human ecology school and major issues and problems affecting U.S. cities today.

I completed the Self Quiz for the unit and I also read through the reading assignment.

I posted my response to the Discussion Forum question on implications of the lily growing on pond example with regard to population increase and runaway growth.

From the reading and all the various activities for the unit, what stood to me the most are:

How does economic development affect population patterns

The lily cover half the pond on the 29th day and on the 30th day it doubles to cover all the pond

A pond has a single water lily growing on it. The lily doubles in size each day. In thirty days, it covers the entire pond. On which day does it cover half the pond?

Let area covered in one day be x

Hence area covered in 30 days is 2^30.x

Area of the pond is 2^30.x

Let two lilies can cover the same area in n days

Hence 2^30.x = 2.2^n.x

n+1 = 30

n = 29

By then it is too late to do anything about it and it will, in one days’ time, snuff out the entire ecosystem of the pond.

Accelerated population growth, as mentioned earlier, actually makes the issue poverty worse. A surging population offsets any increase in productivity so that living standards stay the same. If a society’s population doubles, doubling economic productivity amounts to no gain at all in standard of living. Other associated problems with this theory are: Environmental degradation: Global environmental problems. Environmental stresses have been building up over time and are likely to become much more severe as populations and economies expand further. Economic stagnation, As a result, industries, housing, schools, health clinics, and infrastructure must be built at least at the same rate in order for standards of living not to deteriorate. Many communities are unable to keep up, as is evident from high unemployment rates, explosive growth of slum populations, overcrowded schools and health facilities and dilapidated public infrastructure.

Urbanization is a consequence of population growth. Urbanization is due to the growth of population in cities and the migration of people to the cities that is from the rural area to the urban areas for better employment and to lead a better life.

Three reasons for this “Urbanization”

There are many reasons for Urbanization but three of them are listed below:

Employment opportunities Diversity of people, and cultural events, and sporting events Safety: many people feel safer in cities

Positives of this growth

There are many positive side of urbanization which includes: opportunities of proximity, diversity, and marketplace competition.

Economic opportunitiesOne of the advantages of living in a city is the market potential of the population; that is, there is a much greater variety of shopping opportunities than in rural areas. This may result in lower prices and longer shopping hours. Most cities have shopping malls and big box centers with many different stores that stay open long hours, and that often include entertainment, food, recreation, and cultural activities to attract consumers. Many stores are owned by national and international chains, making it difficult for small independent businesses to succeed.

Variety of servicesUrban centers are able to provide a variety of services that small rural centers cannot. These might include a public transportation system, water and sewage services, a greater variety of educational and recreational facilities, and larger and more specialized healthcare facilities.

Negatives of this growth

Over crowdingCities are crowded in at least two ways. The first involves residential crowding: large numbers of people living in a small amount of space. City streets are filled with apartment buildings, condominiums, row houses, and other types of housing, and many people live on any one city block. The second type of crowding is household crowding: dwelling units in cities are typically small because of lack of space, and much smaller than houses in suburbs or rural areas. This forces many people to live in close quarters within a particular dwelling unit. Both type of crowding is associated with higher levels of stress, depression, and aggression.

TrafficCongestion occurs in urban areas, not rural ones, because of the volume of traffic and the number of intersections controlled by traffic lights or stop signs. Some cities have better public transportation than others, but traffic and commuting are problems that urban residents experience every day.

Cities are known to be places where money, services, wealth and opportunities are centralized. Many rural inhabitants come to the city for reasons of seeking fortunes

and social mobility. However, there are many major issues and problems confronting many urban centers today include crowding, housing, traffic, pollution, public education, and crime. Cities are rapidly growing in poor nations, and this type of urbanization poses many challenges that these nations are unable to meet because of their poverty and other difficulties.