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  • 人口过剩与过度消费

    Contrast between crowded, run-down housing and a luxurious mansion, highlighting resource inequality.

     

    Is life the same for all 7 billion of us?
    ::我们所有70亿人的生命都一样吗?

    Of course not. A minority of people use most of the world’s  energy  and other resources. Not only are their needs met, but they have many luxuries. Many other people lack resources. Many don’t have enough to eat or live, with the threat of hunger. Many also do not have safe, clean  water . Some people live in crowded, run-down housing. Some people live in mansions.
    ::当然不是。 少数人使用世界大部分能源和其他资源。 他们的需要不仅得到满足,而且有许多奢侈品。 许多其他人缺乏资源。 许多人没有足够的食物或生活,而且面临饥饿的威胁。 许多人也没有安全清洁的水。 有些人住在拥挤、破旧的住房里。 有些人住在豪宅里。

    Overpopulation?
    ::人口过多?

    Overpopulation  takes place when the number of organisms exceeds the  carrying capacity  of the region. What is the carrying capacity of Earth for humans? Are seven billion people the human carrying capacity? Nine billion? We don't know yet.
    ::当生物数量超过本区域的承载能力时,人口就会过多。地球对人类的承载能力是多少?70亿人是人的承载能力吗?90亿人?我们还不知道。

    It seems that we have increased the carrying capacity of the  planet  for humans. We have done this with agriculture and  fossil fuels  and improvements in health care. Have we now exceeded Earth's carrying capacity ( Figure   )? Are humans on Earth experiencing overpopulation?
    ::地球的承载能力似乎已经提高,人类的承载能力已经提高,我们是通过农业和化石燃料以及改善保健来做到这一点的,我们现在是否超过了地球承载能力(图)?地球上的人类是否人口过多?

    Aerial view of Manhattan, showcasing dense urban development and high population concentration.

     

    Manhattan, one part of New York City, is one of the most heavily populated regions in the world.
    ::曼哈顿是纽约市的一部分,是世界上人口最多的地区之一。

    There is not yet an answer to that question. So far, many of us have skated along without much trouble. But since we depend on resources that are non-renewable, the answer could well be yes.
    ::这个问题还没有得到答案,到目前为止,我们许多人没有太多麻烦就滑了一步。 但是,由于我们依赖不可再生的资源,答案很可能是肯定的。

    Human Population and the Environment
    ::人类人口和环境

    There is evidence that there are too many of us; that the large  population  is becoming too high. That’s because we are harming the environment. Some of the harmful effects of a high human population are:
    ::有证据表明,我们中太多的人;大量人口正在变得太高。 这是因为我们在危害环境。 高人口的一些有害影响是:

    • Supplying all those people with energy creates a lot of pollution. For example, huge  oil  spills have killed millions of living things.
      ::向所有人提供能源造成了大量的污染。 比如,巨大的石油泄漏已经夺去了数百万人的生命。
    • Burning fossil fuels pollutes the air. This also causes  .
      ::燃烧化石燃料会污染空气,
    • Fossil fuels and other resources are being used up. We may run out of oil by the mid-2000s. Many other resources will run out sooner or later.
      ::化石燃料和其他资源正在耗尽,到2000年代中期,石油可能用光,许多其他资源迟早会用光。
    • People are killing too many animals for food. For example, some of the best fishing grounds in the oceans have almost no fish left.
      ::人们为了食物而杀死太多动物,例如,海洋中一些最好的渔场几乎没有鱼了。
    • People have destroyed many  habitats . For example, they’ve drained millions of acres of  wetlands . Wetlands have a great diversity of  species . As wetlands shrink, species go  extinct .
      ::人们摧毁了许多生境。 例如,他们耗尽了数百万英亩湿地。 湿地有多种多样的物种。 随着湿地萎缩,物种将灭绝。
    • People have introduced  invasive species  - species originally from a different area—to invade new habitats. The introduction can be intentional or accidental. Often, the aliens have no natural enemies in their new home. They may drive native species extinct. In the mid-1900s, Australian tree snakes invaded Guam and other islands in the Pacific. The snakes stowed away on boats and planes. Tree snakes had no natural enemies on the islands so their population exploded. The snakes have caused the extinction of nine of the eleven native bird species on Guam ( Figure   ).
      ::人们引进了入侵物种(原来自不同地区的物种)来入侵新的生境,这种引进可能是有意的或偶然的,经常是外国人在他们的新家没有自然敌人,他们可能使本地物种灭绝,在19世纪中叶,澳大利亚的树蛇入侵关岛和太平洋的其他岛屿,蛇藏在船只和飞机上,树蛇在岛上没有自然敌人,因此其人口爆炸,蛇在关岛的11种本地鸟类中造成9种灭绝(图)。

    A brown tree snake on the ground among green grass.

     

    A brown tree snake.
    ::棕色树蛇

    • People themselves are also affected by the large size of the human population. Some people have a lot; some have very little. Many people refer to the abundance of luxury items in some people’s lives as  over-consumption . People in developed nations use 32 times more resources than people in the developing countries of the world. The symbol of this is CO 2  emissions, which are a waste product from fossil fuel burning. Populations that burn the most fossil fuels have a high standard of living.
      ::人们本身也受到人口众多的影响。 有些人有很多,有些人很少。 许多人认为某些人生活中奢侈品的丰富是过度消费。 发达国家的人比世界发展中国家的人多使用32倍的资源。 这一点的象征是二氧化碳排放,这是化石燃料燃烧的废品。 燃烧最多的化石燃料的人口生活水平很高。

    World map showing CO2 emissions distribution by region and consumption levels.

     

    CO 2  emissions tell which countries are using the most fossil fuels.
    ::CO2排放量表明哪些国家使用矿物燃料最多。

    Summary
    ::摘要

    • Supporting 7 billion people is taking an environmental toll on the planet.
      ::支持70亿人 正在给地球带来环境损失
    • Pollution, habitat destruction, and invasive species are a few of the problems caused by the high population.
      ::污染、生境破坏和入侵物种是高人口造成的少数问题。
    • Over-consumption means that some people use a much larger amount of the resources than others.
      ::过度消费意味着有些人使用的资源比其他人多得多。

    Review
    ::回顾

    1. What are some of the ways that the large human population is harming the environment?
      ::大量人口对环境造成何种危害?
    1. What are invasive species? Why are they able to do so much damage?
      ::什么是入侵物种?为什么它们能够造成如此大的损害?
    1. What is over-consumption?
      ::什么是过度消费?

    Explore More
    ::探索更多

    Use the resource below to answer the questions that follow.
    ::利用以下资源回答以下问题。

    1. What was the prediction made about world population in SciShow’s early episode on Overpopulation?
      ::在SciShow关于人口过剩的早期集中,对世界人口的预测是什么?
    1. What will happen to the size of the human population by 2100?
      ::到2100年,人口的规模会怎样?
    1. What is Total Fertility Rate? What has been happening to this number since the 1960s and why?
      ::总生育率是多少?自1960年代以来,这一数字发生了什么,为什么?
    1. What is happening to Total Fertility Rate in Africa? Why does that affect the future prediction of population?
      ::非洲总生育率发生什么了? 为什么这会影响未来人口预测?
    1. How could the average woman give birth to 0.8 children in her lifetime in Singapore? (What is 0.8 child?)
      ::平均妇女如何在新加坡一生中生育0.8个孩子? (什么是0.8个孩子? )
    1. Why is Africa’s total fertility rate relatively high?
      ::为什么非洲的总生育率相对较高?
    1. How many people are predicted to live in sub-Saharan Africa by 2100?
      ::预计到2100年将有多少人生活在撒哈拉以南非洲?