Population, Food, and Soil

Overview

Class Central Tips

This course explores the population-environment relationship. In this course, you will learn about the human population and the ways in which changes in the population affect the environment. Agriculture, soils, and the environmental implications of eating meat, vegetables, local, organic, sustainable, industrial, and other types of food are discussed too. We explore questions such as: 1. How many people live on Earth right now? 2. What is the carrying capacity of Earth? 3. What is the relationship between the number of people, where they live, the resources they consume, and their environmental impact? 4. What types of agriculture are used right now? 5. What is the difference between organic and conventional agriculture? 6. Why would you want to dig a soil pit? A conversation with Phil Connors, an Australian Environmental Scientist, will explore the topic of human population and sustainability. You will also listen to the conversations with Danielle Allen, an organic farmer, and Justin Richardson, a soil scientist.

Syllabus

Module 1: Population and the World

This module explores the global population trends, how and why population changes, and concepts related to population numbers including growth rate, doubling time, crude birth and date rates etc.

Module 2: Global Population

This module explores the global population dynamics.

Module 3: Agriculture and Environment

This module deals with the major environmental issues related to global human nutrition, some common practices of modern, industrial agriculture and the potential environmental costs associated with each practice. It also explores sustainable farming practices.

Module 4: Soil and Environment

This module explores the role of soils in ecosystems, soil horizons, and soil-forming processes. Through a video, you will learn about the soils of a particular landscape and learn about various soil-forming processes.