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Limiting Factors of a Human Ecosystem

Since the Baby Boomer age, an era following World War II, the world has experienced an extreme birth rate, allowing the population to increase drastically. Unfortunately, this high rate of population growth will eventually come to an end. A number of factors including disease, nuclear weapons, birth control and famine are all limiting factors of a human ecosystem.

  1. Disease

    • As of March 2011, there is a great deal of concern related to the arrival of the next great human pandemic. In the past, influenza pandemics have been devastating to human population numbers. Outbreaks -- such as the Spanish Flu that occurred in 1918 -- killed as many as 50 million people across the world. Others, such as SARS, killed as many as 800 people. Scientists worry about H5N1 which, if left unwatched, may kill even more people than the Spanish Flu. While this is an extreme example, disease in general kills a large number of people every year and severely limits population growth.

    Nuclear Weapons

    • As of 2011, the United States alone has some 2,600 nuclear warheads on fire-ready to be launched or dropped on foreign threats. One single United States' nuclear submarine carries 192 warheads, enough fire power to destroy a third of Russia's population. Furthermore, the United States could kill or injure as many as 50 million people with just three percent of its nuclear arsenal. Considering the United States is just one of many nuclear powers, an all-out nuclear war and the deadly nuclear winter that follows weapon use, although not currently present, has the potential of being a limiter of human population growth.

    Famine

    • Famine is another factor that keeps human population in check. Tragic famines have been seen throughout history, each affecting unique populations. The Irish Potato Famine of the mid-1800s is perhaps the most famous famine in history. An unknown reason caused potatoes dug from the ground in 1845 to turn into inedible slush. Because of their reliance on potatoes, 750,000 Irishmen died over 10 years and caused the mass exodus of 2 million people to Great Britain, the United States and Canada. While this is an extreme example, competition for food means some people cannot survive -- meaning it is a very common, widely prevalent population-limiting factor.

    Birth Control

    • Birth control, or the act of preventing pregnancy, has become a very common practice. Currently, there are a number of methods for birth control including abstinence, condom use and the use of the pill. Birth control is a limiting factor of the human ecosystem because it essentially prevents conception. The general belief is that without birth control, more births would occur per capita.

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