P214D Pablo, Yosef Maru B.

Population Growth and Natural Resources

"As the human Population Grows, the demand for natural resources increases." Simply put but
the relationship between population and natural resources has been studied, theorized and
debated upon throughout history. Population continues to grow at an exponential rate from
advent of the industrial revolution and this has become a motivation for studies and theories to
surface over time and each with varying backgrounds and findings.

Initially the first statement above would hold true when humans were merely hunters and
gatherers but this has become a subject of question with the advent of agriculture and technology
considerably changing the needs and the lifestyles of humans. Now a magnitude of factors are
considered in understanding the interrelationship of population and natural resources. Though
with these given complexities in the relationship, historically most studies and theories have
similarly implied that earth's ability to provide natural resources prove inferior to the power of
population. Due to this, a cap or a limit has been placed on the earth's carrying capacity. But
given the complex relationship of the two, critics impose a lot of legitimate questions on these
generalizations.

Demographic pressure on natural resources vary in different territories, in line with social,
cultural, demographic, economic and natural conditions. The complexity relating population to
natural resources raised the need for an indicator allowing measure for different locations,
economies and other intermediate variables. In the early 90's, scientists from the University of
British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada created an environmental indicator to measure human
impact on the earth's ecosystems called the "Ecological Footprint." It can be calculated at any
scale from a person to humanity as a whole. Different nations have widely varying ecological
footprints, some having significantly high and some otherwise. The indicator estimated that in
2007, ecological services were being used 1.6 times as quickly as they were being renewed.
Notably, it also indicated that highly populated developing countries have equal ecological
impact to low population developed countries.

Though met with a lot of critism, the studies of the past have increased awareness for the need of
more sustainable strategies and the need for more efficient use of non-renewable resources.
"Sustainable Development" as introduced back in 1987 in the document Brundtland report and
defines it as " development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs." Living within the limits or capacity of the
ecosystems, having to control rate of consumption in relation to the rate of resource renewal
leaving more resources for future inhabitants. Several notable policies among countries around
the world have surfaced with this intent. The use of renewable sources have also been introduced
such as wind and solar power.

The complex train of thought brought about by the relationship of Population with the Natural
resources connotes that there is still room for more study and learning. Perhaps future study
might look into strategies on how to increase the earth's capacity to renew its resources. With
technological advancement seemingly not stopping anytime soon, perhaps it's possible humanity
grew without the degradation of earth.
P214D Pablo, Yosef Maru B.

References

"World Population and Sustainable Development." MDULS UNIVERSITARIS DE

DESENVOLUPAMENT SOSTENIBLE. Accessed April 03, 2016.
http://desenvolupamentsostenible.org/index.php?option=com_content.

Hanley, Paul. 2002. "Ecological footprint exceeds capacity." Star - Phoenix, Dec 10.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/348731681?accountid=47253.

Wikipedia contributors, "Ecological footprint," Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ecological_footprint&oldid=712234
727 (accessed April 3, 2016).

Wikipedia contributors, "List of countries by ecological footprint," Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_countries_by_ecological_foot
print&oldid=703969280 (accessed April 3, 2016).

. "Natural resources strained by growing population.". 2001. The Nation's Health31, no. 1: 12,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/198414095?accountid=47253.

Wikipedia contributors, "Sustainable development," Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sustainable_development&oldid=7132
33982 (accessed April 3, 2016).
P214D Pablo, Yosef Maru B.

How would you relate the OFW phenomenon with Economic Base Theory?

Economic Base Theory suggests that the export industries contribute to the growth of a particular
region. In the context of the Filipino diaspora, the people themselves are the export and
appropriately the theory somewhat holds true in the case of the Philippines. The Philippines a
major source of overseas workers. In 2014 it was estimated that there are 2.3 million OFW's
abroad. And that being said, how remittances impact the economy shows how the OFW's being
the basic sector or the export support the growth of the country and its non-basic sector.

Money Transfers or Remittances from Filipinos all over the world account for at least 10 percent
of the country's GDP. Every year, more than a million Filipinos leave to work abroad through
overseas employment agencies or programs. The Philippines is highest when remittances are in
ratio to population, GDP and exports. With these facts it is safe to assume that the country's
economy depend on remittances brought in by OFW's more than any country in the world, others
even label it a "remittance economy"

Remittance inflow are used by households to address needs such as food, shelter and education.
Apart from this it is also used as investments in entrepreneurial pursuits making remittances a
considerable source of human capital development. Furthermore, remittances prove a major
source of private consumption which makes up 75 percent of the country's GDP. All these
present a strong correlation to the Economic Base theory. The country's dependency on the
remittances brought upon by the OFW's strongly support the theory's premise that basic activities
or exports are the reason for the region's growth.

The Filipino diaspora and it's direct impact on the country's growth somehow proves Economic
Base Theory true. Given the trend and the demand for overseas workers, it is unlikely that this
phenomenon would slow down unless living and working within the country itself would prove
sustainable for the Filipino household then perhaps our alternative export goods would rise up as
our top basic goods that will eventually support growth.
P214D Pablo, Yosef Maru B.

References:

Ordinario, Cai U. "Philippine Economy Can't Do without OFW Remittances - Neda." Rappler.
September 10, 2012. Accessed April 05, 2016. http://www.rappler.com/business/12143-
philippine-economy-can-t-do-without-ofw-remittances-neda.

Herrera, Ernesto F. "Still a Remittance Economy | The Manila Times Online." The Manila Times
Online. August 24, 2015. Accessed April 05, 2016. http://www.manilatimes.net/still-a-
remittance-economy/212607/.

De Vera, Ben O. "Faster Remittance Growth Seen in 2016." Inquirer Business Faster Remittance
Growth Seen in 2016 Comments. February 23, 2016. Accessed April 05, 2016.
http://business.inquirer.net/207466/faster-remittance-growth-seen-in-2016.

Banyan. "People, the Philippines' Best Export." The Economist. February 09, 2010. Accessed
April 05, 2016.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2010/02/philippines_and_its_remittance_economy.

"Philippine Statistics Authority." Overseas Filipinos. Accessed April 05, 2016.

https://psa.gov.ph/tags/overseas-filipinos.

"Personal Remittances, Received (% of GDP)." The World Bank. Accessed April 05, 2016.
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS.

"Philippines Remittances Forecast 2016-2020." Trading Economics. Accessed April 05, 2016.
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/philippines/remittances/forecast.
P214D Pablo, Yosef Maru B.

Assume that the rate of growth of a certain city (as a proportion of its population size) is
5% per year. Showing your calculations:

a) How many years will it take for the city to grow by 30% from its present level?

From the formula (Geometric Growth Rate):

Pn= Po(1 + r)^t
Derived formula for computing t:
t=ln(Po/ Pn)/ln(1+r)
Using an assumed present population Po = 100
Future Population (Pn) = 130
Growth Rate (r) = 0.05
then
t=ln(100/130)/ln(1+0.05)
t= 5.377401
Answer: Estimated 6 years

b) Compare this with the growth during the same period of time of a city that grows by
a constant 5% of its base population every year.
From the Formula (Simp)le Interest):
Pn=Po(1+rt)
Derived formula for computing t:
t = (Pn/Po)-1
r
Using the same assume value as a)
t = (130/100)-1
0.05
t=6
Answer: 6 Years
P214D Pablo, Yosef Maru B.

Given the following annual population data for a hypothetical city, perform simple linear
regression to model the trend in population.

Population
Year in
Thousands
1985 50.0
1986 52.0
1987 53.7
1988 55.8
1989 57.6
1990 59.5
1991 61.5
1992 63.7
1993 65.8
1994 67.6

Trendline Model
80.0

70.0

60.0
Population in Thousands

y = 1.963x + 47.92
50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Years after 1985