Hi guys,
I'm really sorry about the late reply, I should have told you earlier but we had a lecture on populations today and I was waiting until afterwards to write to you so that I would have the best possible understanding of the topic.
Okay firstly, from our reading it is forecast that Australia will be able to support a population of 26 million. Seeing as we are at 21 million already and have a very high birthrate for such a developed and affluent country, 1.8% pa, it is forecast that we will be there by 2050.
The most significant resources limiting population growth in Australia are varied. One of these is certainly water. There is just not enough rainfall on this continent to support our massively expanding population, especially considering our agricultural and industrial needs. Another problem is arable lang. We have no problem with land in general, there is heaps of it, but the fact that it is economically useless limits the amount of land suitable for human habitation or agriculture. Another factor, as you have mentioned, is soil quality. Australia is the most stable continent in the world, meaning that there is little to no geological activity, and that means that there is little nutrients in our soils. The areas that have both sufficient rainfall and good soils are few and far between. Food is nowhere near as bad a problem in Australia as it is in Singapore, we produce much more wheat than we consume, we also produce a lot of beef and other meat, a lot of fish and a lot of our own fruit and vegetables, however sizeable amounts of rice, etc. are imported.
Our lecturer told us to think laterally when we were addressing the resources limiting growth and I think one of them is the shortages in some employment fields, especially in health. We are very short of doctors and nurses and this could affect the way that we are capable of maintaining our population.
Okay, they are my thoughts on the subject for the moment. You see, you guys are just so efficient that it is difficult to add anything valuable to discussions with you!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Heyy..! I love your last point about human as a resource. I think Singapore is facing the same problem too... with the low replacement rate and aging population, we are running out of human resources that can provide such healthcare services, which are becoming of increasing importance. This form of human resource is also a form of limitation to our population size in Singapore. =)
ReplyDelete