This month's issue features an annual update on population growth and
resources critical to human survival. Some data, like population
estimates and grain production, are relatively easy to estimate. For
other data the quality of the information is quite uneven, or statistics
are only updated every few years. That said, the tables below contain
the best guesses of where we are with population, fisheries, forests,
grain and fresh water. For all these resources, the amount available per
person is going down because population is going up, and resource is
essentially fixed (Internal Renewable Water Resources), growth is
leveling off or uneven (world grain production), or because of decline
in the resource due to overharvesting (fisheries and forests).
POPULATION
US Census Bureau:
http://blue.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/popclockw
Fisheries, Forests, Grain and Water: The
State of Critical Resources 2005
by Jan Weaver
| year | world population (billions) | annual growth rate | new lives added (millions) |
| 1970 | 3.35 | 2.08% | 70 |
| 1980 | 4.46 | 1.70% | 76 |
| 1990 | 5.28 | 1.56% | 82 |
| 2000 | 6.08 | 1.26% | 76 |
| 2001 | 6.16 | 1.24% | 76 |
| 2002 | 6.23 | 1.18 % | 74 |
| 2003 | 6.30 | 1.12 % | 70 |
| 2004 | 6.37 - 6.41 | 1.11 - 1.74 | 70 - 110 |
FISHERIES FAO: http://www.fao.org/sof/sofia/index_en.htm (data are for all marine, fresh, capture and aquaculture production- fisheries supply 15% of the world's supply of animal protein)
| Year | Metric Tons Harvested | Annual Growth Rate | MT Change | Change in Practices |
| 1970 | 65,405,130 | - | - | Jurisdiction to 200 miles |
| 1980 | 72,412,450 | 1.01% | 700,732 | World fleet doubles |
| 1990 | 98,586,180 | 3.61% | 2,617,373 | Annual $50 billion subsidies |
| 2000 | 130,400,000 | 3.28% | 3,234,082 | 75% fully or overexploited fisheries |
| 2001 | 128,000,000 | -1.80% | -2,400,00 | - |
FORESTS FAO State of the World's Forests 2001: http://www.fao.org/forestry/index.jsp *FAO is in the process of preparing its 2005 report on forest resources
| year | Total Forest (billion hectares) | Natural Forest | Plantation Forest | Difference |
| 1990 | 4.27 | no data | no data | no data |
| 2000 | 3.87 | 3.68 | 0.19 | -9.4% |
GRAIN
USDA:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/grain/circular/2004/12-04/Agsum.pdf
| Year | World Grain (billions of tons) | Per Capita Grain (tons/yr) | Per Capita Grain (lbs/day) | Avg. Annual Change |
| 1980 | 1.430 | 0.321 | 1.93 | 3.2% (from 1970 figures) |
| 1990 | 1.769 | 0.335 | 2.02 | 2.4% |
| 2000 | 1.835 | 0.302 | 1.82 | 0.4% |
| 2000/01 | 1.841 | 0.298 | 1.80 | 0.4% |
| 2001/02 | 1.870 | 0.300 | 1.81 | 1.5% |
| 2002/03 | 1.817 | 0.291 | 1.75 | -2.8%) |
| 2003/04 | 1.845 | 0.289 - 0.288 | 1.74 | 1.6% |
INTERNAL RENEWABLE WATER RESOURCES
World Resources Institute:
http://earthtrends.wri.org/
Countries and populations with less than 1000 cubic meters of internal
renewable water resources (rainfall) per capita per year. One thousand
m3 is the minimum amount needed to meet one person's food, domestic and
industrial needs. Lack of rainfall can be made up for by taking water
from rivers running through a country, by pumping groundwater or by
importing grain instead of growing it. However, ability to meet needs is
affected by water use in upstream countries, by pollution of ground and
surface waters, and by world grain markets.
| Year | Number of Countries | Number of People | Avg. Annual Change |
| 1990 | 27 | 490,787,000 | no data |
| 2000 | 27 | 610,856,000 | 2.4% |
| 2002 | 29 | 687,341,000 | 6.3% |
| 2003 | 32 | 1,080,155,000 | 57.1% |
| 2004 | 43 | 1, 197, 000, 000 | 10.8% |
BIO REGIONAL QUIZ: How many acres of forest does Missouri have?
JOB OF THE MONTH: Ocean Wildlife Advocate - Oceana; Washington, D.C. Responsibilities: work with management teams to develop & implement campaigns focused on ocean wildlife protection issues; analyze conservation policies, proposals and reports; represent Oceana to members of Congress; report to the Federal Policy Director. Status: Full-time, occasional travel & long hours required. Qualifications: Bachelor's in Conservation Biology, Marine Affairs, Political Science, Public Policy or related field; 2 years of advocacy or legislative work in environmental issues (preferably at the federal level); solid research skills; ability to write clearly and persuasively; ability to work with a professional staff & finish projects; ability to juggle multiple tasks; excellent communication skills; Spanish fluency a plus. Salary: Competitive salary & benefits package. Application Procedure: Send resume, cover letter & salary expectations to Oceana- Email: resumes@oceana.org; Fax: (202) 833-2070 or Mail: 2501 M Street, NW-Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037. Applications will be received until Jan. 21, 2005
Special Events/Classes/Programs/Talks
FIRST NIGHT 2005: December 31, 6:30pm to midnight, $7 admission for ages 7 and up, celebrate the new and join in the activities taking place in downtown Columbia. For more information or to volunteer call 874-7460 & visit: firstnight.Missouri.org
NEW YEAR'S HIKE - GANS CREEK TRAIL: Saturday January 1, 2 pm. Gans Creek Trailhead to Saunders Cabin ~ 2 miles total - trailhead east side of 163, just north of Devil's Icebox entrance.
"MICRO-COSMOS" VIDEO: Monday January 10, 7pm at the Unitarian Church, Shepard Blvd, across from Shepard School. MO Native Plant Society. For more information call Paula at: 474-4225
PROPAGATION WORKSHOP: Monday February 14, 7 pm, Unitarian Church, Shepard Blvd, across from Shepard School. Wild Ones.
MU Organization Meetings and Contact Information
ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS:
http://www.missouri.edu/~jesse105/committees/pages/environmental.htm
RECYCLING COMMITTEE: 882-3091
SUSTAIN MIZZOU: 882-7116 Wednesday Feb. 9 and 16. at 7:30 pm, meet in
200 A&S
STUDENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONS ASSOCIATION: 882-7116 Tuesday Feb. 1
and 15, at 5:30 pm 114 Natural Resources Building
Organization Meetings and Contact Information AUDUBON SOCIETY: 874-3904 / columbia-audubon.missouri.org Meet 3rd Wed 7:30 pm, USGS, 4200 New Haven BOONE COUNTY SMART GROWTH COALITION: http://smartgrowth.missouri.org/, 1st Wednesdays 7:15 Boone Co Govt Ctr. CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING: 875-0539 or http://peaceworks.missouri.org/ CHOUTEAU GROTTO: http://chouteau.missouri.org/, Meet 1st Wed, 7 pm, Community Room of the Boone Electric Coop COLUMBIA FOOD CIRCLE: 882-7463 or email hendricksonm@missouri.edu for information. COLUMBIA PUBLIC WORKS VOL. PROGRAMS: 874-6271 or http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Volunteer/Opportunities/#PW COMMUNITY STORMWATER PROJECT: 884-8333 or http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/PublicWorks/StormWater/cswp.html ENV EDUCATION WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES: http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/teacher/workshops/ FRIENDS OF ROCK BRIDGE M. S. P.: 815-9255 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org/ Outdoors Bldg, 200 Old 63 S. GREENBELT COALITION: 442-4789 or http://greenbelt.missouri.org Meet 1st Tuesdays, 7 pm, Outdoors Bldg, 200 Old 63 S. MISSOURI NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY: npshawth@hotmail.com 2nd Mondays in Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Nov at 7:00 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church, 2615 Shepard Blvd, Columbia, MO. MISSOURI RIVER COMMUNITIES NETWORK: 443-0292 or http://mrcn.missouri.org/ PEDNET COALITION: email: pednet@pednet.org or http://www.pednet.org RIVER RELIEF: http://www.riverrelief.org/ ROCK BRIDGE MEMORIAL STATE PARK: 449-7402 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org SHOW ME CLEAN STREAMS COALITION: (573) 751-4115 ext 3169 or www.mostreamteam.org SIERRA CLUB: 443-4401 or http://sierra.osage.missouri.org Meet 3rd Tuesdays 7:30 pm Hillel Foundation, 1107 University Ave WILD ONES: 499-3749 or email wildonesmo@yahoo.com, http://wildones.missouri.org Meetings 2nd Saturdays. Call for location
Answer to BioRegional Quiz: Missouri currently has about 14 million acres of forest land. This is up from around 13 million acres in the 1970's but still below the 15 million acres the state had in the late 1940's. Before European settlement, the state was 70% forested, or about 31 million acres. Most of today's forest is second, third or even fourth generation oak hickory in 60-120 year old even-aged stands. About 82% of forest land is privately owned, only 18% is publicly owned, by the state or by the federal government. For more information see Missouri's Forest Resources in 1999 - http://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/rn/rn_nc375.pdf
Feedback - Got an opinion? If we have space, we will consider publishing it. Submit it by email (envstudy@missouri.edu), snail mail (Environmental Studies, 211 Lowry , MU, Columbia MO 65211), or call Jan Weaver to talk about it (882-7116). MU Environmental Network News is published by MU's Environmental Studies Initiative. All opinions expressed are the responsibility of the editor. Any part of this newsletter may be copied for distribution but please give us credit.