Overpopulation Interviews

Lauren's Interview and Reflection:

Name of person interviewed: Juan (my dad) Deputy Superintendent of Boston Police

Interview:
Q: Is overpopulation a problem you think is important? Why/Why not?
A: I think it will be a problem if it's not managed now, but I don't think we're overpopulated at the moment. I think it's important because there will be a lack of living area, and somewhere down the line less food for people to eat such as overfishing in the oceans.

Q: Do you think others in our community think this is an important problem? Why/Why not?
A: I think there are people, like scientists, who think overpopulation is a problem. This is because people are living longer and you are going to have a population explosion where less people are dying and more people are being born. But, I also think that there's people who don't think it is a problem. This is because they are not actively thinking about the consequences if it, some people live for the now instead of the future.

Q: What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?
A: I don't believe that there have been any policies other than China's limitation to only one or two children per family in their country but that's all I really know about it.

Q: What are advantages of this policy?
A: I don't think there are any advantages to this policy China has made.

Q: What are disadvantages of this policy?
A: People aren't allowed to have the families that they want, and if there are more of the same sex, then they would have problems reproducing later on.

Reflection:
After conducting my interview, I learned that overpopulation is a problem, but it seems to be on the backburner for most people. It seems that overpopulation is not the first issue on everyone's minds today. There are other issues that come before overpopulation. It seems, even though overpopulation is an issue that should be addressed, there are things that people are more concerned about than that. We tend to think about what is happening right now rather than what will happen later on. Overpopulation is an issue that deals with later on. In 2045 there will be 9 billion people in this world and there will be consequences to this. However, when you think of 2045, you think it is so far away and don't think that it is an issue that needs to be dealt with at the moment. If we don't change anything now, then we won't be able to deal with it in the future when it does happen and it might be too late. After interviewing my dad, I realized how much we don't think about issues such as population. I also learned that we have similar views on the issue in that it is an issue that needs to be addressed at some point but also policies on how many children people can have may not be the exact answer. How can we tell people they aren't allowed to have the family they always dreamed of having? How would we feel if we were being told this? We need to find other ways of managing overpopulation.

Bianca's Interview and Reflection:

Problem: Population 7 Billion

Person Interviewed:   Ariana (friend)

Tell the person about the problem you are studying. Then ask the following questions:  (I read the introduction to my first blog entry to the individual)

Q: Is this a problem you think is important?  Why/ Why not?

A: I guess this problem is important, but I’m not sure how quickly we have to act on it.  I mean, I’m not sure that we will run out of resources because who knows if we will find new ones or substitute resources by the time our world reaches the point where we run out of other resources.  I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m not sure if it’s urgent. There's always something we can do to help now, but there doesn't seem to be a need to panic. I think I’d need to read more about it.

Q: Do you think others in our community think this is an important problem? Why/ why not?

A: Umm, probably not. I haven’t really heard a whole lot about it being an issue.  I think that it is important to people maybe once they learn about it, but not just on a daily basis.

Q: What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?

A: Well I know you mentioned that one policy, Title X I think you said, but other than that I don’t really know about the policy. 

Q: What are advantages of this policy?

A: Based on what you told me about the policy, the advantages are that they help fund family planning services.

Q: What are disadvantages of this policy?

A: I don’t really know what the disadvantages are, because I don’t know enough about the policy.

Q:  How might the policy be improved?

A: I’m not sure if this is already part of the policy but I guess it could be extended to offering classes in communities about the responsibilities of being a part of a family... or something to that extent.

Q: Does the policy need to be replaced?  Why?

A: If the policy works then I don’t think it should be replaced… maybe it can be modified, although I’m not sure.

Q: What disagreements, if any, about the policy exist in this community?

A: I haven’t heard of any disagreements about the policy in my community, but I also haven’t discussed this topic with anyone before.

Q: Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem?

A: I would go online and Google stuff about the population.  You might be able to go to the school library and pick up some newspapers or use a website to search article about your topic.  I don’t know if you’ll be able to find information at the library, but it’s worth a shot. 

Reflection: 

I think that there is a lot to learn from interviewing someone else about a current event.  In this case, it was nice to see that I wasn't alone when it came to knowing very little about the world population being at approximately 7 billion. However, this is also of some concern… how many other people are not aware of current events happening in our world?  After the interview, I began to think about our awareness of our surroundings and the world at large and I came to this conclusion: We need to take initiative—to educate ourselves, to be aware, and to make a change. 

The world population may be increasing; we may indeed be running out of space and sustainable resources, but we are not running out of people who can help MAKE A CHANGE.  



Kayla's Interview

Problem: Population 7 Billion

Person Interviewed:   Kathy Clune (Mom, Patient Care Coordinator, Salem Hospital)

Q: Is this a problem you think is important?  Why/ Why not?

A: Yes, I believe it is a problem. I think it’s important because future generations throughout the world may be seriously affected because there are not enough resources for them to live like we do.

Q: Do you think others in our community think this is an important problem? Why/ why not?

A: I think some realize the problem, but for the most part people live in their own little world and don’t think about the future or other groups of people.  

Q: What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?

A: for the United States, we have border control and strict immigration laws. In china, they have had bans on the number of children families can have. Support services like Title X help to prevent the increase in population as well.

Q: What are advantages of this policy?

A: By funding family planning services this helps to prevent pregnancies and an increase in the population.

Q: What are disadvantages of this policy?

A: One disadvantage is that it causes controversy with some religious groups. This controversy can lead to unrest and violence.

Q:  How might the policy be improved?

A: Although I don’t know the details of the policy, I would hope that there is a strong education component to the program.

Q: Does the policy need to be replaced?  Why?

A: I think that there should be data collected to see if the policy has a positive effect on family planning.

Q: What disagreements, if any, about the policy exist in this community?

A: The disagreements exist among some religious groups who feel that contraception is against their religious views.

Q: Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem?

A: I personally would search for peer reviewed literature on the internet.

Reflection: Although, I do not know much about this current event, my mother on the other hand is all about the current events and really loves discussing her views.  I thought it was interesting to see someone else’s’ views on this topic.  I know my mother knows about this topic, but it is concerning when looking at my partners interviews and seeing that the community and world is blind-sided by this topic. After interviewing, I was wondering how our community could become more aware of this issue.