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thought to be the cause of hundreds of thousands of prema- ture deaths in China each year. China’s polluted air, howev- er, does not just affect China. China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases , such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), which most climate scientists believe are the driving forces behind global warming. An Economic Evolution China is a prime example of how the global economy and international trade and commerce can have both positive and negative effects. For centuries, China was a relatively The Population Factor I t took several millennia for the world population to reach 1 billion people. However, over the past two hundred years, the world’s population has grown sevenfold, reaching the 7 billion mark in 2011. In 2015, 7.3 billion people occupied the planet. The world population continues to grow at about 80 million people a year. If this growth rate continues, Earth will be home to about 9.2 billion people by 2050. While it is important to focus on how a global economy affects the envi- ronment and the use of the world’s natural resources, the growing global population is a critical factor related to environmental issues as well. As the world’s population increases and living standards improve, nature is being exploited more and more to meet the needs and wants of this growing pop- ulation. In one way, the global economy could help counteract population growth worldwide. Low-income countries have the highest birthrates in the world. As their economies improve, it is expected that population growth rates in these countries will dwindle as families no longer need children to help sup- port families economically. In this sense, a global economy might benefit the environment.

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The Global Economy and the Environment