Factors Affecting Population Growth

Factors Affecting Population Growth Population growth can be defined as an increase or decrease in the population size of living species including human beings. Human populations are also subject to natural process of birth and death. There has been a rapid increase in the world s human population over the last few decades (UNFPA, 2011). Unless urgent steps are taken to control population, serious problems can arise like environment damage and limited availability of food resources. Continuous population growth can be problem and therefore it is important to understand how we can manage population growth for the benefit of all. Human beings have tried to make food resources available for all the population in many ways. Starting from the industrial revolution, advances in modern medicine, and green agriculture revolution have all made us self sufficient so far. However such technology development cannot go forever and therefore unless we manage population a day may come when all resources will be finished. At present there are two school of thought for the theories on population growth. The first is the pessimistic view developed by Reverend Robert Malthus, a British scholar who believed that the resources available will not be sufficient for human beings if human population is not controlled. The other theory is the optimistic view developed by Julian Simon who believed that humans can manage the issue of population because of their knowledge and skills. Therefore this paper will discuss these two theories for population growth and their effect on the resources and environment of the earth. II. Factors affecting population growth The population growth is determined mainly by birth rate, death rate, and migration patterns (immigration and emigration). For instance the population in the developed countries like Europe and America is growing at rate of only 0.1% per year while in developing countries the growth rate is over 1.5% per year. (Wright and Boorse,2011) (UNDP). In developing countries where manual labour is still considered main source of labour, children form part of the labour force and therefore families tend to have more children. Similarly when the pension system is not good, people tend to raise more children to look after during old age. Wherever women are more educated and take lead role in household income activities, there tend to be less number of children raised. In areas where traditions, culture and customs are respected population tend to be higher due to less use of contraceptives. III. Impacts of population growth Although it may be difficult to measure the carrying capacity for humans on earth (Cohen, 1995) scientists have estimated the carrying capacity at around 7.7 billion people (Van Den Bergh and Rietveld, 2004). It is now estimated that the world population will be around 9.1 billion by the year 2050. The very high population growth has raised concerns that the planet may not be able to sustain such population in the long run. Increasing population will mean increased demand for food, water, and other resources such as fossil fuel. The impact of population growth can be seen by everyone who care for the world that we live in. Over the last few decades there has been large scale destruction of the tropical forests mainly to make land available for agriculture and for urbanization. In order to produce enough food to meet the demand of growing population, forests have been cleared to undertake farming. Due to increased industrialization and urbanization, there has been great increase in th e pollution of air, water and the environment of the planet. Growing population will result in the depletion of natural resources such as water, fossil fuels (Hubert, 1982); deforestation and loss of ecosystems; and emergence of new diseases. It will also lead to more starvation, hunger and unhygienic living conditions in poor countries. IV. Factors affecting environment Environment means our surroundings in which all the things, living or non living, which includes atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), lithosphere (solid earth), biosphere (all living organisms), and geosphere (rocks and regoliths). Numerous factors affect our environment which includes anthropogenic activities such as urbanization, industrialization, deforestation, overpopulation, and use of fossil fuels. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, cyclones, landslide and floods can also negatively affect the environment. V. Relationship between environment and population growth Humans are an integral part of the eco-system of nature and there is close interconnection between human beings and environment. Ever since life existed humans have been depending on their environment for food, shelter, and other necessities. There is an inverse relationship existing between population growth and environment as overpopulation will lead to adverse effect on the environment. As human population increase, there is also increase in the demand for food and other energy sources. It is essential that the population is maintained at a level so that the natural resources are sufficient to meet the requirement for survival of all living beings. VI. Neo-Malthusian or pessimistic views on population growth Malthusian theories or pessimistic theories on population growth was derived from the ideas of Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus, a British scholar who wrote series of essays on the principles of population. There were six editions of his An Essay on the Principle of Population (published from 1798 to 1826) in which he said that if the human population growth is left unchecked the food supply will not be sufficient to meet the needs of humans. He proposed the idea that while human population grew exponentially, the food resources grew only arithmetically. He also believed that population will be controlled naturally by disease, famine and mortality. This was called as the pessimistic model of population growth. Malthus believed in using preventive checks such as abstinence, delayed marriage and restricting marriages in order to control population growth. Some people criticized Malthus s theory based on the fact that there has been an enhanced agricultural production and reduced human fe rtility over the past few decades since the publication of his theories. However, many still believe in his theory that if left unchecked, population growth can pose serious problems for resource availability (Cristina, 2010). Neo-Malthusianism These are groups who also believe in the theories of Malthus and encourage population control programs for the present and future benefit of human beings. The Neo-Malthusians view however differ from Malthus in their belief on the use of contraceptive techniques for the birth control measures. The neo-Malthusians or the pessimistic view had more concerns about the effect that population growth would have on environmental degradation. While they supported the theories put forward by Malthus, this group of people strongly supported the idea of actively controlling population growth in order to prevent adverse impact on the environment. This pessimistic group are concerned about the effect overpopulation may have on resource depletion and environmental degradation. There has been a general revival in neo-Malthusian ideologies from the 1950s onwards especially after the publication of series of books by some Malthusian supporters such as Fairfield Osborn (Our Plundered Planet), William V ogt (Road to Survival) and Paul Ehrlich (The Population Bomb). Although many critics of neo-Malthusianism criticize the revival of this theory based on fact that the green revolution has led to sufficient food production, Pessimists such as Paul Ehrlich believe that unchecked population will ultimately lead to serious problems in the future (Ehrlich, 2009). Neo-Malthusian or the pessimistic view is more about the positive checks but Malthusian said that there is balance between both positive and negative checks. Technological or Optimistic views on population growth. The optimistic model of population growth was proposed by Julian Simon who in his book The Ultimate Resource (1981) argued that as resources become scarce the price goes up which in turn creates incentives for people to discover new source or find alternatives for the resource. Simon also claims in his book that the natural resources are infinite based on the justification that innovative methods can be used to make natural resources available. Increasing population growth and reduced resources make people to create innovations and inventions to produce more food and all basic needs. The optimistic view said that science and technology can overcome scarcity problems. Esther Boserup (1910-1999)-Danish economist said necessity is the mother of invention . So, humanity will always find a way to overcome their problems. The optimistic view also said that more people means more alternatives to find new materials and discover ways to do things. Discussion It can be seen from the above paragraphs that population growth can impact on the state of environment of our planet. Of the two theories on population growth, I support the neo-malthusian theory of pessimistic views based on the following justifications. Deforestation for agriculture If the human population growth is left unchecked, a day might come when the earth s resources will not be able to sustain the requirements of human beings. As overpopulation will demand increasing food, energy, and other resources, humans will engage in activities that will directly affect our environment and ecosystem. For instance, about 160,000 square kilometers per of tropical rainforests are cleared for agricultural use thus resulting in loss of habitat for the biodiversity (Laurance, 1999). Such loss of forests will contribute to global warming and other negative effects on environment. Urbanization/industrialization In order to meet the growing demand of increasing population, humans have been using technologies such as industrialization for enhanced production of food and other needs. Increased industrialization and urbanization results in air pollution, noise pollution, and water pollution which are all detrimental to our environment. Increased urbanization will also mean clearance of forests for construction of roads, buildings etc. which further adds to pollution. Depletion of non-renewable natural resources and emission of green house gases Uncontrolled growth of population will lead to rapid depletion of non-renewable natural resources such as fossil fuels which are used as source of energy. The burning of fossil fuel i.e. carbon based fuels, mainly wood, coal, oil and natural gas produces significant amount of CO2 which is one of the main green house gases that contributes to global warming (International Energy Outlook, 2000). The green house effect maintains the earth at comfortable temperature range but if there is excessive release of CO2 and other harmful gases from the industries and factories, the green house gases gets easily out of control and will lead to so many problems like continental drift, climate change, natural disasters and variations of sun s out put. Loss of biodiversity and habitat Due to growing population, especially in the rural areas of developing countries, people practising shifting cultivation undertake slash-and-burn techniques which results in the extinction of native flora and fauna. It has been reported that nearly 140,000 species are lost every year due to deforestation activities (Pimm, Russell, Gittleman and Brooks, 1995). Therefore, if population growth is not controlled, increasing human activities will further result in destruction of the habitat and loss of biodiversity. In Bhutan, human-wildlife especially human-elephant conflict is increasing and this is mainly due to the loss of habitat for the elephants due to increasing human population and activities (Kuensel, 19 May 2012). IX. Solutions There is a need to find solutions to decrease the problems associated with overpopulation and environmental degradation. The governments around the world should have policies to decrease the population growth rate by increasing use of birth control measures. The governments should also frame good policies to protect forests and environment and prevent loss of natural habitat. Innovative ideas and research should be done to increase food production without disturbing the environment. The governments should increase funding for education and awareness of especially the poor people for them to protect and take care of their environment. X. Conclusions In conclusion overpopulation can lead to problems in the form of depleting natural resources, environmental pollution and degradation, and loss of habitat. Therefore, urgent steps need to be taken to manage human population growth to a level that can be managed well. The theories founded by Reverend Malthus can be still followed because the natural resources available now may not be sufficient in the future if we do not control human population growth. XI. References Cristina Luiggi. (2010). Still Ticking. The Scientist 24 (12): 26. Hubbert, M.K. Techniques of Prediction as Applied to Production of Oil and Gas, US Department of Commerce, NBS Special Publication 631, May 1982. International Energy Outlook 2000, Energy Information Administration, Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. (2000) Joel Cohen, How Many People Can the Earth Support? (New York: Norton, 1995) J. Van Den Bergh and P. Rietveld, Reconsidering the Limits to World Population: Meta-analysis and Meta-predictions, Bioscience 54, no 3 (2004): 195. Kuensel, 19 May 2012, Page 22. Laurance, W. F. 1999. Reflections on the tropical deforestation crisis. Biological Conservation 91: 109-117. Paul R. Ehrlich; Anne H. Ehrlich (2009). The Population Bomb Revisited. Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development 1(3): 63 71. Retrieved 2010-02-01. S.L. Pimm, G.J. Russell, J.L. Gittleman and T.M. Brooks, The Future of Biodiversity, Science 269: 347 350 (1995). Sahney, S. , Benton, M.J. Falcon-Lang, H.J. (2010). Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification in Euramerica (PDF). Geology 38 (12): 1079 1082. doi:10.1130/G31182.1. Tilman D., Fargione J., Wolff B., DAntonio C., Dobson A., Howarth R., Schindler D., Schlesinger W. H., Simberloff D. et al. (2001). Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change. Science 292: 281 284. doi:10.1126/science.1057544. PMID 11303102. United nations Population Fund, 2011 (http://www.unfpa.org/swp/ ) Wright and Boorse. (2011). Environmental Science.

Changes in Gwinnett County :: hometown environment

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over time things change. Some things change for the better while other things change for the worse. One thing that’s bound to change though is your environment. Personally I have seen my hometown go through many changes during the eleven years that I have resided in Gwinnett County. A few of the accounts which have changed in my hometown throughout time have been the population including diversity, architecture, and the aspect of the people that grew up with me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I first moved to Gwinnett in Nineteen-Ninety Four. At which time I attended elementary school. Now at that time school mostly consisted of African Americans and Caucasians. Now eleven years later you can go back to that same school and now you will see all type of diverse ethnicities in the school such as Bosnians, Haitians, Mexicans, etc. Towns are bound to see new diversities in their area because over time the population will increase. Gwinnett took a drastic increase in population as it was Georgia’s fastest growing County. As you take a look around the community now you can see that there are all different types of ethnic stores and not just Chinese. Now there are Caribbean restaurants as well as Jamaican and Thai. When new cultures move into an area it’s good for the younger population as it teaches them to be more diverse and understand other people.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Architecture is a huge role in my hometown. Since Gwinnett was such a hot County at the time growing up meant that it would bring in a lot of architectural work, which it did. When I first moved here the only stores I can remember besides the gas stations were Winn Dixie, Eckerd, and OZ Video. Now Over the time that same area has went through a drastic change. Now Winn Dixie is Save Rite, OZ video is closed. Along with Eckerd are CVS and Walgreens within a half mile. Another example is that in the beginning the only entertainment was Town Center Cinema which is now a dollar movie and Mardi Gras Arcade which is now gone. When you look around now the area includes AMC theaters as well as the construction of two malls, Discover Mills and The Mall of Georgia. What I am trying to point out is with more population comes more development and my town has seen plenty of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The last part of my hometown which has changed is the safety so to speak.

King Leopolds Ghost Essay -- essays research papers

Book Review of King Leopold's Ghost, by Adam Hochschild   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What some have considered to be the first international scandal of the modern era took place in the Congo from 1890 until 1910. King Leopold II of Belgium was at the head of this so-called scandal. Although Europe and the rest of the world seemed to have forgotten the victims of these crimes, there is a considerable amount of material to use when attempting to recreate the horror that took place in Leopold's Congo. This is exactly what Adam Hochschild is attempting to do by writing this book. By using the written words of mostly Europeans and Americans, which creates a distorted view of history, he wants to show that the Holocaust type event that took place in the Congo is something that should never be forgotten in our history. Hochschild also wants to show the heroism that took place afterwards in what became the first human rights movement of our time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hochschild does an excellent and detailed job of showing how clever and cunning (like a fox) Leopold was in obtaining and maintaining his hold in the Congo. Early on Leopold became obsessed with the idea of colonies and the profit that they could bring to his country. In the beginning he did not attempt to cover-up this ambition, but soon realized he needed to in order to have the approval of those countries around him. The metaphor Hochschild uses to explain Leopold's venture into the Cong...

Inventor Project April 1, 1996 Albert Einstein :: essays research papers fc

Inventor Project April 1, 1996 Albert Einstein My name is Albert Einstein. I was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. I was not an inventor in the conventional sense. I was a physicist and theorist. My inventions were not tangible things, but ideas I put on paper and may later on have led to inventions. I was not a good student in school. I did not pay attention to teachers because I found their lectures and teachings boring. Often I would skip class to go study physics on my own. By the age of twelve I had taught myself Euclidean Geometry, and slowly beginning to develope my own theories in physics. My first theoretical paper was on Brownian motion. The paper discussed the significant predictions I made about particles that are randomly distributed in a fluid. My next paper was on the photoelectric effect, which contained a revolutionary hypothesis on the nature of light. I proposed that under certain circumstances light can be considered as consisting of particles, and I also hypothesized that energy carried by any light particle, called a photon, is proportional to the frequency of the radiation. The formula for this is E=hv, where E is the radiation, h is a universal constant known as Planck's constant, and v is the frequency of the radiation. This proposal, that the energy contained within a light beam is transferred by individual units, or quanta, contradicted the hundred year old tradition of considering light as a manifestation of continuous processes. My third and most impotant paper, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", contained what has become known as the special theory of relativity. Since the time of Sir Issac Newton, scientists had been trying to understand the nature of matter and radiation, and how they interacted in some unified world picture. The position that mechanical laws are fundamental has become known as the mechanical world view, and the position that electrical laws are fundamental has become known as the electromagnetic world view. Neither approach, however, is capable of providing a consistent explanation for the way radiation and matter interact when viewed from different inertial frames of reference, that is, an interaction viewed simultaneously by an observer at rest and an observer moving at unifrom speed. In the Spring of 1905 after considering these problems for ten years, I realized that the crux of the problem lay not in a theory of matter but in a theory of measuerment. At the heart of my special theory of relativity was the realization thet all measurements of time and space depend on judgments as to

Chinese Prostitution :: essays research papers

In 1850, only 7 Chinese women were in San Francisco compared to the 4,018 Chinese men. These lows numbers could’ve been because Chinese men were afraid to bring their wives and raise families in a place full of racial violence. The growing anti-Chinese sentiment and few labor opportunities reduced the chances for entry of Chinese women. The few women in San Francisco’s Chinatown basically turned Chinatown into a bachelor’s society. Many men went to brothel houses to release their sexual tensions, thus increasing the demands and values of prostitution. Prostitution in Chinatown increased, and in 1870, 61 percent of the 3536 Chinese women in California as prostitutes (Takaki, 1998). By 1879, seventy-one percent of Chinese women in San Francisco were prostitutes. However, the increased amount of Chinese women becoming a prostitute was not by choice. Immigrant women who became prostitutes, such as Wong Ah So, came to America on promises of marriage made by men only to be forced or tricked into prostitution. Chan's book, "Asian Americas: An Interpretive History", was able to shed some light as to why so few Chinese women were able to enter the U.S. From the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, Chinese women were only allowed to enter the U.S. as the wives and daughters of merchants or U.S. citizens. Several acts, such as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and the Page Law, were passed in an attempt to stop the immigration of Chinese because many anti-Chinese individuals assumed that all Chinese women were prostitutes. As Chan states in her book, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act suspended the entry of Chinese laborers for ten years but exempted merchants, students and teachers, diplomats, and travelers from its provisions (Chan, 54). Under the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, only women who were native-born, married or born overseas to merchants in the U.S. could immigrate, thus resulting in an average of 108 Chinese immigrant women in 1882. The Page Law of 1875, which "forbid the entry of Chinese, Japanese, and Mongolian contract laborers, women for the purpose of prostitution, and felons" was so strictly enforced that legitimate wives had trouble entering America (Chan, 54). Yung argues that in order for Chinese women to enter the country, they had to prove that they were "moral" women. "Bound feet became a moral standard for Chinese women at the checkpoint" (Yung, Judith). This standard, however, didn't apply to all women.

Emotionless Irrationality Essay

As attested by Dr. Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, the women who murder their children are always ‘narcissistic’ and dramatic (Schurman-Kauflin, 2009). Casey Anthony had an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ outlook following the disappearance of her child Caylee; Casey had always made it clear that she considered taking care of her child a burdensome task. This narcissism and aloofness has caused a wide majority of people in the court of public opinion who are decidedly in favor of a guilty verdict for Anthony. The ‘out-of-sight, out-of-mind’ mentality was clear in the on-going socializing events and parties which continued to occur after her child was gone. Additionally, Casey has shown no outward signs of depression or remorse since her child disappeared. Her promiscuity and partying habits were not deterred by the disappearance of Caylee. In fact, Schurman-Kauflin   suggests the disappearance created a sense of liberation in Casey Anthony, due to the fact that having children is likened to ‘being grounded’ to a narcissistic personality (Schurman-Kauflin, 2009). Her silence in the face of interrogation is parallel to what Dr. Schurman-Kauflin said she saw when she interviewed female serial killers. Female killers tend to believe that if they remain silent, people will believe nothing wrong happened (Ibid). Casey Anthony will likely receive a verdict of guilty, following the overwhelming belief harbored by a majority of news followers who believe she is guilty. The general public has ried out for vengeance for so long, concerning Caylee, that there is little likelihood Casey will be given a ‘not guilty’ verdict. References: â€Å"Mom or Murderer?†. (2010). Investigation Discovery. Retrieved on July 29, 2010 from Investigation.Discovery.com:   http://investigation.discovery.com/blogs/criminal-report/casey_anthony_full_coverage/caylee_anthony.html Schurman-Kauflin, Deborah. â€Å"Casey Anthony†¦ A Criminal Mind?†. (2009). Retrieved on July 29, 2010 from MomLogic.com: http://www.momlogic.com/2008/11/casey_anthonya_criminal_mind.php Sheaffer, Bill. â€Å"No Cake for Casey†. (2010). Retrieved on July 29 2010 from Billsheafer.WordPress.com:

Adolf Hitler Caused World War II Essay

As I’m sure most people know Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Germans from August 2 1934 to April 30 1945, but do you know that as Fuhrer of Germany he was the driving force behind the start of WWII. During his reign he tried to bring Germany back to the powerful country it had been before the First World War. In this paper I will prove that Hitler’s actions lead to start of WWII, and I plan to prove how his direct disregard of the Treaty of Versailles pushed the world into WWII. I will begin with a little background on Hitler and what led him to become the Fuhrer of Germany. Hitler was a member of the German army during the First World War and, according to (Kershaw, 2008) after being temporarily blinded from a mustard gas bomb he was sent to Pasewalk, it was there that Hitler learned of the German defeat in WWI. After the war Hitler and the German people held a grudge against the United States and Europe for the passing of the Treaty of Versailles, which stated that Germany was the cause of the war. The Treaty also forced the German people to pay for the damage done during the war. This pushed Germany into a depression that left millions of people without work. This was the first of many reasons that Hitler secretly wished to conquer the European countries of Britain and France. In January of 1933 Hitler was named chancellor of Germany and this marked the beginning of his reign over a country that was in hardship. Hitler began his reign by urging President Hindenburg to pass the Reichstag Fire Decree, which would suspend basic rights and allow detention without a trial. Then after the election on March 6, 1933 Hitler brought the Enabling Act to a vote, and by using the Reichstag Fire Decree was able to garner the two thirds majority vote needed to pass the bill which then gave Hitler full legislative power. By doing this Hitler showed that he would do anything to assume the role of leader. This was just another step that was unknowingly leading Germany to war. Then in 1934 according to (Kershaw, 2008) Hitler executed the â€Å"Night of the Long Knives† which was the capture and killing of the entire SA leadership. Then a month later President Hindenburg died, which made Hitler the head of state. This allowed him to control all aspects of Germany, and also allowed him to start rebuilding the military forces that had been ordered to disband with the passing of the Treaty of Versailles. This was probably the biggest step thus far that would send Germany to war yet again. Along with that he had personally taken over as leader of the military when Werner von Blomberg had openly told Hitler that he disagreed with him about having the military ready to go to war as soon as 1938. (Shire, 1960) Over the next few months he had stripped 16 generals and had 44 more transferred because they were believed to not be sufficiently pro-Nazi. On February 3, 1933 during a meeting with German military leaders Hitler said his foreign policy was the conquest of Eastern Europe (Weinberg, 1970), also in 1933 Germany withdrew from the League of Nations, which should have been a warning sign that they were planning something big. This along with the increase of the Wehrmacht (German Army) to 600,000 should have thrown up some red flags to Britain and France that Hitler was up to no go. This was another of Hitler’s direct violations of the Versailles Treaty, yet no one stopped him, instead they let him continue untouched. Then in March of 1936 Germany reoccupied the Rhineland. They also declared an Axis with Italy in 1936. Then in 1937 Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan, yet another red flag. If not for the wounds of WWI still fresh in the hearts and minds of the British and American people I think we might have been able to avert the Second World War. As Hitler continued to grow the military of Germany, and expand their borders back to pre WWI he was slowly pushing the west into action. Hitler did not believe that his army could be defeated and he continued his expansion by annexing Austria in 1938. After that his next goal was to take over Czechoslovakia, but he was met with some force over this one. Czech had signed a treaty with Russia, and Britain and France both said they would defend Czech from the German forces. This angered Hitler, but he knew he could not overwhelm the forces of four different countries, so instead they all met and signed the Munich Pact(library.thinkquest.org/) which allowed Germany to take 50% of Czechoslovakia and leave the other hale untouched. While Hitler was reluctant he agreed, and then after signing the pact he turned around and annexed the rest of Czech. Hitler knew that he was taking a chance by annexing Czechoslovakia, but he believed that if he could take control of Czech he could use their land as a frontline to attack Russia, because he believed that Communism was wrong, and the only way to stop them was by invading and making them part of Germany. Basically Hitler believed that he could take over the entire continent and force them into Nazism. This was a cause for much concern, but it wasn’t until 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland that the declaration of war was made official. In conclusion I believe that all of the actions Hitler took from the start of his reign as chancellor up through his being appointed Fuhrer forced the western European countries to declare war upon Germany and their allies. I believe that if Hitler did not have dreams of world domination and riding the world of all Jews that maybe Germany might have avoided the Second World War, but as we all now know that is not the case. Instead Hitler thought that he had built an unstoppable army, and if not for Japan bombing Pearl Harbor Germany might have even won the war. References 1. Hitler, Adolf (1999) [1925]. Mein Kampf. Trans. Ralph Manheim. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2. Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 3. Shirer, William L. (1960). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: Simon & Schuster 4. Weinberg, Gerhard (1970). The Foreign Policy of Hitler’s Germany Diplomatic Revolution in Europe 1933–1936. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. 5. http://library.thinkquest.org/CRO212881/annex.html 6. http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/westn/nazi.html 7. http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/projects/hitler/hitler.htm 8. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/adolf_hitler