The Environmental Impact of Overpopulation

846 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Overpopulation and its effects on the environment

The human population has continued to grow through the decades. The increasingly large number of people that have become apart of the world population has become a major problem. The consequences of the world being over populated has numerous effects which include: Environmental effects, depletion of natural resources, effects on the economy, food and water instability, and mass species extinction. Without a solution to the rise in human population, by the year 2020, 8 billion people will live on earth and by the year 2050, 9 billion people will inhabit the planet. 

Such an increase will bring about an overwhelmingly large usage of the planets resources. This result could bring about massive destruction for humans, animals and the planet.

With solutions to the ever growing population increase, reducing our population to a sustainable level will ensure that all species that inhabit planet earth will have a chance to survive. Solutions to maintaining world population will decrease overcrowding and human poverty. “Solutions to sustaining population growth include: education which warns people about the effects of overpopulation, family planning, sex-education, and health care. These things will allow people to acknowledge the effects of overpopulation, hopefully encouraging world stability.” (Kulkarni)

Overpopulation effects on the environment means big trouble for the earth and the atmosphere. Larger farming practices are being used, along with large amounts of fertilizer. The fertilizer is then washing down into rivers and streams and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Fertilizer draining into the Gulf has killed off life. These places are called dead zones. Fishing has also increased do to mass population growth. Ove...

... middle of paper ...

...world population. There is only one earth and overpopulation can easily destroy it.

Works Cited

Kulkarni, Arjun. “Buzzel.” Overpopulation: Solutions to Overpopulation. Web.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/overpopulation-solutions-to-overpopulation.html

Luce, Aidan. "Helium." The Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment. Web. http://www.helium.com/items/831909-the-effects-of-overpopulation-on-the-environment.

Malka, Stephane . 2010 "Overpopulation." Popular science Vol. 277(Issue 4):-. Retrieved from Academic search complete on Feb 22, 2011

Meredith, Peter . 2010 "How much is too much?." Australian geographic (Issue 100):-. Retrieved from Academic search complete on Feb 20, 2011

Motyka, Skathock. “Helium.” The Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment. Web.

http://www.helium.com/items/688078-the-effects-of-overpopulation-on-the-environment

.

Show More
Related

  • Objections to the Repugnant Conclusion: David Parfit

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    Parfit, Derek (2004). “Overpopulation and the Quality of Life.” In J. Ryberg & T. Tännsjö (eds.), The Repugnant Conclusion. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 7-22.

    Read More

  • Dbq Essay On Population Growth

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Population continues to grow and is expected to reach an all time high in future years. There are tons of different reasons for why population is rising so quickly. In document d, it says, "Every second 5 people are born and 2 people die, a net gain of 3 people. This fact from document d shows one reason why population growth is at all time high. Document d, also states "At this rate, the world population will double every 40 years and would be 12 billion in 40 years, 24 billion in 80 years, and more than 48 billion in 120 years." This will create tons of difficulties, like the amount of food and supplies needed for the world, which will make it nearly impossible for supplies to keep pace with the population growth. Document a shows

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Vertical Farming

    2585 Words  | 6 Pages

    Overpopulation has become a drastic issue, for no one knows how many people the earth

    Read More

  • Overpopulation and the Environment

    2021 Words  | 5 Pages

    Overpopulation drastically affects the standard of living of the people. Not only does it affect the standard of living, it affects the environment as well. The environment has a certain carrying capacity of humans that it can support. When this carrying capacity is exceeded, the environment starts to deteriorate. With a large amount of people, land that can be used as valuable farmland is wasted. Also, with a great amount of humans, there is more waste produced. This waste contaminates local water and spreads disease, eventually leading to the destruction of wildlife. Animals as well as humans have a limited use of water because of the microorganisms and fecal matter in the water. Many ideas have been debated upon to help improve these conditions for both animals and peopl...

    Read More

  • We Must Live A More Sustainable Life

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rising global population is hindering our ability to become sustainable, especially in poorer and developing nations. Empowering women through educational opportunities and family planning programs have been shown to decrease population in developed nations through demographic transition. Even though fertility rates are declining in developed nations, there has been a significant increase in resource consumption, and the consumption of material goods and services (Withgott & Brennan, 2011, Chapter 8). Although population control can be a touchy subject, it should be addressed as a solution to our overconsumption and need for sustainability.

    Read More

  • Essay On Population Extinction

    1827 Words  | 4 Pages

    Humans are very quickly dominating the globe. Today, the human population is around 7 billion people. Humans are populating at a rate of almost 220,000 per day! Humans are rapidly heading towards Earth’s carrying capacity.

    Read More

  • Growth Of Human Population

    1596 Words  | 4 Pages

    The human population growth rate is an alarming issue that brings with it irreversible consequences, that will likely effect the way of life for future generations to come. With the serious incline in population statistics comes catastrophic processes such as global warming and deforestation that have major ‘knock on’ ramifications. It’s issues such as these that need to be considered when we think about the growth of the human population, and we must take into account why these issues are occurring. We must also explore the options available to us that may assist in limiting the problems, or eliminating them all together, to provide a better place, not only for us in existence now, but also those who will walk this earth in the future decades and centuries to come.

    Read More

  • Negative Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment

    2004 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jacques-Yves Cousteau once said, “Overconsumption and overpopulation underlie every environmental problem we face today” (“Population,” Internet). With the current statistics, Jacques could not be more accurate. Every second, 4.2 people are born and 1.8 people die, which would be a net gain of 2.4 people per second (“Population,” Internet). At this steady rate, the environmental health is spiraling downwards, and it is safe to assume humans are responsible for this. As the population increases, harmful effects on the land, water, and air also do.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Overpopulation & Consumption

    3157 Words  | 7 Pages

    The rate of resource production must exceed the rate of population growth, in order for it to continue growing. The question is how do you make that happen when the population is skyrocketing and getting out of control? Our resources cannot naturally keep up with that kind of population growth, which is why advances in technology have modified crops to grow faster in order to keep up with a population’s consumption. Scientists are able to genetically modify food sources such as maize (“Genetically Modified Maize”). Because of this technology, resources can keep up with growing populations and people’s demands are satisfied for the time being (Cantrell). With the increase in production of resources the population can keep inc...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Overpopulation

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the beginning of mankind, we have reached many great achievements. We have developed many technologies and theories to solve and explain many of our questions and to improve human life. Through our years of evolution, we have severely increased our own survivability. This has been a great achievement for us, but in the recent decade, overpopulation is becoming a great issue. In the recent years, the rapid increase in population growth has troubled many in the field of political sciences. Scientists like Ehrlich have calculated and expected our population to grow even faster if we do not act upon the increasing rate of population growth. The birth rate of our planet is increasing exponentially, meaning that the birth rate has surpassed the death rate and that the rate of growth will only increase if left alone. The politics of population is a debate that involves both the fields of sciences and moral and ethical considerations. Science may provide an insight of

    Read More

  • Human Population Growth

    467 Words  | 1 Pages

    Human population growth is becoming a huge issue in our world today. The population is increasing rapidly. The reason that it is becoming a concern is because it has affected the economic, environmental, and social aspects of our world. In the film Frontline: Heat, we can see how there might not be a future for our planet unless we are able to reduce the emissions and make our world a safe place. Not only for the present but also for future generations so that they are able to live long and healthy lives.

    Read More

  • Dan Brown's Inferno: A Bleak Depiction of the Future

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Howmany.org. "Overpopulation:." Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment and Society. Institute for Population Studies, 2009. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • What Is Human Overpopulation?

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over population is a factor in lower life expectancy in fast growing countries. It is projected that in the next 40 years of human growth it will be in less developed areas. This fast population increase will put a strain on that region and make more nonrenewable resources, food, water and housing more competitive which will lead to lower longevity for the native population (Effects of Human Overpopulation). This competition will also lead to less independence and freedom. As populations grow so do the laws that restrict movement in that region. Some examples of this we already see today is water restrictions and gas restrictions such as the 1970’s scare. Another resource that suffers because of overpopulation growth are every day consumables. A study from the website “World Population Balance “was done and stated that if all the 7 billion people consumed as much as the Average American “it would take resources of over five Earths to support all of them.” Each American on average uses biologically productive land totaling near 20

    Read More

  • The Impact of Population Growth on the Environment

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our world is too small for our ever-risingly growing population. One day, resources will run dry and vanish, which will bring death and loss to all nations on this planet. Many researchers and scientists have confirmed that the population will reach 10 billion by the end of the century and will continue to stream upward. There are many different ways of trying to decrease population, contain global warming and assist our environmental changes. The only way to succeed, families must be the regulators of their fertility and future.

    Read More

  • The Problems that Our World Faces Today

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the problems facing our world is population. It began about ten thousand years ago when the humans settled and began farming. The farming provides more food for the people thus making the population grow. Now we are about 6 billion in population and in a few years we will be around 10 to 11 billion. Therefore, our population will almost double in size. This means that we will need more food to support us. A study in 1986 by Peter Vitonesk, a Stanford biologist, showed that the humans are already consuming about 38.8 of what is possible for us to eat. Thus, if the population keeps increasing, the percentage will increase also, making us closer and closer to the biophysical limits. By studying the earth's capacity, Dr. Cornell, another biologist, believes that we are already crowded for this would. He believes that our world can only support two million people. Not only this, but population can cause complicated problems to the countries with very high population. These countries will need more schools to educate its people, they will need more hospitals and public health to take care of their people, and they will need more water and more soil for farming to feed all the people. In order to solve the population growth problem, the people should be educated. Once the people are educated they will be aware of the problems they ca...

    Read More

More about The Environmental Impact of Overpopulation

Open Document