The Impact of Population Growth

1521 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Overpopulation and its effects on the environment

Overpopulation is increasing every year and will eventually consume the planet. According to Nasif Nahle, overpopulation is “a term that refers to a condition by which the population density enlarges to a limit that provokes the environmental deterioration, a remarkable decline in the quality of life, or a population collapse.” People often ignore the subject of overpopulation, but this predicament is the world’s leading problem that society is burdened with going into the future. Unless the human population across the world lowers drastically, the consequences of overpopulation will ensue.
The beginning of the world’s overpopulation has various causes. One of the main causes of the impending overpopulation is recent medical advances. In the past ten years, there has been a lot of progress that allows people to live longer and to fight off more deadly diseases. These recent advances in medical technology, medicine, and health care are resulting in more people living through life threatening illnesses or injuries that they would not have lived through before the medical advancements. Two examples of progress in the medical field would be the treatment of HIV and targeting therapies for the treatment of cancer. The treatment of HIV has come a long way, allowing a person to have a complex regimen of medications to control the virus. Cancer treatments have also had advancements. New targeted cancer therapies help rid people of cancer without harming healthy cells, as chemotherapy or radiation treatments had done in the past (“10 medical advances in the last 10 years”). With all of these new advancements in healthcare, there are more people living through typically fatal diseases and injuries. These people saved by new medical knowled...

... middle of paper ...

.... Department of Commerce, 29 Nov 2013. Web. 29 Nov 2013. .
Vitousek, Peter M., Harold A. Mooney, Jane Lubchenco, and Jerry M. Melillo. "Human domination of Earth's ecosystems." Science277.5325 (1997): 494-499. www.lue.ethz.ch/education/Fowi/Ingbio/lubchenco_II.pdf>. Vörösmarty, Charles J., Pamela Green, Joseph Salisbury, and Richard B. Lammers. "Global water resources: vulnerability from climate change and population growth." science 289.5477 (2000): 284.
Reading%20material/Chapter%201%20-%20Water/Global%20Water%20Resources-Vulnerability%20from%20climate%20change%20and%20population%20growth.%20Science_2000.pdf>.
"10 medical advances in the last 10 years." CNN Health. CNN, 5 Jun 2013. Web. 30 Nov 2013. .

Show More
Related

  • Checking Should Not Be Banned in Hockey

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    "10 Medical Breakthroughs Expected in the Next 10 Years." n. pag. Web. 31 Jul 201

    Read More

  • Owens Valley Tragedy

    1971 Words  | 4 Pages

    Time and time again it has been seen that human interaction with his/her environment and it’s ecosystems has shown to be increasingly arrogant and self-serving. These endless accounts are proven by the amount of important biological diversity that is being lost to the surrounding environment due to these threats of human development and population growth. There are two forms of these losses of diversity by human hand: direct and indirect. Direct losses would be the destruction of an area needed for human requirements be it social or economical. Examples of these losses would be housing, agriculture, and others. Indirect losses would be those caused by the destruction of an area also needed for the same requirements but the area’s commodities which are valued, water, food, land in general, is needed elsewhere. These losses are few in number compared with those of direct losses yet they are of the greatest importance. They are important because they involve the removal of resources of an area in which other inhabitants are dependent upon. A great example of this regrettable indirect expansion is the loss of the rich habitat of the area known as Owens Valley.

    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

  • Population Growth Case Study

    3418 Words  | 7 Pages

    Briefly describe the factors that lead to population growth and potential stabilization. How does human demographics influence population dynamics in more and less developed nations and what might this mean for future population and economic growth? What do you see as the pros and cons of a large human population (brief)? Are there too many or too few people? Why do you think this?

    Read More

  • Ecosystem Essay

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his book ‘Small is Beautiful’, E.F. Schumacher contemplated the theory that during our battle with nature, alleged success for humans may in fact have unforeseen consequences, due to the complex relationship that humans and ecosystems possess. In 2005 the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) published a set of prominent reports, which indicated just how reliant humans are on natural ecosystems. They also demonstrated how we are destroying the planet’s biodiversity, along with the ecosystems upon which we depend.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Population Growth in China

    1744 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thesis statement : Since the population has grown rapidly since in the past Fifty (5) years, how did the Chinese government deal with the population explosion in the past and how will they deal,with it in the future?

    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

  • Population Growth, Industrialization, and the Environment

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    Human population growth was relatively slow for most of human history. Within the past 500 years, however, the advances made in the industrial, transportation, economic, medical, and agricultural revolutions have helped foster an exponential, "J-shaped" rise in human population (Southwick, Figure 15.1, p. 160). The statistics associated with this type of growth are particularly striking: "Human beings took more than 3 million years to reach a population of 1 billion people...The second billion came in only 130 years, the third billion in 30 years, the fourth billion in 15 years, the fifth billion in 12 years..." (Southwick, p. 159). As human population has grown, there has been simultaneous growth within the industrial sector. Both of these increases have greatly contributed to environmental problems, such as natural resource depletion, ecosystem destruction, and global climate change. Also linked with the increasing human population are many social problems, such as poverty and disease. These issues need to be addressed by policy makers in the near future in order to ensure the survival and sustainability of human life.

    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

  • Science and morality

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human technology is constantly evolving, and with it society and medicine must follow suit. Every year, new breakthroughs in the field of medicine award mankind with a few more years of immortality. Scientists are constantly working to solve problems that once posed the threat of imminent death. Over two hundred years ago, the vaccine for Smallpox—one of the world’s deadliest killers—was discovered in 1796 (“CDC”). Since then, humans have been steadily eradicating every threat to individual health. Only last month, December of 2011, researchers from the University of Western Ontario revealed a new HIV vaccine that has been approved for human te...

    Read More

  • Overpopulation Is a Growing Problem

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    Overpopulation is a growing problem all over the world. This is a very important environmental issue and needs to be dealt with. This environmental problem is affecting many countries around the world, but mostly the poor and impoverished countries that don’t have the resources to help deal with these issues. It also affects the environment like plants, animal life and air quality. When the population of people expands we need more natural resources from the environment, so we consume more than we can produce.

    Read More

  • The Problem of Water Scarcity

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Population Growth on the Environment

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our world is too small for our ever rapidly 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 in trying to decrease population to contain global warming and assist our environmental changes. The only way to steadily succeeding, families must be the regulators of their fertility and future. Environmentalism can head in a negative direction, which may result in population control and even anti-immigrant policies. Can the developing effort of ‘population integrity’ protect our world while recognizing birth moralities?

    Read More

  • The Degradation of Ecosystems and Loss of Biodiversity

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    The degradation of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity is increasing at an alarming rate every year. Humans are certainly not the only reason for this, but they are the main contributors. The well-being of ecosystems affects our everyday lives - consumption and consumerism depend on natural resources. Everything humans use is derived from them, in seemingly indirect and direct ways. Yet despite the fact that humans are destroying the environment, many continue to and neglect to take important measures to protect it.

    Read More

More about The Impact of Population Growth

Open Document