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Is overpopulation an environmental problem
Social problem of overpopulation
Social problem of overpopulation
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Until recently, the term “population growth” has always been regarded in a positive manner; still many people believe that a growing human population results in a growing economy. While many people debate whether a reduction in our total numbers is necessary, others debate what the effects would be. Not only does our population affect the economy, but also our environment, education, quality of life, and everything around us depends on how we react to this growing problem. Our population is growing and we must decide how we will react and what effects our actions will have.
Many researchers and writers have differing views on whether population reduction is necessary, Ozzie Zehner, author of “The Environmental Politics of Population and Overpopulation,” makes valid arguments using his own research into the field. Zehner states that the nonprofit Optimum Population Trust advocates for the reduction of human population to one and two billion people, allowing each inhabitant to live at a high standard of living. Although this claim seems drastic at first, Zehner defends why we need this extreme reduction through research into the effects of a growing population. He claims that our population is like a Ponzi scheme, whereby an increase in the number of children each generation is required to support the older generation, also most growth comes from developing countries. This is an interesting point that he makes because it appears true on the surface, and Ponzi schemes have negative connotations attached to them. Zehner believes that because of this a reduction in our population will not be so simple. He states that even if the global birth rate were to decrease from the current average of 2.6 children per couple to 2.1 children pe...
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...ovement of other non-direct issues. If we do not choose to solve this crisis voluntarily, then nature will do it for us, with a much more extreme and devastating outcome.
Works Cited
Ellis, Erle C. "Overpopulation is Not the Problem." New York Times: n. pag. 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.
Fougère, Maxime, and Marcel Mèrette. “Population Ageing and Economic Growth in Seven OECD Countires.” Economic Modelling 16.3 (1999). CrossRef. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
Heinberg, Richard. "The Shrinking Pie: The End of ‘Development’?" Post Carbon Institute. Post Carbon Institute, 28 June 2011. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.
Scrivener, Leslie. "Alan Weisman Asks: Can We Voluntarily Reduce World Population Growth?" TheStar.com: n. pag. 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Zehner, Ozzie. "The Environmental Politics of Population and Overpopulation." Academia.edu. Academia.edu, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.
Parfit, Derek (2004). “Overpopulation and the Quality of Life.” In J. Ryberg & T. Tännsjö (eds.), The Repugnant Conclusion. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 7-22.
Garret Hardin’s “Tragedy of the Commons” is an article that identifies the nation’s current problems and predicaments that can’t be resolved through the use of technical solutions. Hardin’s work heavily focuses on overpopulation, a prominent and unceasing issue that significantly distorts and affects the stability of the Earth and the abundance of the planet’s resources. In his article, he mentioned some reasonable and important solutions to overpopulation, but he also explained its downside and how the said solutions may not be ideal and practical. “Tragedy of the Commons” revealed that the human population will continue to flourish and how it will be greatly detrimental to our society unless individuals get the education that they need and
Owens, James (nd). Is Limiting the Population Growth a key Factor in Protecting the Global Environment.
In, The Population Bomb by, Paul R Ehrlich, he explains the problem of population increase, and how there are people everywhere! The feeling of feeling over populated. He talks about how if there are more people then there is more food that needs to be produced then ate. He explains on the rich people becoming wealthier and the poor are going to be even poorer and there is going to be a starvation. Population is doubling every year and how our energy is turning into
Among the fears of many environmentalists is that of overpopulation. Acutely aware of the finite resources that the planet possesses and the limitations of renewable resources, there are concerns that the planet may soon reach its maximum caring capacity. Since the First Great Transition ten thousand years ago, the planet has experienced an astounding increase in population. Generations later, the planet is beginning to feel the effects of continual population expansion. Over the years, numerous methods have been proposed or adopted to ensure that the Earth will not exhaust its resources. One of the most frightening adapted solutions was the eugenics movement.
It is a known fact that the world population is increasing without bound; however, there is a debate if this increase is a good thing or if it will prove catastrophic. The article “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin discusses how the ever-increasing world population will exhaust the world of its natural resources, and eliminate human’s capability for survival. On the other side of the argument is Julian L. Simon who wrote “More People, Greater Wealth, More Resources, Healthier Environment.” This article proposes the theory that with an increase in population, humans’s quality of life is amplified. One particular issue that they both mention and have drastically different views on is the future of agriculture and human’s ability to sustain it.
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.
As many people are already aware, the earth is beginning to become overcrowded with an immense population, which will soon strip the earth of its resources. According to Vivien Cumming, who is a professional author for BBC.com, the United Nations predicted that Earth’s population “could reach 9.7 million people by the 2050s, and over 11 billion by 2100.” This is an extremely detrimental problem because the “planet is not expanding. There is only so much space on Earth, not to mention only so many resources - food, water, and energy - that can support a human population” (Cumming, Vivien). Furthermore, David Satterthwaite, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, reports that there is not enough resources “for everyone’s greed” (qtd.in “Earth - How many people can our planet really support?”).
This problem of population growth leads to a number of solutions that could have significant implications on the quality of life. Taking no action and allowing population to grow unchecked could possibly risk the entire human species if food or clean water were to become unavailable worldwide. Aiming for zero population growth would in theory maintain the existing quality of life since a stable population would not increase their use of resources. However not all resources are renewable, so scarcities could still occur with a fixed population size. In an extreme case permanent resource depletion under zero population growth could have the same extinction effect that unchecked growth can lead to. Despite the escalating risk of unchecked population growth, technological advances necessitated by the increase in population will at least maintain the quality of life and could possibly improve conditions.
That it is not a question of whether or not the countries are being overpopulated, but that developed countries are consuming the most of the world’s resources and that this is why environmental destruction and resource depletion is ensuing. David argues that to solve this issue we must, “reduce waste and consumption, find cleaner energy sources, and support other countries in finding ways to develop that are more sustainable than the ways we've employed.” Personally, I agree with David on his opinions about population growth. I feel that we are so privileged in North America that we have became numb to the thought of many people suffering from starvation and poor living standards. Many of us take for granted the products and resources we are able to utilize and consume on a daily basis. Individuals might think just because it’s happening on the other side of the planet it should not be a concerning issue for them, but it is happening and we just can’t let so many people on the planet undergo these adversities while we, the fortunate few, pretend that it’s not taking place and continue on our lives as if nothing’s happening. It’s not as easy as it sounds though, and I know you’re asking yourself, “What can I do to help?” and “what can I possibly do that will change the lives in developing countries?” The solution to this problem is not the task of one person
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.
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.
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 morality? My stance is that we must include all possible solutions to controlling population, such as family planning and governmental involvement. In addition, discover solutions to use renewable resources and impede exhausting nonrenewable resources, as well as ways to tackle overconsumption to support our corrupt environment. Though several people see large, rapidly growing populations in developing regions as the primary culprit in environmental decline, we need to focus on the costly environmental outcomes of overconsumption among the gradually increasing populations of the developed nations.
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...