According to the World census, as of 2012 there are seven billion people on planet Earth. Currently the weight of the population is relatively close to 300 million tons. All seven billion are contributing to an ever evolving world such as: technologically, medically, socially, and economically. Unfortunately having such luxuries at our fingertips it is only natural to take things like electricity and even water for granted, we are not looking at what will happen in the long run as a result of everyone using these things at their own personal leeway. In some places birth rates are very high as it is in Africa, which has the highest birth rates in the world, mostly due to lack of family planning knowledge and safe sex awareness. Interestingly, the growth from six to seven billion people things have actually slowed a bit, but that doesn't mean they won't pick back up again maybe very soon. And with that fact some argue that overpopulation and over depletion of natural resources won't be a big issue in the future. But the bigger question we seem to be facing is whether or not humanity really wants to risk this issue based on the few reporters and scientist that say so? In order to be successful we are going have to take various precautions and steps in order to preserve our natural resources we rely on such as incentives or rewards to families to keep our population from spiraling to a number that we can't control or sustain.
The needed number of children women need to have in order to sustain a reasonable and manageable population is 2.1 live births per woman. Currently, there are many countries including the U.S, that exceed that level of sustainability. On the contrary in many European countries the birth rate is declining. Rese...
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Mason, Melinda. "Oh, the Humanity: Is the Threat of Overpopulation Still a Big Deal?" Scientific American Global RSS. Earth Talk, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 May 2014.
Dems, Kristina. "The Loss of Natural Resources Issue & Impact of Human Activities." Bright Hub. Bright Hub Media, 18 Apr. 210. Web. 22 May 2014.
... provides us with information to put the “panic” over population into perspective. She addresses both the benefits and side effects of family planning and that population growth can have environmental concerns. Whether offering an opinion or presenting an academic writing or investigation, each author has left the reader with a great deal to consider in regards to the relationship between population control and a growing population.
“We are burdensome to the world, the resources are scarcely adequate for us.” Tertullian, a philosopher from the third century had said this about our world when the population was mere 200 million. This statement can be taken two different ways. The first would be to think that our resources are limited and we need to be worried. The second would be to say people have been worried about overpopulation forever but everything seems to have worked out. There is no doubt that there are many people inhabiting this earth but the real question is if too many of us is a real threat to humanity.
In Anthony Barnosky and Elizabeth Hadly’s Tipping Point for Planet Earth, one of the many dangerous trends they bring up is the issue of overpopulation. At our current rate, we are expected to reach an estimated population size of over twenty-seven billion by 2100. Along with this massive increase in population size is an expected rise in food shortages, an increase in over populated cities like Delhi or New York, increase in life expenses, and overall loss of quality of life. In order to combat these potential dangers due to overpopulation, Barnosky and Hadly suggested that there are three ways to go about doing so. The first and worst of the three is a global catastrophe which would wipe out a majority of the population, whether that be
In today’s society that we live in, there are countless of environmental problems that we face, such as global warming, fishing, pollution, and many other topics of that matter. These issues have affected our environment for the worse and have caused problems physically and economically. Yet, out of all the issues that effects our world on a daily basis, it is shown that overpopulation is one if not, is our biggest issue in our environment that is only getting worse due time, especially due to the rapid growth of the human population and the limited resources that are left on earth that we absolutely need to tend to our growing population. Even Dr. Charles A. Hall, who is a systems ecologist, states that, “Overpopulation is the only problem, If we had 100 million people on Earth or better yet 10 million, no others would be a problem.” Which helps prove that overpopulation is a major issue that we must act upon if we want to save our world.
The human population has increased by 4.5 billion since the last sixty years (Engelman 1), this tremendous growth in the human population has startled numerous individuals. As a matter of fact, the biosphere’s population of humans is expected to grow additional, resulting in a total of nine billion by 2050 (Pearce 1). Some individuals may see this as a concern for the planet, whereas others assume that there are other more imperative hitches that humans should deal with. Although Erle C. Ellis agrees that overpopulation is not a problem for this planet, conversely, Fred Pearce and Joel Kotkin argue that there are other more vital problems to mend; unlike Ellis, Robert Engelman disagrees, proclaiming overpopulation
Overpopulation has become a drastic issue, for no one knows how many people the earth
The world as we know it is slowly being depleted of its natural resources. Habitats are being destroyed, and wildlife animals are facing extinction, these are just a few of the effects of over population. Over population not only affects nature and the planet but the human way of life. Imagine a world where the water is polluted, the soil produces no crop and the air is so toxic that we can’t breathe; this is where the world is heading. Due to the fast growth of people, humanity itself faces great danger. There are solutions to over population such as Family planning and sexual education.
The past many decades have revealed a dramatically large increase in the global population. For example, the population increased from about 2.5 billion in 1950 to over 7.3 billion in 2015. This huge increase in population resulted in a need for many changes to be made in society. Global population growth is leading to deep changes in the demographics, economies, ecology, health, and governments of the world.
There are many issues today that pose a threat to our way of life as we know it. Overpopulation is a serious problem that will eventually have an extremely negative effect on our countries, and our planet. The problems that come about due to overpopulation could prove to be a fatal epidemic that will eventually wipeout the entire human race. Oftentimes this issue is overlooked due to lack of knowledge and understanding of the subject, or, simply because most of us are not affected first hand by the problems it is causing right now. Overpopulation, is an enormously serious global issue that should be identified, and controlled immediately.
“If we do not voluntarily bring population growth under control in the next one or two decades, the nature will do it for us in the most brutal way, whether we like it or not.” - Henry W. Kendall. This quote is just a small factor of what overpopulation around the world is doing. Each and every single day more and more people are born into this world, and the population increases rapidly every second. For example, the population right now in the United States is approximately 325 million people. The population in India today is about 1.25 billion people. The country with the largest population in the world right now is currently India, with 1.35 billion people, and China is not that far behind. With overpopulation in the world, there are less natural resources around the world, because all of the farmland is being taken up by new housing, buildings, and factories. Another problem it causes is air pollution. With all the factories being built, so many
Stancheva, Tina. "Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment." Human Nature, Technology & the Environment. Swarthmore College Environmental Studies, 6 June 2003. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
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
Overpopulation is going to continue to be a growing problem all over the world unless we come together and help each other out. This is a difficult task but it can be dealt with. This is the most important environmental issue because it leads to many others. It leads to loss of species, shortage of land, lack of resources, deforestation, health issues, pollution, and famine. Overpopulation is a growing problem we can stop. The only way this is going to be stopped is by humans taking action and trying to help each other.
About ten years ago while in a science museum, I saw a counter that estimated what the world population was at that given moment. Innocuous at first glance, since a number in excess of five billion is difficult to comprehend, what became alarming after watching the counter for a minute was the continual increase in the population. Thinking about the circumstances related to the population rise logically made the problem seem apparent. The earth is finite both in terms of physical size and in resources but the population is growing towards an infinite value. At some point the steadily rising population will move from being a problem that is geographically distant to one that is immediate and more salient than just an increasing value on a faceless counter.
Westing, Arthur H. "Overpopulation and Climate Change." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .