Pollution and Environment Essay - Overpopulation and Personal Responsibility

977 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Environmental effect of overpopulation.doc

Overpopulation and Personal Responsibility

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve dreamed of having a large family when I was older. I envied friends with three or four siblings. I’d proudly tell anyone I was going to have six children when I grew up. Now, I’m a little older, and still far away from making that decision, my conscious will still face a looming dilemma. With my knowledge negative impacts caused by overpopulation, how can I deliberately have a large family, while upholding my environmentalist values?

Over the past few years I’ve found myself paying particular attention to articles about overpopulation, foreign adoption, and infertility caused by environmental factors. The older I get, the more stories I hear of friends and family members having infertility problems. Their only two options are heavy fertility drugs or waiting on long lists for adoption. I have read many articles and books relating infertility to environmental factors. I often wonder if nature is just trying to balance itself out.

At one time, a large family was needed for security or free labor. Now, with the rise of social security, child labor laws, and overall quality of life, children are not a necessity in this country. Some Americans do not realize overpopulation is even a problem. According to the Population Resource Bureau, American population grew by 10% from 1990 to 1999. In addition to the strain on government spending in some cases (through welfare and other support) large families may also have a significant impact on urban sprawl and other environmental issues.

The article Facts, Not Fear, contained a section about China’s strict one child policy. Although arguably necessary in China, as an American I cannot even imagine th...

... middle of paper ...

...f overpopulation.

In our lives, and the lives of our children we have seen and will continue to see the harsh effects of population growth. The projected numbers are scary. Projections show a doubling rate of 51 years for world population at current growth rates. At this pace, our children will see twice as many people who need support from our planet. We each do our own part, however small it may seem, the huge issue may become smaller and smaller. Eventually, either we will stabilize our growth, or nature will do it for us.

References

Cutter, Fenwick and Fenwick. (1991). Exploitatoin, conservation, and preservation, 2nd edition. John White & Sons.

Population Reference Bureau. www.prb.org. 28 March. 2001

Sanera, M. & Shaw, J. (1996). Facts, not fear: a parentâs guide to teaching children about the environment. Washington DC: Regency Publishing, Inc.

Show More
Related

  • The One Child Policy in China

    2851 Words  | 6 Pages

    In 1979, China decided to establish a one child policy which states that couples are only allowed to have one child, unless they meet certain exceptions[1].In order to understand what social impacts the one child policy has created in China it important to evaluate the history of this law. China’s decision to implement a Child policy has caused possible corruption, an abuse of women’s rights, has led to high rates of female feticide, has created a gender ratio problem for China, and has led to specific problems associated with both the elderly and younger generation. Finally, an assessment of why China’s one child policy is important to the United States allows for a full evaluation of the policy.

    Read More

  • Social Welfare: Sucking Off The Tit of America

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    With all the different economic opportunities, it is no wonder some Americans see procreation as a supplemental source of monetary income. During the twentieth century, we propagated the American Dream and placed pressure on Americans to settle down and start families. Prior to the twentieth century, many couples would have children, who would often then become labor assets; children would tend the fields or do various jobs around the home to save the family money by avoiding outsourcing. As the population grew, the laws of supply and demand triggered a need for new technology; this technology made it easier to sustain the population but also made the need for the extra children obsolete. This did not stop Americans from breeding.

    Read More

  • Essay On Childlessness

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many scientist and specifically sociologists are concerned with the population on planet Earth. Many couples today are choosing not to have children. This choice does not just effect the couples personally, however it effects the whole country's demographic. The increase in childlessness among couples generates economic and social problems. Many countries are facing this problem. Hara in a journal article mentions that Japan and Germany are a couple of the countries that are going through childlessness (Hara, 2008).Today, more than 80 countries depend on immigration to prevent the populations from declining, due to the death rate being higher than birth rate. (Becker-Posner, 2013) How will declining birth rates affect demographics in many countries around the world? How will it affect the Global economy? How will it affect societies in different countries; will it raise social and racial tensions? Will it affect relations

    Read More

  • Thomas Malthuss overpopulation theory

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    Overpopulation is a major global crisis because of a number of reasons. Most of the problems we have today, such as ocean depletion, water shortages, water pollution, food shortages, global warming, and air pollution are the effects of overpopulation. The more people there are, the more resources consumed and the more waste created. A child born today in the United States for instance will produce fifty-two tons of garbage and consume 11 million gallons of water by the age of seventy-five. Freshwater, drinkable water is the most critical natural resource to humans. As time goes by, the world’s population expands more rapidly, but there is no more freshwater on the Earth than there was two thousand years ago. Overpopulation has also increased industrial development, which contributes to massive urbanization and rising of living standards. The rising in living standards causes people to consume more, which creates more waste and raises life expectancy, which causes more people to live longer and more people to live in the same place, earth.

    Read More

  • Overpopulation and Over- Consumption in India

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are a plethora of factors that contribute to the exponential growth in the population in the last fifty years. The primary reason of this growth is the result of better living standards over the years. The advancement of technology has improved the medical field, which has resulted in the discovery of new cures for diseases, people being less susceptible to diseases, and overall people living longer. Secondly, there have been fewer wars than in past, which has cause precipitous decline in deaths and greater tranquility in humanity. Another factor that contributes to overpopulation is the mindset that a family must have a boy to carry one the family name. Many countries, especially less developed ones, prioritize males over females because of this reason. Lastly, unwanted pregnancy contributes to overpopulation because of the overall lack of knowledge about sexual relations and birth control in most societies.

    Read More

  • China: Violation of Human Rights

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women of China have their own opinions when it comes to their families, being under a controlled government and being told how many children they can have only makes it harder if them. Also China’s Health Ministry estimates that in the four decades since the imposition of the one-child policy more than 336 million abortions have taken place in the nation. Nora...

    Read More

  • We Must Live A More Sustainable Life

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Withgott, J., & Brennan, S. (2011). Environment: the science behind the stories (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.

    Read More

  • Essay On Population Extinction

    1827 Words  | 4 Pages

    Due to the lack of decency and respect in this generation, society has become very dark. There is poor parenting taking place in this overpopulated world, and it is effecting all the future generations. Teenage parents, are uneducated and unprepared to be to raise a child. They believe they are responsible enough to take on the world and raise a family. Unfortunately, this is false information. Considering they are teenagers, they were unable to get their lives set up for success, and then they make the same parenting mistakes multiple times and end up with a huge family way below the poverty line. For every married couple, two children are all it takes to keep the world’s population at a constant rate. In too many families, there are more than two children, causing to exceed the death rate. In Overpopulation: Causes, Effects and Solutions, Rinkesh Kukreja

    Read More

  • Technology is the Solution to Overpopulation

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Changing Families

    1780 Words  | 4 Pages

    Population information gathered by the U.S. Census bureau provides statistical data illustrating the changing nature of the American family. Though many contemporary families fall into the traditional two parent and child household, census data shows that other categories of families are increasing. Single and unmarried parents, blended, extended, childless couples, same-sex, and individual family units are all increasing. For example, 1960 census data shows that about 9% of children lived in a single parent home....

    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

  • Overpopulation Solution Essay

    1978 Words  | 4 Pages

    Seven and a half billion. Enough steps to walk around the globe a hundred and sixty times. Our planet is trying to provide and sustain for a colossal number of people which is expanding every single second. Now the concern that has been put forth by scholars come from the idea that the consumption and effects to our planet by our current society is an international security risk that greatly compromises the future generations. Confucius even mentions this at the earliest start of civilization by saying:

    Read More

  • Overpopulation Is a Growing Problem

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Statistics

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rosenberg, M. (2010, 11 17). China's one child policy. Retrieved 01 31, 2011, from About.com:

    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

More about Pollution and Environment Essay - Overpopulation and Personal Responsibility

Open Document