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Overpopulation effects on the environment
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The Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment
The world population reached 6 billion, on October 12, 1999. It will
reach 9.3 billion by 2050. The impacts of continued population growth
are already felt by a majority of nations. Overpopulation is the root
cause of most environmental problems. The demands of increasing
population magnify demands for natural resources, clean air and water,
as well as access to wilderness areas. This means an increase in the
demand for living space. The quality of life for future generations
depends on stabilising both domestic and world population.
The dramatic rise, in population has transpired for several reasons;
1) Decreasing death rates in poorer countries, due to medical
enhancements, better nutrition and improved sanitation.
2) Modern agricultural methods, can now sustain the level of food
production, with the level of food demand.
3) High mortality balanced by a high birth rate led to stable
populations before the rapid growth in the eighteenth century (the
introduction...
The increase of population deals with the sustainability of resources being produced and maintained in order to serve the people, as well as keeping the environment stable. carrying capacity of the vehicle. If the carrying capacity has exceeded the resources available, naturally the population will decline, and the environment will collapse until it is able to restore itself. This affects the climate, weather, and geography, which also impacts the way people function in society. For instance, Smithfield’s is a prime example of an environmental disturbance.
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
Overpopulation does not only affect humans and put a greater risk of getting in a vehicular wreck caused by a deer running out in the highways and interstates, but it has tremendous effect on environmental
In 1994, the world population was 5 602 800 000. This population had a doubling time of only forty-one years (De Blij and Muller, 1994, p.527). The massive amount of people has had highly destructive impacts on the earth’s environment. These impacts occur on two levels: global and local. On the global level, there is the accumulation of green house gases that deplete the ozone layer, the extinction of species, and a global food shortage. On the local level, there is erosion of soils (and the loss of vegetation), the depletion of water supply, and toxification of the air and water. The earth is dynamic though, all of these aspects are interrelated, and no one impact is completely isolated. All of these destructive elements can be traced to our enormous population. As the population increases, so do all of the economic, social, and technological impacts.
One of the most controversial political issues of today is illegal immigration. Illegal immigration describes the long-term shift of populations across national borders without complying with the legal requirements. Many people are crossing the United States borders illegally to find better jobs, escape political persecution, and to help out families back home. Some Americans are against this movement of immigrants. One problem is because of the damaging effects to the United States environment, another is the amount of money needed to clean up the waste that is being left behind. Illegal immigration not only hurts the economy, it is also taking its toll on the environment. Illegal immigration damages the environment when the illegal immigrants build fires, litter, pollute our natural water sources, and abandon their automobiles.
Did you know, according to the “Pet Statistics” from ASPCA, there were about 5,000 animal shelters in the United States? In those shelters, about 5-7 million animals were rescued each year and approximately 3-4 million of them were euthanized. That was nearly half to the animal rescued. In other words, thousands of animals were euthanized daily. However, many of these euthanized animals were healthy, treatable, and adoptable pets. What caused these adoptable companions to be euthanized in animal shelters? The major cause was the overpopulation of animals without a home. Moreover, the irresponsible owners and breeders that did not sterilize their animals caused the overpopulation of animals.
With Australia’s population rapidly nearing 23.5 million people, the issue of sustainability and the number of people Australia can allow to live comfortably without significant damage to the surrounding environment is extremely important. The misconception that Australia is underpopulated with plenty of room to accommodate the worlds rising population is widespread. With the majority of Australian land being arid and inhospitable, finding available land and resources to accommodate a rising population is placing a huge amount of pressure on the Australian environment. Australia’s population growth consists of two main components; births minus deaths and net migration. While Australia’s birth rate sits at 1.9, lower than the 2.1 needed to replace our aging population, our expanding population comes from overseas migration accounting for around 60 per cent of our growth (Department of Immigration and Border Protection). Currently the total migration rate is set at 210,000 people per year making Australia’s population quickly on the rise. This poses an important discussion regarding the impacts of such a rise and if there is a specific number that constitutes a sustainable Australia regarding population. The issues that may come to pass as a result of overpopulation are great and varied. These include and are not limited to; resource shortages, social conflict, overcrowding, pollution, habitat and biodiversity loss and a lowering in national health standards. The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has put forward arguments opposing a rising population due to the predicted environmental damage we would face as an outcome. A few of the main problems associated with an unconstrained population are outlined in this essay.
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 of 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, human’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.
Humans have greatly impacted the global environment. Throughout the course of history, human populations have rapidly increased. Especially in Africa, these numbers have reached extraordinary proportions. Out of all the continents in the world, Africa’s population is increasing the most. The type of growth here is exponential. “Overpopulation is a condition when an organisms numbers exceeds the carrying of its ecological niche.” The growth rate of a population is equal to the birth rate minus the death rate. Therefore, for overpopulation to occur, the birth rate must surpass the death rate (Wiley). The current population of Nigeria is estimated to be 155,215,573. Most of the population consists of the younger generation. More specifically, 41% of the population is between the ages of 0-14. 56% of the population is between the ages of 15-64. However, only 3.1% of the population is 65 and over. This age group represents a very small part of the population. (CIA)
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.
Stancheva, Tina. "Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment." Human Nature, Technology & the Environment. Swarthmore College Environmental Studies, 6 June 2003. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
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.
Overpopulation and Personal Responsibility Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve dreamed of having a large family when I was older. I envy 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 mind still faces a looming dilemma. With my knowledge of the negative impacts caused by overpopulation, how can I deliberately have a large family, while upholding my environmentalist values?
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.
There are various systems in handling population rates and its various issues that connect with threatening our environment. The population and environment debate will forever be a back and forth problem because there is possibly no way to completely stop carbon emissions but ease its production. To help the environment, we must incorporate all potential solutions in governing population such as family planning and governmental involvement and practice renewable resources and stop on using nonrenewable resources, as well as ways to tackle overconsumption to support our corrupting environment.