The Problem of Population Growth and the Solution of Population Planning

The Problem of Population Growth and the Solution of Population Planning

INTRODUCTION

Human population growth, overpopulation, and earth’s biological carrying capacity have been concerns of scientists for many years. In 1679 Antoni van Leeuwenhoek estimated that the maximum number of people Earth can support is 13.4 billion and estimates have continued to vary drastically since then (Cohen, 1995). There are many ecological indicators, including desertification and water problems, which point to the likelihood that we are approaching our limit. There are many sub issues within this overall problem that must be addressed in order to work towards solving this problem, including sustainable living, water shortages, etc. However, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the idea of population control as one possible starting point for a solution.

CARRYING CAPACITY

It is important to remember that carrying capacity can change with new technology, different use of resources and better resource management. Carrying capacity can also change in the opposite direction due to a catastrophic event or overexploitation of resources.

As was mentioned previously, there have been many estimates made on Earth’s carrying capacity since 1679. Estimates have varied greatly, ranging from <1 billion to >1000 billion. Currently the UN’s projection is that Earth can support around 9 billion people (www.prb.org). It is expected that the human population will reach that size by 2050. The current world population is around 6.3 billion. So, many believe that this is becoming, and has been, an imminent problem.

According to Cohen, there have been six different methods that have been used to estimate Earth’s human carrying capacity....

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