Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
overpopulation and its effects on the environment
overpopulation and its effects on the environment
overpopulation and its effects on the environment
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: overpopulation and its effects on the environment
The world can only be home to so many people before it exceeds its limits. The environment has a certain carrying capacity. A carrying capacity is the largest population an environment can sustainably support. This means that the environment can only support so many people long term before it has nothing left to give. With the human population expanding, the environment has to give more in order to support us. The extensive population demands more and more from both the environment and also from society. Global overpopulation is a serious issue in need of a solution.
Children cost a lot of money, and too many of them can result in unemployment and weakened economies. In the United States of America, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one child costs $241,080 to raise for eighteen years (money.cnn.com). This statistic was released in August of 2013. As of early May of 2014, America’s human population is around 322,207,000 people according to worldometers.info. China’s human population as of early May, 2014, is about 1,392,564,400 people also according to worldometers.info. China has the highest human population in all of the world and according to The International Statistical Institute is considered to be a developing country (isi-web.org). To raise a child for eighteen years in China, an estimated cost is near 429,100 Yuan (chinawhisperer.com). This is $68,828.93 in American dollars. The cost of raising a child in American, a developed country, versus China, and undeveloped country, is almost a $172,250 difference. This says a lot about how the two countries use their resources and shows the difference in their economies.
One of many problems with overpopulation is how it is economically harmful in countries and...
... middle of paper ...
...r=0>.
"Developing Countries." Isi-web.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
-web.org/component/content/article/5-root/root/81-developing>.
It Will Cost an Estimated $241,080 for a Middle-income Couple to Raise a Child Born Last Year for 18 Years. "Average Cost to Raise a Kid: $241,080."CNNMoney. Cable News
Network, 14 Aug. 2013. Web. 06 May 2014. .
"The Cost of Raising a Child in Beijing." China Whisper. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2014.
.
"World Population Clock: 7 Billion People (2014) - Worldometers." World Population Clock: 7 Billion People (2014) - Worldometers. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
7.scuhn054Q5WXvFD9uRG9Xw.3&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F>.
The worldwide population is approaching 7 billion and is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 (Baird). This projected population number is down from a once predicted 16 billion (Baird) and while some are not concerned, others are worried about any increase in population. Population growth is discussed in the articles “Too Many People?” by Vanessa Baird; “Population Control: How Can There Possibly Be Too Many of Us?” by Frank Furedi; and “The Population Bomb Revisited,” by Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich. Baird and Furedi concur that a concern for population growth has been around since mathematician Thomas Malthus, in 1798, warned that overpopulation could lead to “the collapse of society” (Furedi). Furedi claims that too much human life is being used as an excuse, by population control supporters, for the world’s current and future problems. Baird tries to discover if “the current panic over population growth is reasonable.” For Ehrlich and Ehrlich the concern over population growth is very real, and they reinforce and support their book “calling attention to the demographic element in the human predicament” (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 63). While taking different approaches to their articles, the authors offer their perspectives on population growth, population control and the environmental impacts of a growing population.
It is clear that China’s one child policy has affected Chinese society in multiple ways. The policy has resulted in corruption in the Chinese government, an abuse of women’s rights, female feticide, and an imbalance in the gender ratio, and potential problems with China’s elderly and younger populations. The Chinese government decided to implement a one child policy in order to counter the effects of rapid population growth. The question to ask is if the benefits of population control really do outweigh the problems the policy has created in Chinese society. It will be interesting to see if the policy continues to affect Chinese culture in the future, and how the changes that have been recently made play out.
China’s attempt at making the lives of their people better simply does nothing but put them in unnecessary pain. The law is cruel and unjust and should have never been put in affect. The one child policy was established in 1979, in an attempt to regulate the out of control population increase. In 1979, when the policy was adopted, the population in China was over 950 million people. Today, in the year 2000, the population has skyrocketed to over 1.3 billion people (Gilmore np ). China is extremely overcrowded and is continuing to grow.Statistics show China’s population is growing at rate where they are eventually going to run out of places to house and feed their people.
With more than 1.3 billion people, China has to think about a solution and find ways to deal with its population explosion. In order to have control over population, in 1970, a policy named China’s One Child Policy was introduced. Mingliang argues that, “China, through the one-child policy, has instituted the most aggressive, comprehensive population policy in the world” (1). This policy limits all families in the Republic of China to have only one child, regardless of the sex: however, within this policy there are some exceptions. It is possible to have two children only if the first child is born with a disability, if parents work in a high risk job, if the couple lives in villages, or if the family is a non- Han, otherwise you are allowed to have only one child. In China, if a family denies this policy, it is penalized by the government. According to Bluett, “these families are slapped with heavy fines and raised taxes and they no longer received free health care because defying the One Child Policy is considered a criminal act” (2). This policy is still effective today, and it has changed the life of the Chinese people in so many ways. China’s one child policy should change because with the implementation of this policy, China has faced a significant gender imbalance, as well as violating basic human rights. Consequently, this policy also has its positive side effects, such as reducing poverty and pushing the government to do something more about women’s rights.
The one-child policy has caused many more issues than it has solved. The restrictions people must follow are causing a lot of the problems. One of the issues is that China will not relax the policy (Olesen 1). By limiting urban families to one child in a family, China is trying to conserve their natural resources and control the population (Olesen 1). The policy has prevented over 400 million births (MacLeod 1). Before conceiving, parents must obtain a birth permit from the government. Under the permit, married couples are allowed to have one child. If they want to have another one, they must apply for permission and must meet certain regulations and conditions (Dewey 4). In China, families who have more than one child are frowned upon. They pay higher tuition, higher daycare fees, higher tax penalties and are faced with discrimination (Dewey 5). Banners hung all around China’s countryside read, “Give birth to fewer babies, plant more trees” and “If you give birth to extra children, your family will be ruined” (Demick 2). Parents who give birth to more children could also be charged a compensation fee for every kid. On the other hand, families who follow the one-child policy are given preferential treatment for jobs, housing and maternity leaves (Dewey 5). There are many regulatio...
China has a large population and the One-Child policy is what the government is using to try to control it. China has a population of more than 1.3 billion people which makes it the world’s most populated country. The world population is approximately 6.7 billion people, which means that China is about 20% of the world’s population, for every five people one is a Chinese resident . Having the One-Child Policy is causing a major gender imbalance in China because males are said to be more valuable to families having children. As well have equal effects on the economy there are shortages of workers also not enough brides for males. Human rights are something that everyone in the world should have and the One-Child policy is against that. The one child policy is bad for china and it has many things going against it in China.
The main purpose of the one-child policy was to control the rapid population growth in China. The majority of china’s people are agricultural farmers. It was traditional to have many children to help out in the families work. The children would later on i...
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.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau the world’s population consists, of more than 7 billion people. China resides as the world’s leading populated country with more than 1.3 billion people. Because, of this over population it maintained fears of their food, resources, and living spaces (International Data Base). The Chinese government then implemented the one-child policy to slow their growing population. The one-child policy has prevailed effectively in slowing down the population growth, but it has caused great anguish among Chinese families.
... overpopulation two countries like China and the United States may have completely different policies on this issue, but yet they both are looking at serious complications because of it. China does have a much larger issue than the United States, but it is evident that if changes aren’t made the roles may be reversed, which unfortunately wouldn’t be good for either one. So despite the different culture, government, location, or history we see that they have both come to face the same issue of overpopulation. They must work to find a good policy that balances in between not violating citizen’s moral rights, but also being realistic about what one country can and cannot allow. This is an issue that everyone is aware of even if they don’t approach it correctly, “Our object must be to bring our territory into harmony with the numbers of our population.”― Adolf Hitler.
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
The developing countries, are the main concerns for overcrowding. 1996 statistics show that 75% of the worlds population live in both Africa (13%) and Asia (63%). The overpopulation in these continents, is so much higher for many different reasons. The main reason being culture. When comparing a continent like Africa, to a continent like North America, there are many different, noticeable, differences. An example of this being the fertility rate. In Africa’s particular culture, having many children equals high fertility rates and this, they believe, is a great blessing from God. Also, here women are not educated, as well as the developed countries, and there is no or very little knowledge of contraceptives.
By 1980, although the birthrate in China has fallen to below 3 children per family, it was believed by a new regime of Chinese leaders which included Deng Xiao Ping, that forced and restricted population growth would lead to greater economic prosperity. This coercive policy influenced the family of the Chinese citize...
China’s one-child policy has interesting origins. Although,” China’s fertility rate began to fall in the 1960’s, there was no national policy aiming for a population of smaller families until 1971. In 1979, “Wan Xi Shao”, a program that encouraged later marriage, longer birth intervals between births and fewer children is what evolved to the well-known “one-child policy”.”(Gilbert, 24) Under the one-child policy, couples are given incentives to have a single child. Couples who pledge to have a single child receive monthly allowances for child support until the child reaches the age of fourteen. “Along with the money received monthly, they are promised more spacious housing and higher pensions for retirement”(Gilbert, 24). However, for those couples who have more than one child, the policy requires them to pay higher taxes and pay for full costs for medical and education. As incentives and disincentives begin to play strong roles in the policy, it has created a massive change in the culture. One of the worst and most known result of the one-child policy is the culture’s increased value of men. It is a policy that has brought infant neglect, sex-selective abortions and sexual discrimination against women. China’s one-child policy is not only a huge violation of women’s rights but, has brought many big problems between men and women in China and should be brought to an end.
Overpopulation is a growing problem all over the world. This is a very important environmental issue and needs to be dealt with. This environmental problem is affecting many countries in the world, but mostly the poor and impoverished countries that don’t have the resources to help deal with these issues. It also affects the environment like plants animal life and air quality. When the population of people expands we need more natural resources from the environment, so we consume more then we can produce. This leads to the lack of resources in many areas. When expanding we create a lot of pollution in the air, water, and land. The pollution affects many humans health. Overpopulation is doing more harm than any other environmental issue. Overpopulation also causes many of the other issues we are dealing with. This is very dangerous to not only us humans but the planet. Even though many wealthy countries are not affected by this overpopulation, I feel like they should help the cause. There is always two sides to an issue like this. Some people don’t think that overpopulation is a big problem and the ones who say it is an issue that needs to be dealt with.