What if one day there was too many people living on planet Earth, using up too much of it’s resources? Overpopulation though is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the condition of having a population so dense as to cause environmental deterioration, an impaired quality of life, or a population crash.” Ever since the 18th century, the theory of overpopulation has been a problem on many minds. There is a huge gap for the number of individuals compared to relevant resources here on earth, such as the water and essential nutrients needed to survive. This issue results from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates, an increase in immigration, or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources. All these idea about mankind …show more content…
That 's about 220,000 per day.” (Institute for Population Studies) Because the human race is producing faster than resources, there is not enough food sources, clean drinking water, and good air quality to be provided to everyone. “About a billion people go to bed hungry each night, and every day 25,000 people die from malnutrition and hunger-related diseases.” (Institute for Population Studies) Along with hunger many people also suffer from dehydration. About a billion people lack access to sufficient drinking water, agriculture and sanitation. The food production and distribution could catch up only if, our population stopped growing, or dropped down to a sustainable level. Our supply of freshwater is also running out, and demands are roaring high in population. Food and water alone won’t keep the human population alive. In many regions of the country, childhood asthma rates have risen dramatically in the past 20 years. “Children in undeveloped countries, where people depend on burning wood and dung for their heat and cooking are also at risk.”(Institute for Population …show more content…
If people learn how to have sex safely and protected than the consequences of having an unwanted baby can be prevented. With less accidentally pregnancy, the population of babies can decreases. Human population growth and overconsumption are the beginning of environmental issues, such as species extinction crisis, habitat loss and climate change (Biological Diversity). Right now, the current world population is about 7.4 billion with an increase of one baby per second. With this, the Endangered Species Condoms campaign help gives out condom to sexually active person in America by giving them the access tool to choose how many baby they want. Therefore, you can help make a difference by donating money toward this organization to make a difference on the endangered wildlife species. If you would like to make a difference, go the website biologicaldiversity.org for more
... 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.
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
“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.
A growing population can mean two very different things for a developing nation versus an already developed nation. For example, in developing nations many people live off of less than a dollar a day, with multiple mouths to feed, clothe, and shelter, poverty remains a large looming reality for many people living within underdeveloped nations. Sernau explains these realities, “One billion of the world’s people are in abject poverty, earning less than the equivalent of a dollar a day (see Collier 2007, The Bottom Billion). The United Nations places this group in the category of “extreme poverty.” Another billion earn less than $2 a day, enough to escape starvation but not enough to move out of poverty” (Sernau 21). However, population rates continue to grow throughout developing nations while these same rates continue to drop within already developed nations. Meaning that
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.
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.
However, the idea, that Earth is overpopulated, was questioned by Natalie Wolchover, who claims that “although the population of 7 billion people is an alarming number, is it necessarily overpopulated? (Wolchover)” Wolchover claims that in reality the Earth is not overpopulated, claiming that “scientists think that Earth’s maximum carrying capacity is approximately 9 or 10 billion people,” meaning that the Earth’s current resources and land have the capability to feed and provide necessary resources to a population of 9 or 10 billion people
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
Having a population size that is not dangerously large is the limit where the population size is acceptable and understood as the defined carrying capacity for humans1. Population size and consumption can create stress on the environment through resources and social systems so that the quality of life declines. However some believe that resources can be created by humans and not all need to be replaced and reinvented once depleted, so resource availability may not be declining after all2. Although population growth increases economic growth in further investments of natural and renewable resources, consumption, increased population and limiting factors of carrying capacity will decrease the Earth’s ability to support and sustain us humans.
Every day we interact with our family, friends, in general, human beings, but is that going to be possible for our generations to come as overpopulation begins to significantly affect our way of living? Or will someone come up with an effective way of keeping the population to its limit? Some of us believe that the end of the world will be a catastrophic event; for example, a big asteroid hitting earth or even worldwide famine. Is the truth of it all be that human extinction will be because of our increase in reproduction? There are many factors that could contribute to overpopulation. Even though it depends on beliefs and the research done, some factors that are believed
Experts worldwide are warning that the current global population has exceeded Earth’s carrying capacity, and that current population growth trends are already leading to overpopulation. According to these experts, the effects of overpopulation could exacerbate poverty, unemployment, urban sprawl and lead to serious food and water shortages. As well as stating his position, this author will briefly explore these claims.
¡§The United Nations projects that the global population, currently at 6 billion, will peak at about 10 billion in the next century and then stabilize or even decline.¡¨(popindex.Princeton.edu) A question immediately following the statement, can the Earth feed that many people? It is understood that even if food crops increase sufficiently, other renewable resources, including many fisheries and forests, are already under pressure. ¡§Our food production doubled from 1961 to 1994, but there are still people who go hungry.¡¨ (popindex.Princeton.edu) This is because the human population has increased more rapidly than the food production. One of the well-known economists Thomas Robert Malthus claimed that there was an imbalance between population growth and our ability to produce food. In his famous work, An Essay on the Principle of Population, his principle of population was based on three main points: population cannot increase without the means of subsistence; population invariable increases when the means of subsistence are available; and the superior power of population cannot be checked without producing misery or vice. When taking into account Malthus¡¦s principle of population it is evident that his fundamental analysis of population has been proven right.
Individuals can play a role in helping with the fallouts as outlined in the previous paragraphs though. Whether this is volunteering to help clean up a dirtied beach littered with garbage or switching to a water efficient nozzle so less water is wasted when you shower, these are just a few examples of immediate solutions that can make a collective difference. It ultimately won’t help the issue of overpopulation but can help deter the consequences as in the end, the concern revolves around the ability to sustain our world as more bodies are introduced. Keeping in mind that as society grows, the world makes advancements that work as viable solutions that tackle these problems. There just needs to be a mindset of utilizing more efficient measures into our daily lives right now so that we can make a positive difference. Even if it does not solve the issue in the long run, it does influence those around us and pushes the world towards a common goal one step at a time. It was said by Brundtlan (WCED, 1987) that:
Impoverished countries are suffering because of overpopulation. Overpopulation remains the leading driver of hunger, desertification, species depletion and a range of social maladies across the planet (Tal, 2013). If you look at the world most of the countries that are dealing with these problems it is due to overpopulation. Impoverished countries do not have the money or resources to help them overcome this issue (Tal, 2013). Impoverished countries also do not have the medicine or technology to even prevent the most common of illnesses (Tal, 2013). Malnutrition is also affecting...
This problem of population growth leads to a number of solutions that could have significant implications on the quality of life. Taking no action and allowing population to grow unchecked could possibly risk the entire human species if food or clean water were to become unavailable worldwide. Aiming for zero population growth would in theory maintain the existing quality of life since a stable population would not increase their use of resources. However not all resources are renewable, so scarcities could still occur with a fixed population size. In an extreme case permanent resource depletion under zero population growth could have the same extinction effect that unchecked growth can lead to. Despite the escalating risk of unchecked population growth, technological advances necessitated by the increase in population will at least maintain the quality of life and could possibly improve conditions.