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We are polluting the air, water, and land in many ways, and the more people we have, the more pollution produced. If we each cut our carbon footprint in half, for example, (very unlikely, of course) and population doubled, we wouldn’t have accomplished anything. And in reality, we increase our footprint and increase the number of people. We are using up both renewable (e.g., water, food) and non-renewable (e.g., oil) resources and the more people there are, the less there is to go around. Its simple arithmetic: the more people, the less of anything per person. Resource shortages and simple overcrowding within a country makes it look longingly at the resources of their neighbors–and wars often follow. Hitler’s expansion in Europe took place under the heading: Lebensraum: living space. The German people didn’t have enough room in Germany, so they took over neighboring countries. Overpopulation is a problem for both rich and poor countries. While the poor countries tend to have higher birth and growth rates, the rich ones use more resources and create more pollution per capita. In looki...
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.
Pollution in Canada is not as bad as some other countries around the world, but it is becoming a more pressing issue day by day. Depending on where you live in Canada you might not see the effects of pollution as much, however pollution is all around us. From the pollution coming from our cars to the chemical valley in Sarnia, pollution is everywhere. The three main areas of pollution in canada are in the air, water and soil.
Is it right to think that population is a threat to the global environment? Is there indeed a direct correlation between population and environment? Is there such thing as overpopulation and who has the power to say that there is what they called overpopulation? These are some of the questions that are running through my mind. Now, in response to the question “Is limiting the population growth a key factor in protecting the global environment?” I with all conviction say no to that. I believe that it is the behavior of the people and not the population growth itself that affects the environment.
In, The Population Bomb by, Paul R Ehrlich, he explains the problem of population increase, and how there are people everywhere! The feeling of feeling over populated. He talks about how if there are more people then there is more food that needs to be produced then ate. He explains on the rich people becoming wealthier and the poor are going to be even poorer and there is going to be a starvation. Population is doubling every year and how our energy is turning into
and is existing surely because of humans themselves- overpopulation. “Overpopulation is the problem” and causes other externalities such as pollution, deforestation, and a greater handful of biodiversity losses. In addition, overpopulation causes economic and political factors such as more consumption per person and the reduction of resources that can be provided per person. This contributes to the strain on ecological systems and the economic and population growth. With overpopulation, many resources become finite and an umpteen amount of ecosystems are being destroyed. Overpopulation relates to the impact of humans on pollution. Obviously with more human life, there is more necessity for jobs such as factories that give off fumes, automobiles, and the use for burning fossil fuels. In greater extent, this leads to an environmental factor in that it accumulates chemicals in food chains such as mercury, arsenic, and copper. It can lead to political problems as well, when trying to interact with other countries and stop the problem of global pollution and eventually endin...
Malthusian theory also deemed population expansion would have a direct correlation between the environment and its future destruction. The environment is the home not only to humans but also to the wildlife, vegetation, and other living species of the world. “Population will have a very serve, even catastrophic, impact on the natural environment and human welfare (Walker, On Wall Street). Over-populat...
Today we live in an imperfect world where there are so many problems that we face day to day. In The Giver by Lois Lowry, the characters live in a time where all the world problems had been solved, without having to fear of any more arising in their regulated communities. One of the main troubles in our modern setting today is overpopulation. It has led to countless other complications like depletion of natural resources, pollution, and has made large conflicts and wars. Overpopulation in developing countries puts a major strain on the resources that are necessary in order for that country to thrive. “Conflicts over water are becoming a source of tension between countries.” The communities in The Giver also had many problems of their own with overpopulation before they entered Sameness and lived in Elsewhere. “Centuries back. The population had gotten so big that hunger was everywhere. Excruciating hunger and starvation. It was followed by warfare.” In both The Giver and our world today, we have many problems with overpopulation in common.
Air pollution is caused by many things such as car fumes, burning of fossil fuels,
Humans have engaged in war for thousands of years. The earliest recorded instance is circa 2700 BCE. Of course, the fighting extends much further back as this was near the advent of writing. Even Confucius observed "... war checks population growth" speaking in relation to what problems overcrowding would institute (Neurath 6). Tertullian, a Christian author circa 200 CE stated "...pestilence, famine, wars and earthquakes have come to be regarded as a blessing to overcrowded nations, since they serve to prune away at the luxuriant growth of the human race" (8). These two statements, separated by almost 700 years and a vast distance coincide on one major point: that war is a useful tool to govern overpopulation. The ramifications of overpopulation are so great, that it is being reported in multiple news agencies that a "Sixth Extinction" is underway, caused solely by the human's enthusiastic attempts at procreation and manipulation of Earth (Eldredge). In fact, just as population grows exponentially, so did the deaths resulting from war; a trend that continued up until the end of World War II, after which worldwide deaths from war decline dramatically and rest at around one million per ye...
Fewer people mean fewer demands on the environment. With growth in human population, the grasses and animal populations humans used for sustenance did not have time to recover, which turned into humans using the earth's natural resources in an unsustainable manner (class discussion 02.14.03). Humans living in agrarian society do not necessarily use the environment's resources in an unsustainable manner, but the greater the population density, the more land will be needed to support that population in a sustainable manner. As resources become more and more scarce, field owners will be less willing to let land lay fallow (class discussion 02.21.03). Humans then found a "tech fix" with the development of agriculture and the domestication of animals.
We are contaminating the earth with “Pesticides, fertilizers, industrial chemicals and wastes, fossil fuel emissions, and residential runoff have polluted much of our fresh water supply. Thirty-three percent of the lake acreage and 15 percent of the total river miles within the U.S. are so contaminated with mercury, PCBs and other chemicals”(Lehman p15) this is detrimental to our health and we should be more catcious. The effects of overpopulation are rather severe. The first of these is the depletion of resources. The Earth can only make a so much water and food, which is falling short of the existing needs. Most of the environmental harm being seen in the last fifty years is because of the fast development in population on the planet. They are cutting down trees, hunting wildlife in a reckless manner, and causing pollution. It has placed great demands on resources and land, leading to widespread environmental issues in addition to impacting global economies and standards of living. As resources become scarce this creates competitive demands on the vital life-sustaining resources and contributes to an incredible decline in the quality of
This leads to the lack of resources in many areas. When expanding, we create a lot of pollution in the air, water, and land. Pollution affects many human health. Overpopulation is doing more harm than any other environmental issue. Overpopulation also causes many of the other issues we are dealing with.
These differing emphases naturally point to fundamentally different solutions: slow population growth in less-developed nations or change destructive consumption and production patterns in the more-developed nations. This debate, however, assumes a one-step answer to the complex problems created by population pressures on the environment. Both population size and consumption influence environmental change and are among the many factors that need to be combined into credible policy debates.... ... middle of paper ... ...
...contemporary environmental crisis, we are able to gather a concise understanding of issues that are often hard to explain yet alone understand. Wealth has become a power system evoking dualism of the western and third world. Power and quality of life is measured against the wealth of an individual. This is a result of human’s tendency to over utilize and eventually deplete the resources available to them inevitably leading to overpopulation. In the next fifty years, the success of the environmental movement may depend much more on its ability to change ethics and values. Environmental philosophy gives an invaluable lens into the issues of overpopulation by deconstructing complex dynamics within society. By spreading ideas within environmental philosophy to all different corners of the globe then everyone will have a chance to learn how to live rightly in the world.
Efforts to improve the standard of living for humans--through the control of nature and the development of new products--have also resulted in the pollution, or contamination, of the environment. Much of the world's air, water, and land is now partially poisoned by chemical wastes. Some places have become uninhabitable. This pollution exposes people all around the globe to new risks from disease. Many species of plants and animals have become endangered or are now extinct. As a result of these developments, governments have passed laws to limit or reverse the threat of environmental pollution.