Introduction
"One would have thought that it was even more necessary to limit population than property...The neglect of this subject, which in existing states is so common, is a never-failing cause of poverty among the citizens; and poverty is the parent of both revolution and crime." This quote did not come from any professional doomsayer or modern writer, or even an ecologist or a historian. Aristotle said this, though he lived in a time where the population was four percent of what it is today. People have been worried about overpopulation since the period before Christ. This makes you wonder how something as serious as overpopulation got so far out of hand. So out of control, in fact, that overpopulation could be the biggest threat to life on this planet. The reason is because overpopulation is downplayed, and is buried in the list of all the other environmental issues. Some specialists have researched why population control is still a taboo subject. They look into why still so many argue that overpopulation is not serious, and anyone why believes that there are too many humans, is misanthropic pessimist. I will answer the question: How and why is overpopulation ignored, and what actions should be taken?
I will examine the manner in which publications and politicians avoid placing a proportionally accurate amount of blame on overpopulation for the global crises, as well as create connections that strengthen existing arguments. Then I will move on to the reasons why the media, the government, and environmental NGOs deny addressing the problem of overpopulation. In this paper I will argue that this topic is extremely neglected and has been put off for far too long. Also I will contribute to this topic by making connections that ...
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...hicago Public Media & Ira Glass. “Hot In My Backyard”. This American Life Produced by WBEZ Chicago. distributed by Public Radio International. 17 May. 2013.
Kaiman, Jonathan. "Time running out for China's one-child policy after three decades." theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 1 Feb. 2014. Web. 3 May 2014. .
Greene, Margret, Joshi, Shareen, Robles, Omar., By Choice not by Change- Familt Planning, Human Rights, and Development, New York , UNFPA, 2012. Print.
Paul R. Ehrlich, The Population Bomb (New York: Ballantine Books, 1968). Prologue.
Reed, Sarah O. The Publication of Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb by the Sierra Club, 1968: Wilderness-Thinking, Neo-Malthusianism, and Anti-Humanism. Thesis. Wesleyan Univeristy, 2008. Middletown: Honors College, 2008. Web.
Garrett Hardin argues a very harsh thesis. In his article Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor, he states nations must protect their resources and leave others to fend for themselves. While Hardin does come across strongly in his opinions, his concern about overpopulation is most definitely reasonable. Hardin supports his argument by using the example that if we do not protect ourselves there will be nothing left for the future generations.
Many people believe that unless some sort of population control is put into place, we are all doomed. Well, Stephen Rooney is not one of those people. Not only does not believe we need population control, but he also states that growth has come to an end. In his article, he points out that developed countries are actually declining in population(Rooney). Germany’s population could drop 20% by 2050, Italy needs 2.2 million immigrants per year to hold put, and Japan’s population could be down anywhere between 17% and 25% in 2050 based on current trends (Rooney). Some people state that overcrowding in poorer areas of Africa cause big problems. Well, if this is true, than how do people explain the fact that areas such as developed Western Europe, where there are more people per square mile (429), are better off than these countries in Africa that have 65 people per square mile?(Rooney). The point trying to be made is that it does not seem as if population is the problem but rather, something else. And if population is not an issue, than there is no need to regulate it.
In Anthony Barnosky and Elizabeth Hadly’s Tipping Point for Planet Earth, one of the many dangerous trends they bring up is the issue of overpopulation. At our current rate, we are expected to reach an estimated population size of over twenty-seven billion by 2100. Along with this massive increase in population size is an expected rise in food shortages, an increase in over populated cities like Delhi or New York, increase in life expenses, and overall loss of quality of life. In order to combat these potential dangers due to overpopulation, Barnosky and Hadly suggested that there are three ways to go about doing so. The first and worst of the three is a global catastrophe which would wipe out a majority of the population, whether that be
... take on their true responsibilities and to practice their rights. The Family Planning Policy made its mark in history from the early 1900s to present day, causing a dramatic change in population numbers.
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.
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.
Overpopulation has become a drastic issue, for no one knows how many people the earth
The realization of the world's population crisis is creating new and disturbing ideas by many people to solve our over population problem. Many ideas are being condoned as well as being criticized. Examples set by other countries such as China and India should help the United States establish a policy that is moral and can solve over population, if there is a problem at all.
The first consequences for the overpopulation is the over consumption of the global resources and this includes the Earth’s fresh water, fossil fuels, food, arable land, energy, and frontier forests. According to Norwich University (n.d.), by 2050 and 2030, the world will experience water, food, and energy supplies, which means 66% of the global population will live with a lack of water so they need more water, more food, and more energy (p. 2). The deficiency of resources will lead to competitions between countries for natural sources, which is a reason for having wars. Another effect by overpopulation is that expensive life which leads to poverty and unemployment people. As Norwich University (n.d.) noted, “If the threats of overpopulation are not solved 3 billion people will be living in poverty” (p.
Every minute of every day our world’s population is growing. It is growing at a rate of 1.13% annually with an estimated population change of 80 million people per year. Despite the popular stance taken by most that efforts to reduce human population growth are necessary, it goes against human freedom and denies people their rights to make decisions about family size on their own. However, family planning and other measures to prevent major population growth should be put in place, specifically in underdeveloped countries where people generally have large families. Limiting population growth by putting laws in place have not been successful in the past, for example, in China with their one child policy. These rules and laws also cause population
We as individuals do NOT understand the problems with overpopulation. We do not take the time or the effort to be educated enough; therefore we do not help in the prevention of future problems to keep our society as it is now.
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.
Human population growth is the leading factor we have in place to sustain a more perfect ecosystem for future generations. Over development has led to extinction, habitat loss and climate change that scars the Earth and will never be recovered again. According to the Center for Biological and Diversity we are adding 227,000 more people on top of the 7 billion everyday which is causing species to disappear 1,000 to 10,000 times faster than the rate of natural selection. It is time we get over our greed, religious biases and having more children equal’s more money mentality. The Earth and its ecosystem should be protected by every individual to keep it as pristine as the day they were born to pass off on future generations to inherit.
...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.