Since the beginning of mankind, we have reached many great achievements. We have developed many technologies and theories to solve and explain many of our questions and to improve human life. Through our years of evolution, we have severely increased our own survivability. This has been a great achievement for us, but in the recent decade, overpopulation is becoming a great issue. In the recent years, the rapid increase in population growth has troubled many in the field of political sciences. Scientists like Ehrlich have calculated and expected our population to grow even faster if we do not act upon the increasing rate of population growth. The birth rate of our planet is increasing exponentially, meaning that the birth rate has surpassed the death rate and that the rate of growth will only increase if left alone. The politics of population is a debate that involves both the fields of sciences and moral and ethical considerations. Science may provide an insight of …show more content…
Nowadays a prime example of one such policy is the past one child policy in China. Overpopulation has been an issue in China and the Chinese government has executed their own solution on this issue. The usefulness of the one child policy has been debated but data shows that it has in fact decreased the population during the time it was active. Birth control policies might be a viable solution to the current crisis of overpopulation but many argue that it would be unethical. The situation of China’s overpopulation can be very different from the US situation as well. The American people have much more control with their own personal liberty laws and many argued that a policy that restricts the amount of children our families can have would violate our human right to reproduce. However, birth control policies are not the only
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.
Can you imagine if a one-child policy was enforced in the U.S.? It would not go over well. That is exactly what happened in China in 1980 and lasting thirty-five years until 2015. In 1980, under communist rule, China’s leader devised the one-child policy. Communism is a political theory that everything is publically owned. Communism has a reputation of not working. The one-child policy stated that parents of Han ethnicity were allowed to have only one child. It was established because of a famine China had suffered due to the large population. Famine is the widespread scarcity of food. China’s one-child policy was a bad idea for three reasons, it was not needed, it created a gender imbalance, and it created an age imbalance.
Population expansion has been a serious problem to the human society for a long time because the resources and spaces of the Earth are limited. China, as the third largest country in the world, has one fifth of the world population. Chinese people used to believe that a larger population meant a stronger country. Therefore, from 1962 to 1980, which is the China’s baby boom, the population of China grew from 665 million to 981 million. The sharp population increase brought a series of problems, like environmental pollution, traffic congestion and shortage of water and food supplies. To reduce the population growth rate, in 1979, the Chinese government implemented the famous One-child Policy. This policy was planned as a short-term program, but it is still in use till now because of the successful prevention of about 400 million births. Meanwhile, the One-child Policy has been judged as a violation of human rights and a demographic disaster which brings gender imbalance, aging of the population and manpower shortage. On one hand, it truly lowers the birth rate and population growth rate of China. However, on the other hand, the One-child Policy has already done harm for the Chinese society. Although this policy seems to be undermining the right of procreation of millions of Chinese women, it is still the worst good idea that the Chinese government could have to keep the population down.
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...
If you were a government official, and your country’s population growth was on the verge of causing major complications, what would you do? Government officials in China created a policy (that was introduced in 1980) called the One Child Policy. This is a policy created to control population growth by only allowing people of Han Chinese descent to have one child. However, minority ethnic groups could have two or three children. The One Child Policy that was put into place was a good idea because it prevented a strain on dwindling resources, benefited the environment, and advanced education while challenging gender norms.
Among the fears of many environmentalists is that of overpopulation. Acutely aware of the finite resources that the planet possesses and the limitations of renewable resources, there are concerns that the planet may soon reach its maximum caring capacity. Since the First Great Transition ten thousand years ago, the planet has experienced an astounding increase in population. Generations later, the planet is beginning to feel the effects of continual population expansion. Over the years, numerous methods have been proposed or adopted to ensure that the Earth will not exhaust its resources. One of the most frightening adapted solutions was the eugenics movement.
In today’s society, life is based off of many different choices. The choices you make in life could have a strong impact on anything and everything in your life! Imagine being put in a life changing situation and not having a say in whether or not you want to experience it. Having a baby is a prime example of a life changing situation and there are debates that argue if it is an experience that should be mandatory for those involved. In other words, several arguments have been made about women and their right to abortion. The definition of abortion is “to terminate a human pregnancy,” which is usually performed in the early stages of the pregnancy. Abortion is a controversial topic that many find difficult and uncomfortable to discuss. Most
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.
The human population growth rate is an alarming issue that brings with it irreversible consequences, that will likely effect the way of life for future generations to come. With the serious incline in population statistics comes catastrophic processes such as global warming and deforestation that have major ‘knock on’ ramifications. It’s issues such as these that need to be considered when we think about the growth of the human population, and we must take into account why these issues are occurring. We must also explore the options available to us that may assist in limiting the problems, or eliminating them all together, to provide a better place, not only for us in existence now, but also those who will walk this earth in the future decades and centuries to come.
Over population has been a global issue for decades. Medical advances have made it possible for people to live longer and have multiple births, which are just some of the factors contributing to this social problem. Many countries have attempted to battle this issue, but none as intensely as China. China allows the government to have full control over family planning to help reduce the population. In 1979 China created a policy called the "One Child Law" which limits couples to only one child. Although the Chinese government hopes to curb the population boom and benefit society, the One Child Policy has morally questionable results, negative impacts on Chinese society, which should be changed.
Human population growth was relatively slow for most of human history. Within the past 500 years, however, the advances made in the industrial, transportation, economic, medical, and agricultural revolutions have helped foster an exponential, "J-shaped" rise in human population (Southwick, Figure 15.1, p. 160). The statistics associated with this type of growth are particularly striking: "Human beings took more than 3 million years to reach a population of 1 billion people...The second billion came in only 130 years, the third billion in 30 years, the fourth billion in 15 years, the fifth billion in 12 years..." (Southwick, p. 159). As human population has grown, there has been simultaneous growth within the industrial sector. Both of these increases have greatly contributed to environmental problems, such as natural resource depletion, ecosystem destruction, and global climate change. Also linked with the increasing human population are many social problems, such as poverty and disease. These issues need to be addressed by policy makers in the near future in order to ensure the survival and sustainability of human life.
Seven and a half billion. Enough steps to walk around the globe a hundred and sixty times. Our planet is trying to provide and sustain for a colossal number of people which is expanding every single second. Now the concern that has been put forth by scholars come from the idea that the consumption and effects to our planet by our current society is an international security risk that greatly compromises the future generations. Confucius even mentions this at the earliest start of civilization by saying:
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 around 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 than we can produce.
One of the problems facing our world is population. It began about ten thousand years ago when the humans settled and began farming. The farming provides more food for the people thus making the population grow. Now we are about 6 billion in population and in a few years we will be around 10 to 11 billion. Therefore, our population will almost double in size. This means that we will need more food to support us. A study in 1986 by Peter Vitonesk, a Stanford biologist, showed that the humans are already consuming about 38.8 of what is possible for us to eat. Thus, if the population keeps increasing, the percentage will increase also, making us closer and closer to the biophysical limits. By studying the earth's capacity, Dr. Cornell, another biologist, believes that we are already crowded for this would. He believes that our world can only support two million people. Not only this, but population can cause complicated problems to the countries with very high population. These countries will need more schools to educate its people, they will need more hospitals and public health to take care of their people, and they will need more water and more soil for farming to feed all the people. In order to solve the population growth problem, the people should be educated. Once the people are educated they will be aware of the problems they ca...