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Overpopulation is a problem
Over population crisis
The problem of overpopulation
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Lifeboat Ethics 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. The article starts by describing two different metaphors. First he talks about the spaceship ethic, which is where we should share resources, and then the lifeboat ethic, which is where we should not share our resources. Hardin attempts to discredit the spaceship earth metaphor by suggesting that a true spaceship would be under the control of a single captain; which the world is not. He instead describes the world as being a lifeboat with enough room for a few people inside the boat and the majority in the water begging to get in. His claim is there is only one solution, one lifeboat only allowing room for only a few to get on. Although Hardin’s scenario makes for a great visual and helps me see his point, I am not persuaded. I still have to wonder who decides who gets in the lifeboat and who does not? For this reason, I do not agree with Hardin’s argument. I believe that if countries work together instead of not allowing each other into our so-called "lifeboats" then we could find many solutions to help those in
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.
Singer presents his argument specifically in terms of famine relief and, although it has broader applicability, the discussion mostly falls under this specific topic. Thus, he conforms his argument around aspects relevant to famine and/or poverty when laying out his three core premises.
Garret Hardin’s “Tragedy of the Commons” is an article that identifies the nation’s current problems and predicaments that can’t be resolved through the use of technical solutions. Hardin’s work heavily focuses on overpopulation, a prominent and unceasing issue that significantly distorts and affects the stability of the Earth and the abundance of the planet’s resources. In his article, he mentioned some reasonable and important solutions to overpopulation, but he also explained its downside and how the said solutions may not be ideal and practical. “Tragedy of the Commons” revealed that the human population will continue to flourish and how it will be greatly detrimental to our society unless individuals get the education that they need and
In this paper I will examine both Peter Singer’s and Onora O 'Neill 's positions on famine relief. I will argue that O’Neill’s position is more suitable than Singer’s extreme standpoint. First I will, present O’Neill’s argument. I will then present a possible counter-argument to one of my premises. Finally I will show how this counter-argument is fallacious and how O’Neill’s argument in fact goes through.
Hardin states that throughout most of history there's been no need for concern about population control. Nature would come along with epidemic diseases and take care of the matter for us. Disease has been the primary population controller in the past. Because widespread disease and famine no longer exist, we have to find other means to stop population increases (Spencer 1992, pp.61-2).
In his 1968 essay, The Tragedy of the Commons, Garret Hardin addresses the problem with overpopulation and it’s eventual toll on our planet’s resources in a scenario where the individual interest clashes with the collective interest. Self-interest only serves the good of an individual while collective interest is meant to serve the good of everyone in the society. In his essay, he describes overpopulation as a tragedy of the commons because as population grows exponentially, resources only grow statically, and this will result in the depletion of our resources. When a resourc...
In the short story “ The Open Boat,” by Stephen Crane, Crane does an outstanding job creating descriptive images throughout the entire story. With saying this, Crane uses symbolism along with strong imagery to provide the reader with a fun and exciting story about four guys who 's fight was against nature and themselves. Starting early in the book, Crane creates a story line that has four men in a great amount of trouble in the open waters of the ocean. Going into great detail about natures fierce and powerful body of water, Crane makes it obvious that nature has no empathy for the human race. In this story, Crane shows the continuous fight that the four men have to endure in able to beat natures strongest body of water. It 's not just nature the men have to worry about though, its the ability to work together in order to win this fight against nature. Ultimately, Crane is able to use this story, along with its vast imagery and symbolism to compare the struggle between the human race and all of natures uncertainties.
Hardin, G. (1974, September ). Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor. Retrieved fromhttp://www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_lifeboat_ethics_case_against_helping_poor.html
In 1968, Garrett Hardin published his essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” in Science, in which he elaborated his theories for curtailing the overpopulation problem. The article is perhaps best known for Hardin’s definition of the “commons” as a shared, limited resource under limited (if any) regulation. In his essay, Hardin considered the right to breed as a commons and confronted the resulting problem of global overpopulation. Hardin believed in the inevitable exploitation of any commons, and therein lies the tragedy of commons: a commodity which is universally free and accessible will inexorably result in overutilization precisely beca...
Hardin presents “lifeboat ethics” which is a metaphor for the gaps between the rich and the poor. Imagine a lifeboat: only a fifty people can fit inside. The people in the boat are the rich while the surrounding sea represents the poor people. The poor being placed in the sea represents them drowning in poverty. About ten more people could possibly fit into the lifeboat, making the maximum capacity of the boat sixty, ignoring the safety factor
Population control is a practice of altering the growth rate of a human population. In the excerpt, Hardin explains that only the rich have food reserved because they can afford it, and that the poor are the ones who eat it all. Because of the world food bank, where anyone can take from, the poor countries’ populations will continue to grow, going unchecked. This is harmful because there are overpopulated countries that cannot sustain themselves. Hardin says, “Without some system of worldwide food sharing, the proportion of people in the rich and poor nations might eventually stabilize. The overpopulated poor countries would decrease in numbers” (Hardin 588). The poor countries have no way of adding any food to the food bank and are just taking from it. This makes it hard for other countries to rationalize why they should support any poor country that is over populated and that is using up unnecessary resources because it does not benefit them in any economic or agricultural way.
Overpopulation is a major global crisis because of a number of reasons. Most of the problems we have today, such as ocean depletion, water shortages, water pollution, food shortages, global warming, and air pollution are the effects of overpopulation. The more people there are, the more resources consumed and the more waste created. A child born today in the United States for instance will produce fifty-two tons of garbage and consume 11 million gallons of water by the age of seventy-five. Freshwater, drinkable water is the most critical natural resource to humans. As time goes by, the world’s population expands more rapidly, but there is no more freshwater on the Earth than there was two thousand years ago. Overpopulation has also increased industrial development, which contributes to massive urbanization and rising of living standards. The rising in living standards causes people to consume more, which creates more waste and raises life expectancy, which causes more people to live longer and more people to live in the same place, earth.
In Garrett Hardin’s “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Helping the Poor, Hardin argues that you should not help the poor because there are limited resources and if the poor continue to seek help they will continue to overpopulate, disrespecting all of limits. Hardin supports his argument by using the lifeboat metaphor while trying to convince the rich not to lend a helping hand to the poor. In the lifeboat metaphor Garrett Hardin uses the upper class and the lower class people to give us a visual of how the lifeboat scenario actually works. Along with the lifeboat metaphor, Hardin uses the tragedy of commons, population growth, and the Joseph and Pharaoh biblical story to persuade the readers.When reading “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against
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:
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.