Overpopulation: Earth's Biggest Problem

782 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Write a note about the problem of overpopulation

Overpopulation is earth’s biggest problem that needs to be solved. At a surprising rate, the earth’s population has been growing exponentially, and in more than a hundred years’ time it will rise to 12 billion people. Regarding this population growth, a lot of factors must be considered, such as cultural influences and Illiteracy. Solutions might be available, but do you believe that your chosen solution is best for you based on your preferences. As a result, we are now left with both a question and a choice “What do you think is the best solution in order to combat overpopulation and will you stick to moral teachings or follow what the experts would say?”
Overpopulation remains the biggest and toughest problem that needs to be solved because of the future consequence that it may produce such as lack of resources to feed the people. Today’s population rise could be traced from as early as the stone ages to as late as the industrialization era (Penfound, 1968). The population before Jesus Christ took 40,000 years to double with a 2% growth rate. In 1850, the human population was at one billion people and then rose to two billion just eighty years later in 1930. Three decades later in 1960, it reached three billion, and in 1975 it ballooned into four billion people (Howard, 1969). Paul R. Ehrlich, author of the book, “The population bomb” said in 1992 that the earth will be facing “the need to support at least twice its present population of humans whether the earth’s life support systems’ uncertainty of sustainability” (Daily and Ehrlich, 1992). He also projected that in 2025, the population of Earth will be at 8.5 billion, and eventually level off to 11.6 billion in 2150, based on “positive assumptions of contin...

... middle of paper ...

..., G. (November 1961). Birth Control in Britain Part II. Population Studies, 15 (2), 121-160.Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2173312 .
Penfound, W.T. (May 1968). The Problems of Overpopulation. Bios ,39 (2), 56-62. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4606831 .
Ryder, R. E. J. (1993). Natural family planning": effective birth control supported by the Catholic Church. British Medical Journal 307, 723-6. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29721085.
Schultz, TP. An Economic Model of Family Planning and Fertility. Journal of Political Economy ,77 (2), 153-180. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1829763 .
VandeVusse, L., Hanson, L., Fehring, F., Newman, A., and Fox, J. (2004). Couple’s View on the Effects of Natural Family Planning on Marital Dynamics. Journal of Nursing Scholarship 35 (2), 1-13.doi: 10.1111/j .1547-5069.2003.00171.

Show More
Related

  • Too Many People? by Vanessa Baird

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Objections to the Repugnant Conclusion: David Parfit

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    Parfit, Derek (2004). “Overpopulation and the Quality of Life.” In J. Ryberg & T. Tännsjö (eds.), The Repugnant Conclusion. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 7-22.

    Read More

  • Progressive Era Dbq

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    Subsequently, the provided documents on the birth control movement did show the push and pull factors of the complicated and multifaceted debate. Americas push towards industrial growth, and technology demanded that the subsequent progressive reforms were needed for a society ushering in a new era. At the same time, fear and reluctance to abandon tradition and religious custom acted as the pulling factor. The birth control debate was a complicated and heavily charged debate teemed in religious, social, political, and racial rhetoric. Historical documents help shed new light on the things taken for granted today, even the most seemingly innocuous things like birth control were fought for, so that men and women today could be in charge of their own destinies.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography Of The Pill

    1605 Words  | 4 Pages

    When legally introduced to society in 1960, the Pill stirred up a long period of controversy. The availability of the Pill had great impact on women’s health, social life, laws, religion, family, relationships, morality and sexuality. Initially conceived to be highly effective and safe, the Pill left many women with side effects – few which led to several fatalities. Before the Pill was created, many women postponed sex due to the social norm and fear of becoming pregnant before marriage. Families grew large and it was typical for a woman to have multiple children caused by the lack of birth control. Due to regulations, such as the Comstock laws, many people supported the prohibition of the Pill and other family planning practices. However, many women believed in the right to control their own body when it came to procreation. Despite the controversies, the Pill left lasting impacts, such as by opening society to the sexual revolution and...

    Read More

  • Changes in the Role of Women Between the Sixteenth and the Twentieth Century

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since the sixteenth century, one of the most important roles of mothers, or women in general, was to have children. Although most women accepted this role and believed it was their duty to have children, not every woman was pleased with this seemingly confining role. Within the confines of this role there were also many misconceptions. At the time, most people believed that although male involvement was necessary for the conception of children, women controlled many aspects of the child, including the sex of the child. While it was a common belief that women controlled certain aspects of pregnancy, women really had no control over when and if they got pregnant. Prior to the eighteenth century there was really no indication of widespread use of birth control methods. Without reliable birth control, women would often become a mother within their first year of marriage and continue to have children every couple of years until menopause. Although women during this time period experienced high birth rates, they often did not end up raising nearly as many children as they gave birth to, since the infant mortality rate and death rate were very high. With such a high death rate, birth control was not as necessary as it would be in a more modern...

    Read More

  • Essay On Birth Control By Margaret Sanger

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the whole of the 21st century, the subject of birth control has become a trending topic throughout various news reports. The debate on whether or not birth control should be required and distributed by all health plans has caused much controversy throughout the population. However, there was a time in our history when contraceptives, much less birth control, was available for the public. It was through the perseverance and determination of Margaret Sanger to make birth control legal for all women that it is accessible worldwide today. She was the leader of the birth control movement, which was conceived during the Progressive era of United States history.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Outside The Solar Village One Utopian Farm

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Differences Between The 1960s And 70s

    1883 Words  | 4 Pages

    Evidence of the fact that the decades were only a beginning of more permissive attitudes can be seen in things like the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association (NZBMA), which regarded birth control as something that did not have a place within public discussion, instead seeing it as something that should be relegated to between a husband and wife. This viewpoint reflected the qualms of older, conservative members of society, influenced by the church and traditional values. In 1966, the Health Department sent a notice to all Medical Officers of Health stating that it was ‘not considered that family planning should be included as a necessary of desirable part of new Zealand’s public health programme.’ This shows the reluctance of institutions for family planning to be a ‘medical’ issue, harking back to the days where NZFPA were chastised by the medical community for their family planning efforts.

    Read More

  • Contraception and the Catholic Church

    1680 Words  | 4 Pages

    Volsky, Igor, ed. Large Catholic Institutions Offered Contraception Even Before Required To Do So. 09 Feb 2012. Web. 9 Mar. 2012,

    Read More

  • Population Growth, Industrialization, and the Environment

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Natural Family Planning

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Scientific research shows that almost all practicing Catholics today believe that modern means of contraception does not interfere with their beliefs and morals. According to one study, “Even among married Catholic women who attend church every week, less than 4% use church-approved family planning methods-about the same as the total population.” (Catholics for Contraception). This illustrates the fact that people of faith have made their own interpretations of God’s desires and find no difference between natural family planning and modern methods of contraception. Weekly patrons of the church know the moral teachings of the Church and the consequences, yet the facts show that all believers have not come to a consensus.

    Read More

  • Fertility Rate Essay

    2092 Words  | 5 Pages

    Family planning activity started in 1949 and was actively carried out by the board in 1966 (Chen, 1977). The 70s ‘Stop at two!’ policies were made to facilitate better planning of families, a matter of national importance. Abortions and sterilizations were legalized here.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Overpopulation

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Overpopulation Solution Essay

    1978 Words  | 4 Pages

    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:

    Read More

  • The Problems that Our World Faces Today

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about Overpopulation: Earth's Biggest Problem

Open Document