“We are burdensome to the world, the resources are scarcely adequate for us.” Tertullian, a philosopher from the third century had said this about our world when the population was mere 200 million. This statement can be taken two different ways. The first would be to think that our resources are limited and we need to be worried. The second would be to say people have been worried about overpopulation forever but everything seems to have worked out. There is no doubt that there are many people inhabiting this earth but the real question is if too many of us is a real threat to humanity.
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.
Another argument against population control would be, as Steven Mosher...
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...th more opportunities. Not only does this allow family life to improve, but it allows the country to remain a healthy population. A problem with this solution though is that the United States is the only industrialized country that does not oppose the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (Pope). Until other countries realize that this proposed solution may work, the overpopulation problem will continue to be an issue.
Overpopulation and the debate of population control will continue to go on as the earth continues to age. Whether or not this issue will continue to be ignored or not remains to be seen. Many people see this growth as a threat while others interpret it a different way. But with people out there as concerned as they are, and with our resources running shorter every day, eventually a solution may have to be put into place.
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.
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
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 growing increase and growth in population can be viewed in two ways. On one hand it can be seen as harmful and an issue that should be dealt with, while others may argue that measures to try and reduce population growth are not necessary and can even be harmful when it comes to traditional cultures. Much like any argument or situation, it is important to see both sides of the argument in order to determine which one you agree with or lean towards.
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
Overpopulation has become a drastic issue, for no one knows how many people the earth
The world as we know it is slowly being depleted of its natural resources. Habitats are being destroyed, and wildlife animals are facing extinction, these are just a few of the effects of over population. Over population not only affects nature and the planet but the human way of life. Imagine a world where the water is polluted, the soil produces no crop and the air is so toxic that we can’t breathe; this is where the world is heading. Due to the fast growth of people, humanity itself faces great danger. There are solutions to over population such as Family planning and sexual education.
There are experts who believe that population control is not needed such as in Singapore. The government in Singapore decided that it would be better for the country to grow in population so that they are able to help their economy. Many less developed countries promote population growth because they want their economy to grow. The experts who believe that it is better for us to let the population increase or decrease on its own also think that overpopulation will never become a problem.
Humans have been the worst life form to ever occupy the Earth. No other being has damaged the world as much as humans, but not all humans contributed to the suffering of the Earth. It was those who lived during and after the Industrial Revolution in 1800, these humans introduced innovation and invention of new technologies, improvement in communication and transportation, and enhancing the lifestyles of various countries around the world along with chemicals into the atmosphere and into freshwater. Since the Revolution, there has been a boom in the population that is still growing today. The uncontrollable increase in birth rate has developed into a very delicate situation, known as overpopulation. Most major problems on a global scale can
“If we do not voluntarily bring population growth under control in the next one or two decades, the nature will do it for us in the most brutal way, whether we like it or not.” - Henry W. Kendall. This quote is just a small factor of what overpopulation around the world is doing. Each and every single day more and more people are born into this world, and the population increases rapidly every second. For example, the population right now in the United States is approximately 325 million people. The population in India today is about 1.25 billion people. The country with the largest population in the world right now is currently India, with 1.35 billion people, and China is not that far behind. With overpopulation in the world, there are less natural resources around the world, because all of the farmland is being taken up by new housing, buildings, and factories. Another problem it causes is air pollution. With all the factories being built, so many
A quote by Morgan Winters in an article about overpopulation, “These objections are not based on science or even logic; they are informed by the human desire to live the way we wish, consequences be damned. Or, put more generously, the biological, mammalian urge to procreate without restriction. The only way to counteract this desire is to make it less profitable to have children.” (Winters). The quote shows how it’s an overlooked problem in the United States and needs to be taken care of. Another quote to show how it needs to be taken care of. “Unlike with the topics of energy and the environment, dialogue addressing the population crisis is lacking. Often misunderstood, overpopulation is viewed as a problem of developing countries and that there are too many humans consuming the planet's resources.” (Winters). Shows how humans growth is going to
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
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.
About ten years ago while in a science museum, I saw a counter that estimated what the world population was at that given moment. Innocuous at first glance, since a number in excess of five billion is difficult to comprehend, what became alarming after watching the counter for a minute was the continual increase in the population. Thinking about the circumstances related to the population rise logically made the problem seem apparent. The earth is finite both in terms of physical size and in resources but the population is growing towards an infinite value. At some point the steadily rising population will move from being a problem that is geographically distant to one that is immediate and more salient than just an increasing value on a faceless counter.
Now people have realized, the dangers of over-population. Every country is caught up with this problem and population growth control has become an economic necessities. Some countries have taken control of population seriously that it has become a national effort. Through media people are being educated about the disadvantages of over-population.