Today, the world faces numerous problems that have been ongoing for the past several decades, despite the fact that humans have improved so much in different aspects of technology and knowledge. For instance, the population of the human species is getting larger by every second, while our environment is running out of supplies to support our growing population. At this moment, the world population ticks at about 7.2 billion, and is expected to reach to 9 billion by 2050 (prb.org). This problem of overpopulation is one of the most preeminent issues today and is becoming of uttermost importance for people worldwide. Tertullian, a philosopher from the third century said: “We are burdensome to the world, the resources are scarcely adequate for us.” (fee.org). Since the earlier times, overpopulation has been a concern for all, and is now one of the leading apprehensions for people worldwide which causes various problems concerning food and energy, environment, and societies.
Thomas Malthus took the issue of overpopulation into serious consideration in the 18th century, who is now best known for his theory and “Essay on the Principle of Population” (faculty.lebow.drexel.edu). Malthus, was an Englishman who later became a history professor for the East India company (bbc.co.uk). As an professor, he came up with a theory now known as the “Malthusian Catastrophe.” In his theory, he hypothesised that human population growth would be limited in the near future because population and agriculture grow at significantly different rates. “Population when unchecked increases in a geometric ratio. Subsistence increases only in arithmetic ratio. A slight acquaintance with numbers will show the immensity of the first power in comparison to the secon...
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...ver, the conflict between Pakistan and India also represents Malthus’s worst-case scenario, for they are both heavily populated countries (howmany.org). Not only does overpopulation cause economic and environmental issues, but it also causes significant social issues in a society.
Works Cited
http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/overpopulation-the-perennial-myth#axzz2uxByX77b, http://www.sciences360.com/index.php/about-the-malthusian-catastrophe-9602/, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-malthusian-catastrophe.htm, http://www.economonitor.com/policiesofscale/2012/09/20/our-agriculture-and-energy-policies-a-new-malthusian-catastrophe/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastrophe, http://faculty.lebow.drexel.edu/mccainr/top/eco/excerpts/malthus.html, http://www.population-security.org/swom-98-06b.htm
, http://www.who.int/whr/1998/media_centre/50facts/en/
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.
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
Malthus’ An Essay on the Principle of Population, he states “I think I may fairly make two postulata. First, that food is necessary to the existence of man. Secondly, that the passion between the sexes is necessary and will remain nearly in its present state.” He came up with the Population Principle in which he argued that population, when unregulated, increases geometrically, whereas subsistence increases arithmetically. This then becomes an issue when the population outweigh the amount of food available. Malthus then said that once this level was surpassed, that famine would be the main source of the limit to population growth and that premature death was the most natural way to control the
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
Thomas Robert Malthus was born on February 13th, 1766, at Dorking, a town south of London. His theory about population was that population growth usually exceeds the amount of food produced for that particular area, so we should try to limit the growth of our population. In his book An Essay on the Principle of Population, As it Effects the Future Improvement of Society, he ...
Malthus believed that population grows geometrically, whereas food supply to support the population grows arithmetically. Therefore, he predicted that the food supply would not be a sufficient amount to support the population which constantly doubles in its cycle. Once Malthus came to this realization, he predicte...
Today, as we near the 21st century, overpopulation, as some may call it, still seems to be a concern. There have been reports that, if the current rate of population growth were maintained, the world will be home to some 694 trillion people by the year 2150, almost 125 times that of today's population (Bender, p. 65). On October 12th, 1999, the world was presented with the associated press headline that the world population counter at the UN topped 6 billion. It is evident that our society is still concerned about the increasing population. The intent of this paper is to prove that there is not, and will never be, according to long-term trends, a situation in which it is impossible to provide everyone on earth a living standard at the subsistence level.
Thomas Robert Malthus (1776-1834), in his “Essay on the Principle of Population”, stated that wars and disease would have to kill off the population because it grows faster than the food supply unless people could limit their number of children. The Malthusian Drill in the Brave New World was what women had to go through to prevent births (e.g. contraceptives and medications).
It is a known fact that the world population is increasing without bound; however, there is a debate if this increase is a good thing or if it will prove catastrophic. The article “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin discusses how the ever-increasing world population will exhaust the world of its natural resources, and eliminate human’s capability of survival. On the other side of the argument is Julian L. Simon who wrote “More People, Greater Wealth, More Resources, Healthier Environment.” This article proposes the theory that with an increase in population, human’s quality of life is amplified. One particular issue that they both mention and have drastically different views on is the future of agriculture and human’s ability to sustain it.
Humans have greatly impacted the global environment. Throughout the course of history, human populations have rapidly increased. Especially in Africa, these numbers have reached extraordinary proportions. Out of all the continents in the world, Africa’s population is increasing the most. The type of growth here is exponential. “Overpopulation is a condition when an organisms numbers exceeds the carrying of its ecological niche.” The growth rate of a population is equal to the birth rate minus the death rate. Therefore, for overpopulation to occur, the birth rate must surpass the death rate (Wiley). The current population of Nigeria is estimated to be 155,215,573. Most of the population consists of the younger generation. More specifically, 41% of the population is between the ages of 0-14. 56% of the population is between the ages of 15-64. However, only 3.1% of the population is 65 and over. This age group represents a very small part of the population. (CIA)
Malthus, on the other hand, in his book An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) imparted a tone of dreariness. Malthus’s main contribution to economics was his theory that a population tends to increase faster than the supply of food available for its needs.
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
Human population growth is becoming a huge issue in our world today. The population is increasing rapidly. The reason that it is becoming a concern is because it has affected the economic, environmental, and social aspects of our world. In the film Frontline: Heat, we can see how there might not be a future for our planet unless we are able to reduce the emissions and make our world a safe place. Not only for the present but also for future generations so that they are able to live long and healthy lives.
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...