Environmental Issues Essay

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220,000, that is the number the world population will grow in a single day. Everyday. That is 220,000 new mouths to feed everyday. While globally this issue is already a top concern how will we continue to approach this with populations surging, at what cost will we draw a line and crack down. Overpopulation has contributed to innumerable environmental issues not only on a national level but also on a more substantial transborder level. This paper will focus specifically on the air, water, and land aspect of environmental issues affected by surging populations. We have all heard the terrifying predictions that will arise if our current overpopulated society doesn’t make the life changes that will help improves our lives, but more importantly improve the life of the earth and save all the organismic life it provides for us. Al Gore brought the issue of global warming to our attention in 2006 in the film An Inconvenient Truth that focuses a lot of attention on human-generated greenhouse gases and the obvious affects it has made on the earth. The effects of human-generated greenhouse gases make up a large amount of environmental damage touching on every aspect of water, land, and air. Some of our major contributions are: “3/4 carbon dioxide from deforestation; ‘deforestation is created by the demand for forest products tracks closely with rising per capita consumption in recent decades. Global use of paper and paperboard per person has doubled (or nearly tripled) since 1961’, 14% of methane comes from agriculture being livestock and feed, 8% nitrous oxide which are nitrogen fertilized soil and livestock waste, and lastly 1% fluorinated gases which come from industrial processes” (Miller pg.4). We generate these kinds of percentages b... ... middle of paper ... ...es will have to reduce water use in agriculture in order to satisfy residential and industrial water needs. In both China and India, the two countries that together dominate world irrigated agriculture, substantial cutbacks in irrigation water supplies lie ahead” (Brown pg.1). China and India both being tremendously overpopulated countries already thriving with areas facing extreme poverty could potententially predict more tradgedy. “Overpopulation will continue to lead to famine and war. When resources become scarce due to overpopulation people will feel the need to fight for them” (Miller pg.7). Water scarcity is an issue that is fastly approaching in the near future. Natural resources are being depleated faster than the can be replenished. Countries all around the world will feel the effect of overpopulation and the destruction it has on our natural resources.

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