Overpopulation and Environmental Problems

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Recommended: Effects of rapid population growth on the environment

Overpopulation is becoming a leading environmental problem in which resources are becoming depleted faster than are being created. Hoevel explains, “Overpopulation occurs when a population’s density exceeds the capacity of the environment to supply the health requirements of an individual” (Hoevel 1). This means that after a population has overused the resources in an area, the environment will no longer be able to support them, and there lies the problem with overpopulation. Wenner explains, “Sustainability involves living within the limits of the resources of earth, understanding the distribution of resources and opportunities” (Wenner 2). Understanding the earth’s resources and learning how to distribute them is crucial for people to know if they want to live in an environmentally healthy area. In order to control the demand for earth’s natural resources, people need to see the effects of population growth, see which resources are being affected, and finally, find solutions to manage their resource use.
Population growth is a leading cause in the overuse of resources; therefore, birth rates must be accounted for and examined. Wenner describes the equation needed in order to calculate the birthrates of the future, “ N=N0ert, N0 is the starting population, N is the population after a certain time, t, has elapsed, r is the rate of natural increase expressed as a percentage (birth rate –death rate) and e is a constant” (Wenner 3). With this equation, Wenner was able to find how the population will grow in the coming years. After examining this expression, Wenner found that the population of the world is currently increasing and will continue to increase at an alarming rate.
While that equation shoes how the population will grow,...

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