How Do We Survive The Shrinking Universe Of Our Planet? Essay

No matter how many people do claim overpopulation is not a relevant issue, it very much is because of the simple fact that starvation and pollution are very real and existing issues that are ultimately offset by overpopulation. In an article titled “Overpopulation Is Not the Problem,” author Erle C. Ellis uses the analogy “Like bacteria in a petri dish, our exploding numbers are reaching the limits of a finite planet, with dire consequences,” to argue that overpopulation is not a problem by stating the opposing claim. “We are nothing like bacteria in a petri dish,” Mr. Ellis solemnly asserts, “...these claims demonstrate a profound misunderstanding of the ecology of human systems. The conditions that sustain humanity are not natural and never have been. Since prehistory, human populations have used technologies and engineered ecosystems to sustain

According to Meder & Windelspecht (2014) the human population was approximately five billion people in the 1650’s, and by the 1850’s is doubled again. Now today we are estimated to have approximately seven billion people

Seven Billion. This number may not be that large when we are applying it to a population of bacteria. But when it comes to people on Earth, the number becomes a little more daunting. In a world full of poverty and environmental destruction, people start to wonder, how many people is too many? This question may seem only newly relevant as we have become more aware of climate change and human effects on the health of our planet, but the truth is this question has been raised for hundreds of years. In fact, in 1789 Thomas Malthus rose awareness of the issues of population growth when he anonymously published his essay. In Thomas Malthus’ An Essay on the Principle of Population, the author discusses why and how a population needs to be checked. Malthus brings up great points for his era but fails to predict one of the main reasons why a population needs to be checked.

9.7 billion, is the number of people that will be living on Earth by 2050 if the human race keeps increasing at the same pace it has been through this past century. The articles, “Are There Too Many People?” by Nicholas Eberstadt, “Biodiversity, Extinction, and Humanity’s Future: The Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Human Population and Resource Use” by Jeffrey Yule et. al., “A Paradox of the World Population Stabilization Policy” by Mahmudul Alam et. al. and the Ted Talks, “The Earth is Full” and “Overpopulation Facts-The Problem No one Will Discuss” have similar trends in their research. These articles and TedTalks have similar trends in research because the trends in these informational sources consist of the causes, effects,

A global population of this size will have a significant impact on the world around us and many factors could impact the human

Some results of human overpopulation are more serious than others, since some can eventually be fixed. One thing that can not be replaced from overpopulation is if species go extinct. Species are going extinct 1,000 to 10,000 faster than usual. Out of all the 63,837 species worldwide 19,817 are threatened to go extinct. If what is happening continues scientists say that within a few decades half of all plant and animal species on Earth

Stephen Emmott, the author of Ten Billion, states in his book, “that if population levels continue to rise, our grandchildren will see the Earth plunged into an unprecedented environment crisis.” There are many threats to our biosphere, that are directly related to human population increases. Over the past last two decades, the human

As our global population count continues to exponentially climb, many people are under the impression the world is overpopulated. A lot of society wonders how we will be able to sustain such a large population. An overpopulated planet could cause or enhance problems such as natural resource depletion, global climate change, and starvation. The majority of people believe overpopulation is our world’s most crucial problem, including me. Or at least I did before I read What to Expect When No One is Expecting. This book definitely made me think twice.

Overpopulation is progressively destroying our planet by exhausting our natural resources which leads to a higher cost of living and an increase in our carbon footprint. A person’s carbon footprint can be measured by the total amount of greenhouse gasses a person creates. This is calculated by the C02 (carbon dioxide) and CH4 (methane) created directly and indirectly by means of transportation, energy usage, and resource consumption. We may not see the full effects of overpopulation in our lifetime, but our children will. At the rate that we are growing and the lifestyles we are living, the human race as of right now requires 1.7 planets to sustain life due to overpopulation and resource depletion.

Advancements in science such as medications and vaccines have caused birth rates to surpass mortality rates resulting in overpopulation. According to Population Paradox, an academic article by Mairi Macleod, an evolutionary biologist,“It took until 1800 for our numbers to reach 1 billion. Now the human population exceeds 7 billion and is set to reach 10 billion by 2085” (Macleod). Overpopulation is having detrimental effects on the planet 's ecosystems, which was discussed in the provided stimulus, The Struggle To Govern The Commons by Thomas Dietz. It stated that “In the absence of effective governance...the environment is in peril from increasing human population, consumption, and deployment of advanced technologies…” (Dietz). After

The world population will increase another 3 billion to 9 billion in 2044 (Figure 1), with the imbalance growing between population numbers and vital life sustaining resources, humans must actively conserve cropland, freshwater, energy, and biological resources.

“A crowded society is a restrictive society; an overcrowded society becomes an authoritarian, repressive and murderous society” (Abbey).As resources continue to diminish due to high consumption, what awaits in the future is far from harmonious. It is only until now that government advertisers have found interest in raising consciousness about the issue of overpopulation, but is it too late for the inevitable events that are to come? With the rise of technology that question has become difficult to answer as new advancements continue to do the unexpected and merely the impossible. For instance topics that are now in discussion include cloning of living organisms, colonization in other planets, and creation of virtual worlds. Overpopulation

According to Southwick, scientists estimate that the optimum global population is no more than 2 billion people. They believe that somewhere between 1 and 2 billion people could be supported in relative prosperity. (161) Compare this with the current gl0bal human population of 6.5 Billion. Clearly, a problem is at hand. Some pessimistic although perhaps realistic scientists even view the current human population growth as a carcinogenic or cancer-like growth with the potential of destroying the global ecosystem. (Southwick161)

When I was in my Biological Evolution class, professor Dr. Matthew Terry started talking about how many people can the Earth support. He said the Earth population has grown dramatically over the past 15 years and it would continue to grow exponentially. For example, when I was born Earth population was about 3 billion people now we have 7 billion people. It got me thinking about why is our population growing significantly and how is this going to affect our habitat. Earth is now overpopulated and there 's have to be some measures. Would it be ethical if we try to control how many babies you can have or try to limit our population? How has technology influenced our population growth? What would be the consequences if the Earth reaches its final capacity? How this is going to affect our environment and other species. These are just some of the burden questions I have about this topic.

There are more than seven billion people on Earth now, and about one in eight of us don’t have enough food to eat. So, with a projected nine billion people by the year 2050, how many people can the Earth support while maintaining a healthy population? The earth can easily support the number of people projected, but only if the right precautions are taken today. Population changes