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Overpopulation Essay

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Stories of current times could sound surreal to citizens of the year 2552. Tales of water coming out of the ground, fuel sources called fossil fuels, or vast areas covered in trees would all be stories around the virtual campfire. Lands once known as Africa have become uninhabitable to even the most resilient organisms. At the poles, it is so cold that the fuel lines in vehicles freeze in eleven seconds. The descendants of seven billion people currently inhabiting this world would be faced with hard times if we fail to take action. An additional 80 million people each year are just going to add to problems such as global warming, food and water shortages, fossil fuel depletion, and destroyed ecosystems. All these problems will become more …show more content…

Life expectancy, standard of living, and world economies will begin an apocalyptic down spiral (Living Planet Report 2002).Throughout the next four decades, 97 percent of the population growth will take place in developing countries where governments are already facing social and economic issues. Water shortages are going to be the main issue as population increases(Hoevel). However, seeing as surviving and reproducing are top priorities in these regions, they have little time to spare thinking about the environment and future generations. Overpopulation of humans is similar to a locust swarm. The locusts strip their habitat of all they find useful, then move on to the next area. The difference between humans and locusts though, is that once we strip earth of all she's worth, we have nowhere else to migrate. Overpopulation would take time to develop. It would also take the negligence of governments and citizens. There are several different routes that could be taken to prevent or alleviate the negative effects of overpopulation. Overpopulation is avoidable with governments' help and could be delayed or even avoided in multiple ways. Regrettably, governments are more tied up with economies, foreign affairs, and policy making to spare the man power to worry about issues that aren't pressing on their doorstep. Reducing the population is one path that could reduce strain on the environment. Policy could be implemented that limited the

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