A Debate over Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a foremost challenge that humans face today. According to www.Worldometeres.info, the human population is heading to 7.5 billion, and at our current birthrate, we are adding nearly one billion more people every twelve years. Issues such as dependence on natural resources, degradation of the environment, poverty, and unemployment, are root issues caused by overpopulation. Though opponents of this theory, such as Erle C. Ellis, use archaeological records and the history of human evolution to argue against overpopulation. Robert Walker, on the other hand, disagrees. He uses scientific explanation to anticipate that all living beings on earth are under torment as they die off due to erosion of fundamental natural resources such as food and water. Next, Alon Tal argues that carrying capacity will be at a standstill as the population continues to rise, so we need to prepare ourselves for overpopulation. Finally, Joel Kotkin claims that an exiguous amount of babies will cause economic hardship, which will, in turn, cause the economic annihilation of societies; there are too few young people to replace the elderly workers. This essay will review the claims of issues and effects of overpopulation made by the authors mentioned above.
In “Overpopulation is Not the Problem,” Erle C. Ellis makes the claim that humans are always adapting to population growth, as they did in the past according to archeological records. Besides, people do not
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
Throughout human history, population growth is one of the most important topics brought into discussion. Globally, there are about 7.2 billion people in the world, and it will rise up to 11 billion or more by the 21st century (Brown). When we look back in the history, population growth has been so slow as to be imperceptible within a single generation, “Reaching a globally population of 1 billion in 1804 required the entire time since the humans appeared on the scene. To add the second billion, it took until 1927, just over 100 years. Thirty- three years later, in 1960, world population reached 3 billion” (Brown 15). Then the pace sped
In the year 1 A.D., the Earth’s population was 300 million. In 1850, after many decades of consistent population growth, it eventually surpassed one billion. From that point on in history, the world population began to climb rapidly (Haub). Each year, the world population surpasses what any scientist has ever thought possible. Some would consider this expansion as a sign of success considering the causes of a rapidly growing population include improved health care, new technology, progressive eras such as the Industrial Revolution, and an overall developing human race (Kinder). However, the current world population no longer signifies progression; it signifies regression. Today, the Earth’s human population is approaching overpopulation. Overpopulation is more than just a crowded planet. The definition of overpopulation is, “…too many people for the amount of food, materials, and space available…” (Cambridge Dictionaries). This means that overpopulation will impact crucial aspects of the planet and not just increase city sizes. Robert Kolb suggested in the Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society that the Industrial Revolution is one of the main causes of the spark of rapid population growth. When industry developed, family sizes expanded, economic health boomed, and populations spiked all over the world. Since the Industrial Revolution, the Earth’s number of inhabitants has been consistently growing, which could lead to overpopulation. Overpopulation will affect every
The Earth does not contain enough resources to sustain the enormous population growth of people on Earth. For instance, there is only a limited amount of area in which we can grow crops and add living space. In 2013 the population was 7 billion, in comparison there were only 1 billion people in 1804. That means this was doubled in 1927, in which it doubled again by 1974. Scientists have estimated that our population would be as much as 12 billion in 2100. The Earth can only realistically hold and
It may not be something you think about often, but human population growth is a big issue in our world today and this problem needs to be solved in the future to save our planet. Overpopulation is a condition that will be in effect if the population exceeds the carrying capacity on Earth. The carrying capacity is the peak population that can sustain human life on Earth. It is uncertain what Earth’s carrying capacity is for the human race because of our technological advances and such, but we need to solve this issue before we do find out our carrying capacity in a catastrophic way. There are many different aspects that contribute to overpopulation and a heavily populated Earth causes a lot of problems. I believe that this issue is solvable along with many other people, but it will take a lot of effort to tackle this problem. According to an article titled “Scientists more worried than public about world’s growing population”, a Pew Research Center survey revealed that 38% of American’s do not think that population growth is a problem. More awareness for overpopulation needs to be put out there to decrease that percentage. There are multiple strategies that need to be put into effect to halt population growth. The problem that arises from overpopulation can be solved and needs to be solved for the future of this planet.
There are many factors that affect world overpopulation and because of this scientists and geologists try to answer the one question the world fears. How will we survive? Studies show that because of the constant research in medicine and
Over the past few years there has been a tremendous increase in the human population, which is having a constant effect on our environment. The “world population is about 6 billion and is projected to reach 10 billion by 2040” (Pimentel). The population growth can be described as either a growth or loss in the population size of living species including human beings. The constant increase can create an issue, thus presenting the importance of understanding how we can cope with the population growth. The human population goes through a natural course of birth and death, which is the leading contributor to the increase of the human population. A leading contributor to the increase of the human population can be related to poverty, lack of knowledge of contraceptives, and urbanization and technology. If there isn’t any progress taken to manage this high increase in the population, there might be significant issues that might come about.
Overpopulation is an undesirable condition where the number of an existing organism exceeds the carrying capacity of the earth. It is simply when the world has more than the number of an organism it can support. Human overpopulation is one of the most pressing environmental issue, and still, our population is growing at an alarming rate. “About twenty years ago, Population Reference Bureau (PRB) estimated the world’s human population to be 5.84 billion.” Today, the population of the world has risen to about 7.6 billion and according to the United Nations predictions, it is expected to reach 9.7 billion people in the next 33years.
The Earth is currently 4.54 billion years old, holding about 332,500,000 cubic miles of water, an estimate of 8.7 billion mammals, and close to 7 billion humans. The modern humans, evolved from archaic humans, have been roaming the Earth for about 17,000 years. Over the last fifty years, human population grew faster than it has ever before. In the 1960s, the world population was at about 3 billion people, increasing to an estimate of 6 billion people by 1999. The expected growth of world population from 6 billion people in 1999 is about 9 billion people by 2044, causing the world to become overpopulated. The word “population” causes many different reactions and thoughts. For example, it stimulates anger because of irresponsible procreation, insufficient funding for birth control methods, and religion for being against contraception and abortion. The reason that anger is one of the main reactions is that many are aware of how population growth can damage the Earth and affect the future. To reduce the population growth rates, there should be a worldwide, two-child policy for every couple during the process of establishing basic education because research has shown the positive effects of China’s one-child policy, how Earth’s resources are decreasing, and how overpopulation has negatively affected the environment.
In the last decades, the mortality rate has reduced, and life expectancy has risen significantly due to the advance in the medical aspect. As a result, most countries of the world have experienced enormous changes in the people number. These changes have boomed considerably and have converted to overpopulation. Currently, the global population is 7 billion, and the increase rate is 1.3% annually that means by the end of the twenty-first century the population will reach twelve billion (Keenan, 2013). Therefore, there is a huge debate going on right now regarding overpopulation. For some people, explosion in population has no detrimental impacts in the future, and it will be bearable. In contrast, others believe rapid growing population can cause disaster; this concept is the most plausible. Accordingly, in this essay, the notion of being overpopulation as a catastrophe will be proved in terms of environmental and healthy questions, natural resources consumption and economic and social issues.
The world is faced with growing conservation problems daily, most of which are caused by an increasing population. In order to deal with the problems of overpopulation, the world needs to consider minimizing consumption, lowering waste byproducts, and keeping a hand on land management.
Since the early twentieth century, the world’s population has exploded copiously.. This phenomenon known as overpopulation has been called a threat to humanity, and people all across the world are affected by it. There is inadequate housing to shelter the population, not enough resources for the population to continually utilize, pollution, habitat loss, and much more. Politicians and scientists alike are striving to solve this problem.: In evaluating the global issue of overpopulation, one can determine the solution to it through limiting children by creating a law, implementing the policy, and appropriately enforcing the limit.
Human overpopulation occurs when the number of people in a group exceeds the carrying capacity of the region that they occupy. This can be the result of an increase in births, decline in infant mortality rates, increasing immigration or depletion of resources. The human population has been growing since the end of the Black Death, but the most significant increase has been in the last 80 years and it is mainly due to medical advancements. Currently as of November the 11th 2014, the human population is estimated at around “7.27 billion people” [1]. Scientists have estimated that
1.The earth is considered as one of the most beautiful planets in the universe. It is the only planet in our galaxy that supports life. Unfortunately, our planet is suffering due to population and resource availability. If these problems are not recognized, and the appropriate actions are not taken to slow down or put an end to them, then the consequences could be overwhelming. The global system will need to adjust to this massive population growth. Over the past few decades, the world has seen major advancements in health and largely as a result, people are generally living longer, healthier lives. The number of people on the planet is set to rise to 9.7 billion. Nearly 220,000 people are added to the planet every day, further compounding most resources and environmental problems. This will mean shifting the current focus on treating sick people towards preventing illness and preserving the health of populations. It makes more sense for humans to bring growth to a halt by adjusting birth rates downward in humane ways rather than waiting for death rates to move upward. why should anyone be concerned about population? The simple answer is that virtually all of the major problems that confront the world today relate in some critical way to population growth.
POPULATION: It is predicted that in about 1000 B.C. the population was about 265 million people. The world population continues to grow greatly. Between 1850 and 1950, the overall population doubled from 1.265 to 2.516 billion people. Between 1000 B.C. and 1850 the population grew on average a little less than 1.5 million people per year.(Our World In Data). As of 2015 the human population is over 7.3 billion people. According to the United Nations, the human population will be over 9 billion by 2050. By 2100 they predict that the population will be between 9.6 and 12.3 billion. In terms of population history can be split into three different periods. The first period was a very long period of time where the rate of