Sustainable Future

While there are plenty of infants being born every single day, do you ever wonder how the world will continue to sustain the growing population? The population of the world is continuing to grow at a dangerously, increasing rate. There are already at least 6.5 billion people on Earth. According to, Overpopulation ‘is main threat to planet’,

Population Growth is an issue that exists in today’s world that needs to be confronted before it becomes out of hand. The population itself has reached overwhelming numbers making it a problem that could turn to be dangerous. The amount of humans that the earth can support or the carrying capacity is slowly rising but at a much slower rate than the population growth rate. The increasing growth rate has its negative effects environmentally, agriculturally, socially, and economically and also has its positive effects nationally, and economically. The government is brainstorming and trying to come up with ways to decrease

Over population is an extremely serious problem facing the world today. According to an article from Newsweek in Oct. 2009 called “Where do babies come from?”, today’s world population has reached over 6.6 billion people. Also the article mentioned that in 2009 57.4% of all new born babies who were born this year came from Asia alone. This is an issue because over population can lead to hasty consumption of resources. China who has one of the largest population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, has taken a stance against over population.

Humanity as a whole is growing exponentially and this growth is anything but consistent. Many nations will be experiencing population decreases while other experience intense population growth. The impending impact of that fact is scaring a multitude of countries on the international market. In this essay I will answer three of the major pressing questions facing the world as they try to prepare themselves for this drastic change.

Thesis: The topic of human population growth is an important issue due to its impacts upon people in developing countries, economics, religion, food production, and the environment; without any limitations, population growth can lead to negative consequences, such as famine and environmental destruction, or even positive outcomes, such as potential economic growth.

The article by Dennis Dimick brings up some very good points about the increasing population. He states that with our current population of 7 billion people, we currently do not have enough food to eat. With the population increasing day-by-day, we will face more shortage in the future. He also brings up the issue of natural resources. We are currently using so much natural resources that we will run out very soon. The use of natural resources tend to increase with increase in social standing (wealth).

Humans have been around for 200,000 years, and while this may seem like a long time, it is belittled by the fact the earth has been around for 4.5 billion years. In this time we have taken control of this planet and accomplished many other amazing feats but we still face one problem: long-term sustainability. There are a lot of potential situations that could cause humanity to cease in existence, three of which are climate change, loss of biodiversity, and loss of bees. People have been trying to solve these problems and though they have not been eliminated, some have been improved on. For example, there have been efforts made to stop climate change and they have worked, the hole in the ozone layer is getting smaller. Humans are amazing, but we are not immortal. We will need to find solutions to these problems if we are to survive much longer.

All over the world, the human population fluctuates throughout each country due to several different factors. Some of the factors that can lead to an increase or decrease in population include industrialization, economic instability, poverty, laws, disease, resource destruction, sanitation, natural disasters, birth control, and access to education (Class notes). Although population decline is possible and relevant in some countries, the more important issue facing many countries today is overpopulation. Some over population problems include decreases in food sources, housing needs, land, increase in distribution problems, decrease in job availability, and poor health care environment (HowMany.org, 2014). One important question related to controlling

There are many articles and newspapers about how bad the world is becoming overpopulated. The overpopulation of humans and animals is a constant threat to people way of life on earth. Monbiot states, “The growth in human numbers, they say, is our foremost environmental threat” (Monbiot 1). Suggestions for extending women’s reproductive choices should be made, and the world population would drop dramatically because of this. George states, “If this need were answered, the impact of population growth would be significant, though not decisive: the annual growth rate of 83 million would be reduced to 62 million” (Monbiot 1). Because the population of the world is increasing drastically, many problems are created and produces many effects.

A more sustainable means of acquiring food is to purchase locally and seasonally. Buying food from local farmers reduces carbon offsets, caused by long-distance food transport, and stimulates the local economy. Local, small-scale farming operations also typically utilize more sustainable methods of agriculture than conventional industrial farming systems such as decreased tillage, nutrient cycling, fostered biodiversity and reduced chemical pesticide and fertilizer applications. Adapting a more regional, seasonally based diet is more sustainable as it entails purchasing less energy and resource demanding products that naturally grow within a local area and require no long-distance transport. These vegetables and fruits are also grown and harvested within their suitable growing season. Thus, seasonal food farming does not require energy intensive greenhouse production, extensive irrigation, plastic packaging and long-distance transport from importing non-regional foods, and other environmental stressors. Local, seasonal produce is typically fresher, unprocessed and argued to be more nutritious. Local produce also contains less to no chemical

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

Merely dismissing Malthus’s argument as doomsday nonsense overlooks the reality that indeed, the global population strains natural resources and furthers environmental degradation. This green version of Malthusianism more aptly addresses the consequences that exponential population growth has on our society. Water is often seen in a Malthusian light as scarcity, in areas like Yemen, are exacerbated by high population growth. Although the absolute amount of water on the globe is enough to sustain the world’s population, it is not distributed equally, resulting in scarcity for certain populations. Moreover, with increases in populations, our pollution destroys lands and GHG emissions continue to exacerbate climate change. These effects are most greatly suffered by the poorest as they are often dependent upon the land and are the most vulnerable in the case of a natural disaster. Currently, industrial nations consume a disproportionately large amount of the world’s resources and already strain ecological limits. As the global south continues to develop, so will their consumption. This model of high consumption seen in the first world cannot be sustained and impossible for developing nations to reproduce given the ecological limits of the earth. As the middle class in countries like India and China rapidly grow, it is important that governments—particularly in developed nations—face the

It is a widely known fact that the population of the world increases by a great factor every year. However, not many people know what exactly is causing this upsurge. In the past century, the population has radically grown. The main things increasing the world’s population are medical care and infant mortality rates because both have changed drastically over the past century.

Many years ago, Aristotle discussed about the best size for a city, and arrived at a conclusion that “a big increase in the number of population would bring a level of poverty on the citizenry. Poverty will be the cause of all evils including sedition” (Overpopulation: Environmental and Social Problems, 2010). According to studies, human population is expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050. On the economics point of view, as global population is predicted to grow and more countries become more developed, the demand for natural resources will also increase and may be greater than the supply. Much of the growth in population will also have strong economic growth, and this will occur in developing countries. As the per-capita income of these nations increase, the demand for raw materials for use in electronics, military, farming and urban development will also increase. Because of the global warming issue, green energy and green tech production are expected to rise in developed countries. Unfortunately, future supply of these natural resources may not be able to meet the increasing demand (Supply and Demand, 2013). This essay aims to explain what things could happen to the world if the demand for natural resources becomes greater than its supply due to overpopulation. Does overpopulation causes the demand for natural resources to be greater than the supply, and what things could happen as a consequence for this? Yes, overpopulation results in higher demand for natural

By the year 2050, the human population will reach 9.0 billion (United Nations 1). According to a professor of sociobiology at Harvard University, Edward O. Wilson, this is a number that humans do not want to reach. Dr. Wilson, along with many other accredited scientists, estimate that the Earth’s maximum carrying capacity is somewhere between 9 and 10 billion people (Wolchover Par. 2). Carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of people that can be supported by Earth due to the limitations of the availability of essential resources such as food and water. If the population hits this limit, it will be extremely difficult get the resources that each person needs; however, not everyone agrees that the Earth will get to this point. Many people would disagree with this argument due to the fact that fertility rates are dropping; however, the United Nations’ World Population Prospects report takes these dropping fertility rates into account. In fact, the United Nations estimates that by the year 2050, fertility will drop from 2.5 to 2.0 (3). Even when accounting for dropping fertility rates, the human population will still be pushing its limits. A growing population is problematic because of the affect it will have on the environment and the availability of essential resources.