The Negative Effects Of The Human Population

In order to preserve our resources, environmentalists use the concept of sustainable development-sustainable development is a development that satisfies our current needs without compromising the future availability of natural resources, or our future quality of life. Our consumption rates have risen significantly higher; according to the World Watch Institute, and their article The State of Consumption Today, the rate has gone up thirty-five percent, and we are now ecologically at risk. Nevertheless, who can we blame but

Overpopulation is an undesirable condition where the number of the human population exceeds the carrying capacity of Earth. Recent research shows the Earth currently is holding around 7 billion people and around the year 2050, the population will exceed to 11 billion. While there are organizations helping with people who are in poverty or saving species in the brink of extinction, the real cause of the problem is yet to be solved.

“Many current discussions about sustainability focus on the ways in which human activity...can be maintained in the future without exhausting all of our current resources… there has been a close correlation between the growth of human society and environmental degradation - as communities grow, the environment often declines” (603).

The indefinite growth of the human population, has monumental impacts on the natural environment, not only in the UK, but around the globe. Architecturally, the entire process of designing and constructing a building, both domestic and not, can lead to the rapid exhaustion of natural resources across the planet. Building with environmental design strategies in mind not only combats the impact we as humans have on the natural environment, but also has considerable economic benefits, due to lower running costs of buildings and advanced occupant productivity. There are also many social benefits, such as improved air quality which resultantly leads too enhanced health of a buildings occupants.

Throughout the last few hundred years, humans have built a foundation. Compared to all of the other animal species on Earth, humans are the most intelligent. We have built houses everywhere, developed a system to sustain ourselves, and now inhabit almost every piece of land on earth. Humans are smart, strong, and know how to fend for themselves. But, humans have a tendency to take it too far, and we have already done so. There have been numerous advancements over the past few hundred years which could ultimately lead to the downfall of the human race. The main issue is overpopulation due to the advancements in technology and general knowledge. The statistics from an article by Kenneth Smail show that “In the year 1900, there were almost 2 billion humans living on Earth. Throughout the 1960’s, the baby boom, there were 3 billion humans on Earth. Today in 2016, there are just over 7 billion humans living on Earth.” Currently, we have taken up just over half of all available land on this planet, and with increased amounts of people having kids, our population will only increase. Overpopulation is becoming a serious problem all around the world, especially in countries such as China and India. There are many global problems associated with overpopulation that are becoming more and more prevalent, which will all have dangerous effects on the foundation that humans have

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.

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

In today’s society there are many economic problems, such as pollution, global warming, and overpopulation. These problems have taken a toll on the environment, and its resources. Although all of these issues have an impact on our society, overpopulation stands to have the greatest impact on our environment, due to the large masses of people and the limited resources. There are many solutions to this problem but the common factor is the human race. The human race has to put controls in place and take care of the environment, so the required resources do not become extinct.

There are currently seven million people inhabiting earth. By 2050, it is predicted that population will reach up to 10.63 billion and by 2300 it is predicted to be 36.44 billion. In less than 300 years, population will grow by more than 30 billion people. The earth is meant to hold about six billion people and since humans have already already exceeded its limit, it is crucial for strong actions to take place in order to prevent overpopulation or else serious, irreversible problems will occur. The damage that overpopulation does to people and to the earth is unknown to many, but there are simple ways to control and prevent overpopulation. People have been debating the topic of

The mass of the population is an important subject because it is not only the cause for environmental problems but it also determines the gravity of its impact on our life-sustaining resources (Warren, 2015). It is assumed, that in some developing countries, people should contribute to the conservation of life- sustaining resources by lessening their high intake of natural resources. For example, some countries have integrated governmental policies in order to reduce the amount of members one can have in their families (Warren, 2015). Therefore, because of the concerns of population growth, it has been stated that each nation is to determine their own environmental protection plans and their own family preparation programs. Also, since each nation is best suited to make decisions about its own population and issues with their environmental resources, they are best fit to know what is necessary for their country (Schneider, Havlík, Schmid, Valin, & Mosnier, 2011). However, there are problems when simply focusing only on the control of the population (Magdoff, 2013). Ideas about resources, the environment and population, are not the same because individuals who focus only in the environment and overpopulation, neglect to acknowledge everything else (Magdoff, 2013). There is no discussion about the connection between all of them, and there is also a neglect to produce new ideas on how people can live neutrally with the environment in order to make

of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987; Daly and Cobb, 1994). Not surprisingly, given the vaguarities that surround this definition, hundreds of different interpretations have evolved to operationalize sustainability. As a result, this all encompassing definition of sustainability raised more questions than answers. These questions include:  What resources will future generations require?  At what levels can pollutants be released without having a negative effect on future generations?  To what extent will new sources of depletable resources be identified in the future?  At what level can renewable resources be exploited while ensuring that these

The world’s population is expected to grow from 7 billion today to 10 billion people by 2050. It’s growing, and it’s growing exponentially. But the world we live in is not getting any bigger. We will have the same amount of space we have today in 2050. However, will we have the same amount of resources? Many believe the world is already over its carrying capacity. So in this scenario how will it sustain 3 billion more humans with the resources already getting depleted? The common answer to this problem seems to be sustainable development. The term has been mentioned in a number of environmental related concerns in recent times. But what is sustainable development? And how do we plan to solve the resource crisis through this development? This essay will briefly discuss what sustainable development means, while focussing on how the world resources are getting depleted and what steps need to be taken to ensure the sustainment of those resources for future generations.

As we look back upon history, we have considered our planet to have a never ending supply of resources that humans need in order to satisfy their needs and wants. However, if you look at the world recently, humans have started to realize that these resources aren’t unlimited and have started thinking about sustainability, protection and the preservation of the environment. Looking at the limited supply of natural resources and the increasing utilization due to the growing population and consumption, if we do not come up with a solution to this global environmental crisis, the over depletion of resources will be ongoing which will jeopardize the standard of living for future generations. Natural calamities, droughts, decreasing clean water supply, air pollution, and increasing global temperatures will all continue unless we start taking action immediately. For example, smog that was caused by air pollution in China led to water contamination for natives in China which led to wild life disruption with oil spills (Black,2007). According to theorists in the readings, development and underdevelopment are both caused by environmental situations. Economic development and environment issues are interrelated issues that need to be looked at together and that development processes degrade the environment which eventually can undermine economic development (WCED, 1987:3). Sustainability stipulates the situations under which individuals and environment can survive efficiently as a

As of recently, there has been an ever-growing buzz regarding the environment and being sustainable, and we need to embrace this movement. As the population grows, our demands on Earth’s resources grow, and this current rate is not sustainable. Barring any change, we will not have enough freshwater and natural resources to support our society in the near future. Each day, we incur more and more damage through the demands of consumerism, and this must come to an end. We must, as a society, take it upon ourselves to make individual changes which will potentially be the start of a global shift to a sustainable lifestyle. Our conscious decisions and actions will determine the future health of our planet. Right now is the time we can make a

With the fast-paced and growing world that we live in today, we are overpopulating, over consuming and a significant amount of our resources are being used up. Malthusian focuses on bringing importance to the issue of overpopulation and how it strains many aspects of our lives such as the environment, and economy. Therefore, Thomas Robert Malthus’ theory of overpopulation is a prime example of the dangers overpopulation can have on our planet if there are no measures taken to ensure that there will be a sustainable future. For instance, we are going through a crisis in many parts of the world where overpopulation is an issue and is resulting in poverty. Additionally, many countries are suffering economically due to the very limited