Category: Overpopulation

Introduction

Overpopulation is one of the main challenges that affect development in most countries today. Overpopulation refers to a situation characterized by a large number of people with too few resources and too little space at their disposal (Mosher 19). Most economies in the 21^st Century have very little resources and poor infrastructure, which cannot support large populations.

Overpopulation leads to several negative effects that include land degradation, pollution, and poor living conditions among others (Wright 100). One country that is currently having difficulties managing its population is China. Studies conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) have established that China is the world’s most populous country.

China has more than 1.3 billion people, which is equivalent to 20% of the global population (Mosher 28). This means that one in every five people in the world lives in China. Despite numerous efforts made by various governments over the years, China is still struggling with the challenge of overpopulation in the 21^st Century.

Several years ago, China implemented a number of policies that were meant to regulate the rate at which its population was growing. Although it has not been easy to implement the policies, they have helped in reducing the number of births. However, experts warn that China could be on the verge of facing a new population crisis due to those policies.

Implementation of the policies has led to a situation where there a very few children in comparison to a large number of adult population that is aging quickly (Mosher 50). This means that the government will have a harder time addressing its population issues because the old and sick people will have no one to take care of them.

Discussion

Overpopulation in China has had a definite impact on the country’s economy, environment, infrastructure development, and the style of governance (Johnson 30). The population crisis in China has become a global issue, owing to the numerous contributions that the country makes towards the activities of the international community. Although the government has tried a number of strategies to address the problem, it is yet to come up with an effective solution that will eliminate the problem completely.

Studies have established that people in overpopulated countries often experience numerous challenges such as inadequate natural resources that are not easily accessible. There is always an inadequate supply of food, water, and energy (Johnson 43). Overpopulation has affected the stability and development of China’s economy because of the high rate of unemployment. In a fast growing population, the number of jobs available decreases as the number of people increases.

According to experts, an overpopulated country often struggles to achieve economic stability when the number of people without employment is very high (Wright 109). In addition, they argue that unemployment leads to the development of social issues such as insecurity.

High rate of unemployment in China has led to an increase in the level of crime across all the quotas. This has influenced the style of governance used in the country. The high rate of crime has led to increase in the cost of supporting police operations, the courts, and running the prisons (Day 201). Studies have established that overpopulation affects the style of governance used, because a country keeps getting into constantly increasing debts in order to provide for the needs of its people.

Overpopulation crisis in China

According to experts, the four major factors that have contributed to overpopulation in China are social, economic, environmental, and security issues. Economic factors have contributed the most to overpopulation population in China. Following the freeing of China’s foreign trade and investments in 1978, the government encouraged its people to venture into business (Mosher 69).

This was geared towards improving the economic stability of the country and ensuring better living standards for everyone. According to experts, the prospect of having a high performing economy encouraged people to have large families because they knew it would be easy to provide for them and also act as a source of labor.

Another causative factor of overpopulation in China is fertility issues (Johnson 60). Studies have established that over the last couple of decades, the fertility pattern of people in China has been changing a lot. The reason for the changing fertility patterns has been the numerous policies that the government introduced to reduce the number of births (Wright 116).

China’s population has reached a point where the government ought to find a permanent solution in order to ensure that the number of people remains within manageable levels. Some of the strategies used by the government include implementation of policies such as the one-child per family, birth-control, one apartment purchase per family, and new car lottery (Mosher 80).

During the initial stages of the program, the government aimed at reducing the number of children per woman from an average of six children to two children. With time, the government introduced the one-child policy that required all women to get a maximum of one child.

According to the policy, the government was willing to provide numerous benefits to families that agreed to have one child. In addition, families that had more than one child had to suffer serious consequences that included termination of their jobs, high taxation, or termination of pregnancies among others (Rosenberg and Qicheng 53).

The Chinese government has also been advocating for birth control measures, as another effective way of managing the country’s rising population. Some of the methods that the government encourages people to consider include having vasectomies, tubal bindings, and abortions among others (Johnson 79).

It is very sad for a government to support abortion simply because it does not have enough resources to cater for the needs of its huge population. The Chinese government should focus on restoring the country’s lost biodiversity and investing in better infrastructure.

It is ironical the way the Chinese government managed to prioritize economic growth as a way of regulating population growth, whereas it could have focused on increasing the country’s resource capacity. Economic growth empowers people and encourages them to have larger families because they can provide for them (Wright 124).

Effects of the population control policies

Studies have established that the population control policies applied by the Chinese government have had numerous effects on various aspects of the people’s lives. Although the policies have had different degrees of success, they were difficult to implement because of the negative stereotypes the people developed about them (Rosenberg and Qicheng 53).

Some of the information provided to the government by its officials was false. In some homes where there was more than one child, the officials were underreporting because they feared for families that were already struggling. It was inhuman for the government to punish families that had more than one child.

The reason for this is that circumstances, such as the birth of twins, triplets, or more are beyond an individual’s control (Rosenberg and Qicheng 54). In addition, over taxation or terminating the source of income for parents that had a large family made some families to hide their children in homes that did not have any children for fear of the consequences.

According to experts, some of the strategies that the Chinese government used to implement the policies were too harsh on people who were already economically strained (Day 207). Another effect of the policies is sociopolitical fracas. For example, the United States of America was among the first countries to express their displeasure with the birth control measures the Chinese government was asking its people to use.

The government was also forced to ease on some policies, especially where they supported the Chinese tradition of huge preference for boys over girls. The policies have also improved the social and economic welfare of people in China, because natural resources are more accessible and government services are affordable (Rosenberg and Qicheng 61).

Conclusion

Over the last couple of decades, China has managed to regulate the rate of population growth to a manageable level. Although some of the strategies the government used to regulate the number of births have not been very good, people have slowly learned the need and importance of family planning. However, the international community has a responsibility to ensure that the Chinese government focuses on economic empowerment and increased accessibility to resources by all people in order to improve their living standards.

Works Cited

Day, Kristen. China’s Environment and the Challenge of Sustainable Development. New Jersey: M.E. Sharpe, 2005. Print.

Johnson, Tina. Childbirth in Republican China: Delivering Modernity. New York: Lexington Books, 2011. Print.

Mosher, Steven. Population Control: Real Costs, Illusory Benefits. California: Transaction Publishers, 2011. Print.

Rosenberg, Brian and Jing, Qicheng. A Revolution in Family Life: The Political and Social Structural Impact of China’s One Child Policy. Journal of Social Sciences 52. 3(1996): 51-69. Print.

Wright, David. The History of China: Second Edition. New York: ABC-CLIO, 2011. Print.

Introduction

The growth and development of the human race has over the centuries grown exponentially. This can be attributed to the various social, cultural, economic, political and anthropological factors that influence man’s perception and course of action. Additionally, in a bid to ensure the survival of the race and also satisfy their need to procreate, the human population has been on the increase at an alarming rate.

Consequently, this population growth has come with its own advantages and disadvantages depending on the prevailing situation. One of the problems arising from population growth is that if unchecked, it may lead to overpopulation which over the years has caused more harm than good to many States.

With this in mind, this paper shall set out to evaluate the impacts of overpopulation to the political, cultural, anthropological and economical perspectives to various economies and societies. The causes and effects shall be discussed and possible solutions and recommendations made. This shall aim at analyzing the extent to which overpopulation is beneficial to the various aspects mentioned in this paragraph.

According to Bommes & Morawska (2005) human overpopulation refers to the overcrowding of people in one area, location or region leading to the exhaustion of natural resources, environmental degradation and impairment to the quality of life.

The impacts of overpopulation have in the recent past influenced the political, social, economic and cultural aspects of human development. It is to this accord that I embark on this study in order to further analyze the positive and negative implications that have and may arise from the same.

Overpopulation has been brought about by various factors. Such factors include the massive immigration and movement of refugee, internally displaced persons (IDPs), expatriates and immigrants, irregular economic development, cultural beliefs and poor population control policies.

As a result, this has led to over exploitation and destruction of natural and human resources, starvation due to inadequate supply of food, overcrowding, high rates of unemployment due to shortages of employment opportunities and finally, political and social unrest experienced in many nations (Bodley, 2005).

In order to study this complex aspect of the human race, I shall implement the various theories and principals developed by credible scholars that try to explain the causes, effects and solutions pertaining to overpopulation. However the concepts vary depending on the field of study and I shall categorize them and provide empirical evidence on each area concerning the influence and magnitudes to which overpopulation is either a threat or an asset.

My main focus shall lie mostly on the social sciences approaches devised to examine overpopulation as an area of study. The theories used in this field have been known to suffice in dealing and examining the various social problems that occur in our day to day lives and overpopulation is no exception.

The various disciplines developed in social sciences, provides the researcher with an opportunity to narrow down a specific problem to its root cause as opposed to general causes and ideas. This shall be helpful in this research as I intend to analyze overpopulation as regarding to its effects on different fields which require different approaches and methodologies.

Psychological perspective of overpopulation

According to Hunt & Colander (2009), overpopulation can be cause of many advantages and disadvantages. On a psychological perspective, it leads to competition and novelty amongst the people who employ themselves physically and mentally in order to acquire the scarce resources. This in turn improves self efficacy amongst the individuals who over time develop survival instincts in differentiated situations.

However, to some, it may cause feelings of frustration, deprivation, and to a large extent aggression amongst the members of a particular region. This is mainly attributed to the various conflicts that crop up due to scarcity of crucial amenities such as land, food, employment and security. Such inadequacies increases the stress factors and as a result, individuals are most likely bound to vent out such feelings on their societies which they feel that they have failed them or are against their success in their fight for survival.

Overpopulation may also lead to behavioral and moral changes amongst members of a particular group. This is mostly so because each human is distinct in character and in order to co exist, they have to adapt and synchronize with each other. Consequently, if the number of interactions is high, so is the level of influence towards an individual’s personality which eventually leads to a total or partial change in personal traits and behavioral patterns.

Sociological perspective

According to a web article “Social Impacts of Overpopulation” (2003), there are some major reasons as to why population growth ought to be monitored. The author states that there is an increasing shortage in clean water supply globally due to the rapid drop of water tables mainly due to human consumption. In addition to this, ther is evidence of overfishing and coral reefs which sustain water species are also dying at a very fast rate.

Cities are developing at a high rate which in turn is increasing the levels of pollution to the atmosphere leading to respiratory diseases. Also, an estimated 800 million people globally are said to be malnourished as farmlands succumb to soil erosion and pollution. As a result, there has been an increase in environmental degradation and destruction as man clears forests to make more space for development.

Also, people are constantly relocating due to overpopulation and the technological advancement (industrialization) is causing air pollution which affects the climate leading to such vices as global warming which is threatening the existence and survival of the human race. Spielvogel, 2008) acclaims that due to overcrowding; there has been an increase in criminal activities and moral decadence worldwide.

On the same note, there has been an increase in the emergence of diseases due to poor living and sanitary conditions. At the same time, the rate at which the spread of diseases such as the H1N1 virus (swine flu), bird flu, AIDS and cholera has been alarming mostly due to overcrowding in specific areas and overpopulation worldwide.

Anthropological perspective

Since the wake of time, it has been within man’s knowledge to multiply and fill the earth. The human race is characterized by diversity in terms of cultural norms and beliefs. In as much as most communities have ever since adapted to the changes facing them, most of them still instill and adhere to the various cultures that are followed by their communities.

This especially applies to African countries where overpopulation is rife due to various cultural beliefs and norms evolving around reincarnation, polygamy, and having many children as a sign of wealth and social status (Becker & Vanclay, 2003).

In addition to this, some religions have instigated the presence and development of this problem. For example, the Muslims allow polygamy while some Christians (Catholics) oppose to the use of contraceptives. Such beliefs and norms have led to increased population levels worldwide.

Economic perspective

Hunt & Colander, (2009) reiterates that overpopulation has had detrimental effects as well as benefits to the various economies worldwide. They claim that due to overpopulation, there is ample supply of human labor, constant and a large market for products, increased demand which has raised the GDPs of nations and increased competition which has led to competition and technological advancement on a global scale.

However, there have been some negative effects arising from the same. High inflationary rates are being experienced globally due to shortage in supply and increased demand for various goods and services, unemployment has also been on the increase due to lack of sufficient jobs to satisfy the labor market, over-exploitation of resources and unequal distribution of industries and resources.

In addition to this, overpopulation has further widened the inequality gaps as regarding to income and standards of living as well as a rise in the overall cost of living between individuals and nations.

Political perspective

Due to the severity of the situations, many governments have established policies designed to regulate the population growth and limits of their countries. This is mainly because the disadvantage of overpopulation far outweighs the advantages.

In a country like China which holds most of the world’s population, the government has imposed a law which dictates the number of children each family should have and the preference given according to the sex of the child. In addition to this, many nations have invested highly in educating their citizens on family planning and the use of contraceptives.

Accreditation policies have also been implemented in order to regulate the number of immigrants or refugees coming in or going out of a country in order to avoid overpopulation. On the other hand, countries such as Canada whose local population is too low have set incentives to encourage reproduction among its local population. Such incentives include free educational sponsorship by the government or free medical cover to all indigenous new born.

However, there are some policies that have led to the increase of this problem. For example the US offers support cheques and funding to all its citizens who are unemployed or earning little wages. This has contributed to the increase in population because most of the people living in poverty are the ones with large families as opposed to those who are rich and able.

In addition to this, the policies supporting interracial and intercultural marriages has further contributed to this problem due to the fact that the couples adapt to the various cultures or even develop a new one as pertaining to procreation.

Political instabilities and insecurities have also contributed their fair share in this problem (hunt & Colander, 2009). Due to these factors, there has been an increase in rape cases, unemployment, poverty and movement of refugees and IDPs. Additionally, these factors have led to poor administration of population policies and inaccurate census figures in various countries making the regulating and monitoring process nearly impossible.

Perspective evaluation

Each perspective presents a very noble case towards the existence, causes and effects of overpopulation to human beings. However, the anthropological perspective holds more weight than the rest. This is because the human existence is purely based on morals and beliefs which act as guidelines to all that we do. Overpopulation evolves around procreation which is core to man’s culture as regarding to the continuity of their lineage (family name) and generally the human race.

Conclusion

According to the information gathered, overpopulation cannot be confined to any one of the mentioned disciplines. This is due to the fact that each perspective has different causes and effects to overpopulation. However, overpopulation as is with all other social problems is caused by a series of events which interlock within the political, social, economic and cultural aspects affecting the human race.

This means that a combination of these disciplines would provide more insight on the problem as opposed to isolating each. For example, due to the unison cultural and personal belief that we should procreate, the human race has over the years been increasing in numbers as a result, there has grown an interest and need for land forcing others to relocate in order to meet this need while others clear natural resources to gain more land to accommodate them as a result of this, there has been an increase in the emergence of cities and industries leading to soil and air pollution which has affected the climate.

As a result, farmlands have become less productive and the food provided cannot suffice the population requirements causing malnutrition and starvation of many people who end up feeling deprived, frustrated and being aggressive.

This aggression culminates into violence leading to political and social instabilities and insecurities among the citizens. This example shows a combination of the various perspectives as a single chain of events that best explains the causes and effects of overpopulation.

Overpopulation is indeed a force to reckon with its impacts and effects have proven to be detrimental to man’s survival in this planet. Its effects have managed to slip into all aspects that govern the human race leaving us in a chaotic and dangerous setting. The various perspectives that are influenced by overpopulation have been highlighted and the weaknesses and points of strength therein discussed.

Something ought to be done in order to curb this ever growing menace before it goes beyond control. In so doing, we shall have secured a safe and peaceful future for the oncoming generations with a unified culture based on self sustenance and balance.

References

Becker, H, A & Vanclay, F. (2003). The International handbook of social impact assessment: conceptual and methodological advances. Edward Elgar Publishing

Bodley, J, H. (2008). Anthropology and contemporary human problems. Rowman & Littlefield

Bommes, M & Morawska, E, T. (2005). International migration research: constructions, omissions, and the promises of interdisciplinarity. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd

Facstaff. (2003). Social Impacts of Overpopulation. Web.

Hunt, E, F & Colander, D, C. (2009). Social Science: An Introduction to the Study of Society. 13/e: Pearson Education

Spielvogel, J, J. (2008). Western Civilization: Alternate Volume: Since 1300. Cengage Learning

With the world facing the issue of overpopulation, there has been discussion of implementing limits on the number of children households can have. Although officially such policy has only existed in China, it is likely that as resource scarcity worsens, other countries may consider such steps. Limits on the number of children should be implemented yet introduced in a way that focuses on family planning and government support rather than draconic interventions.

The primary argument on limitation is overpopulation. The global population is expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050 (United Nations, 2022). Scientists and experts are increasingly emphasizing that the human population is becoming too large to be sustained by the planet. Furthermore, hundreds of millions of people are living in insecure conditions on unsuitable land and homes, often struggling to meet their basic needs such as food and water. Due to climate change, many places in the earth are expected to become virtually unhabitable, while food production is expected to become more difficult. The impacts of overpopulation are long-lasting and far-reaching, and it is a vicious cycle as rising birth rates are seeing greater resource consumption, which in turn, leads to an environment where these resources are limited (Khan, 2021).

Another supporting factor of limiting the number of children is that it allows for more resources to be dedicated to each child both within microenvironments of the family and the macro considerations of the national economy. There should not be a one-child policy as occurred in China as this was socially detrimental, but a limit of 2 children (or 3 with evident of financial resources to support it) is more appropriate. Evidence suggests that fewer kids made families happier and provided more opportunities for education and other development until maturity. The costs of raising children are substantial from a financial standpoint, particularly if they are highly successful in a specific field (athletics or academics) (Pinsker, 2019). Furthermore, publicly, there are limited resources that the government can provide (resulting in larger class sizes in schools and other inconveniences). Therefore, limiting the number of children can focus more resources on a single child, potentially ensuring their successful upbringing.

The main counterargument is that population control is unethical and violates fundamental freedoms in democracies such as the US. That is not unfounded but can be countered with the evidence that unrestrained population growth goes in conflict with most of commonly accepted human rights. Overpopulation will directly threat the stability of society in every way, from a lack of resources to civil unrest as people will fight to fulfill their needs. Ethics of population control are generally perceived as negative but if done correctly, can be implemented in a safe manner. Responsible reproduction goes beyond supporting one’s children, it is considering their future and the world the next generations will live in, so ethically carefully limiting numbers without discrimination or eugenics is appropriate.

There are increasing pressures and arguments towards creating policies on limiting the number of children. However, it has to be done ethically and correctly to avoid pitfalls seen in China’s experiment where there is a tremendous gender discrepancy due to cultural differences and a number of highly unethical practices were implemented. Population control should be done through family planning and incentives for families to limit childbirth on their own accord. The limits will not only begin to gradually resolve the issues of overpopulation, but will allow for a greater amount of resources, such as education and opportunities, to be distributed for each child.

References

Khan, C. (2021). Is our planet overpopulated? We ask the expert. The Guardian. Web.

Pinsker, J. (2019). What number of kids makes parents happiest? The Atlantic. Web.

United Nations. (2022). Population. Web.

Introduction

The concept of overpopulation of the planet is not new. There is a finite amount of space and resources that the planet can offer, and technological advances can only mitigate the situation so much. The first scholar to consider the idea of overpopulation was Thomas Malthusian, who brought it up in a work called “An Essay on the Principle of Population.” He managed to outline the reasons for population growth such as the improvement of standards of living, an abundance of food, and advanced medicine (Barbier 4).

When Malthusian made his predictions, however, he did not consider technological progress. The apocalypse he predicted was averted through innovations in technology and agriculture. Today, in 2016, humanity faces the problem of overpopulation once more. Despite many who dismiss the threat of overpopulation, it is much more real now than it was in 1796, as natural resources are now much fewer than they used to be and the population – much larger.

Causes of Overpopulation

Although different scholars point to different factors that influence population growth, the core ones remain the same. These factors include the following:

• Advances in food production and agriculture;
• Advances in industry and production;
• Advances in medicine; and
• Poor family planning (Barbier 92).

It is obvious that these four factors are the ones that affect population growth the most. Advances in food production and agriculture create a surplus of food, which allows for population growth without famine as a natural barrier to curb it. Advances in industry and production provide clothes and items for the growing population to use, thus creating and maintaining a higher standard of living. Modern medicine curbs child mortality and effectively prolongs peoples’ lives.

Lastly, poor family planning means families become large and produce many children, with no regard for how it affects the environment. Together, these factors have contributed greatly to the incredible population growth rates today.

Effects of Overpopulation

Many scholars have identified the disastrous effects overpopulation has on the environment. There are main three points of concern to which overpopulation will inevitably lead:

• Depletion of natural resources;
• Degradation of the environment; and
• Resource wars (Barbier 75).

With consumer culture on the rise, the population requires increasingly more materials to maintain their high standards of living. Everybody wants to have an iPhone, and everybody feels the need to have a personal vehicle. While certain resources, such as wood and energy, are renewable, the rest are not. Eventually, Earth will face a resource crisis, which is only sped up by the ever-increasing population (Toth and Szigeti 284).

More people mean a quicker degradation of the environment. Humanity, in general, has a negative influence on nature. Therefore, the more humans there are, the worse the impact is. This fact is especially true for developing countries, where advances in medicine and agriculture promote population growth, but eco-technologies and recycling are not yet implemented (Cafaro and Crist 75).

As natural resources become more and more depleted, resource wars will follow. Covert resource wars are already being waged, as major powers confront one another over the oil basins located in the Middle East. This competition will become even fiercer in the future as non-renewable resources become less and less common.

Solutions to Overpopulation

There are two popular paths to take when trying to solve the overpopulation problem. The first deals with the roots of overpopulation itself and are aimed at lowering the number of births through state programs, family planning, sex education, and other such initiatives. Such a strategy is already implemented in China, where the government imposes severe financial penalties for having more than one child. The country was forced to face the overpopulation problem earlier than most due to the unprecedented population growth it experienced in the decades prior.

The second route is not aimed at lowering the population but rather at providing for them. This approach involves recycling, using renewable energy, developing eco-clean technologies, and implementing other ideas that slow down and reduce the damage caused by the excess population. Looking for materials and resources outside the planet is futuristic, but it represents a viable strategy nonetheless. Eventually, humanity will have to look for resources in space, as it is impossible to create a completely self-sustaining resource model – some resources will inevitably be lost in the recycling process.

Combining both of these paths into one all-consuming strategy seems like the most reasonable and effective approach to mitigating the problem of overpopulation. Introducing statewide policies on birth control – in addition to popularizing recycling, using renewable energy, and minimizing the damage to the environment – would severely reduce the dangers presented by overpopulation and would buy humanity more time to find a permanent solution (Barbier 184).

Conclusion

As it stands, the effort to combat overpopulation is in its infancy. Outside of a couple of concerned governments who have to deal with overpopulation at home, nobody seems to give the issue the proper attention it deserves. If humanity is to overcome this problem, a united stance and a complex approach are required. This effort would require cooperation between different nations on all levels, as well as a vast informative campaign to make sure the general populace understands the need for such initiatives. Without such a joint effort, any local attempt to deal with the situation at home would have a limited effect.

Works Cited

Barbier, Edward. Economics, Natural-Resource Scarcity and Development, New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.

Cafaro, Phillip, and Eileen Crist. Life on the Brink, Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation, London: The University of Georgia Press, 2012. Print.

Toth, Gergery, and Cecilia Szigeti. “The Historical Ecological Footprint: From Over-Population to Over-Consumption.” Ecological Indicators 60 (2016): 283-291. Print.

Introduction

Overpopulation is a highly unfavorable condition characterized by the total number of people on Earth exceeding its carrying capacity. Overpopulation is caused by positive changes in people’s welfare: better health care, higher life expectancy, reduced rates of mortality, etc. Technological advances improving the quality of life and increasing lifespan lead to the unceasing population growth. As a result, even wars, natural disasters, and man-made threats are unable to balance birth rates (Pimentel, 2006).

The essay at hand is going to analyze the existing problem investigating its causes and effects. The primary objective is to highlight the deplorable consequences of overpopulation and thereby persuade people not to overpopulate. Possible solutions will also be suggested.

Causes of Overpopulation

• Reduced death rates. Overpopulation appears when births outnumber deaths. Currently, there are many factors that may increase death rates for a short period of time such as wars or natural calamities. However, the above-mentioned positive factors increasing the number of births are more influential and sustainable (Pimentel, 2006).
• Better health care. Discoveries in medicine help people struggle successfully against a whole range of diseases that were previously considered terminal (Jargin, 2009).
• Need for bigger families to overcome poverty. In the past, poor people gave birth to a lot of children to make up for high mortality rates among babies. Besides, such families always needed working hands. Nowadays, most children survive creating overpopulation (Pimentel, 2006).
• Fertility treatment. It is now possible for partners who are unable to conceive to have a baby after they undergo fertility treatment. Besides, the course of pregnancy is much safer due to technological advances in the field (Pimentel, 2006).
• Immigration. People from developing countries often opt to move to areas more comfortable for living. Although the overall population of the planet remains unchanged with immigration, it creates overcrowded areas and causes resource shortages (Jargin, 2009).
• Neglect of family planning. The population of developing countries is mostly illiterate and is completely unaware of family planning. Besides, people there usually get married at an early age to increase the chances of having more children (Jargin, 2009).

Effects of Overpopulation

Very few people understand how severe the consequences of overpopulation can be. It is not regarded as a big issue even by the world governments, which do not take measures to prevent it (e.g. China has recently abolished the policy restricting the number of children in a family). However, there exist weighty arguments about why people should stop overpopulation. Some of them are (Kuo, 2012):

• Depletion of natural resources. The current needs for food and water already go far beyond Earth’s capacity. People not only consume more than the planet can offer but also do irreparable damage to the environment (which increases proportionally with the population growth). If we do not stop overpopulation, the planet will run a huge risk of total resource depletion. At present, the lack of resources causes acts of violence at the national scale and provokes global conflicts.
• Destruction of the environment. Overpopulation implies a greater number of vehicles. Their emissions coupled with industrial wastes pollute the air and kill wildlife. Moreover, they create a greenhouse effect and change climatic patterns. Therefore, continuing overpopulation will lead to another global climatic catastrophe, which may result in the extinction of our species.
• Armed conflicts. As has already been mentioned, countries confront one another fighting for resources. Conflicts over water and food lead to starvation.
• Poverty. Overpopulation accounts for aggravation of poverty. A lot of people who survive due to the advancement of medicine live in societies that cannot provide enough resources for a large population. It means that the majority of citizens have to stay below the poverty line. Unless the measures against overpopulation are taken, developing countries will have to deal with the enormous gap between the rich and the poor.
• Increasing unemployment. A growing population needs jobs to earn a living. Unfortunately, the number of vacancies is limited. Staying without any occupation makes people engage in criminal activities such as stealing or even murder.
• High costs of living. Overpopulation exerts a negative influence on the world economy. With more and more babies born every day, the difference between supply and demand becomes huger. Besides, the goods and services produced are not distributed equally: generally, areas that are the most densely populated suffer from the lack of food, clothing, health care, shelter, and basic modern conveniences (leaving alone luxury goods) whereas developed countries encounter the problem of oversaturation. Despite such differences, prices continue to grow everywhere. which means that people are forced to pay more and more to survive. In the long run, unless the problem is solved, huge regions will not be able to afford even basic elements of living.

As it is evident from the analysis, overpopulation deals not only with dissatisfaction caused by having to tolerate more neighbors but rather presents a threat to the whole humanity that will have to encounter wars, poverty, and famine if it fails to find the way out.

Possible Solutions to Overpopulation

No matter how grave the problem might be, there are still measures that can be taken to stop overpopulation. These are (Pencheon, 2012):

• Better awareness. Social changes must begin with attempts to increase awareness of the problem. Governments can impose various policies and laws but their effectiveness will directly depend on the attitude of the mass population. People must understand the necessity to have no more than two children.
• The right to make a reproductive choice. Women must be able to have an abortion if they decide that they cannot afford to raise a child. Voluntary sterilization should also be allowed as an option.
• Promotion of family planning. Since many families simply do not know anything about family planning, it is important to teach them various methods of contraception that make it possible to prevent an undesired pregnancy.
• Introduction of family policies, tax benefits, or concessions. Governments may choose between positive and negative reinforcements: they can introduce policies punishing families that have more children than it is allowed with additional taxes or, on the contrary, they can lower the income tax for those who do not have children or have only one child. Financial motivation is usually very strong and makes people reconsider their decisions.
• Sex education for children. A lot of parents feel embarrassed to discuss sex-related issues with children, which results in dangerous, unprotected sexual activities and unwanted pregnancies. This can be avoided with proper education in the subject.

Conclusion

Human overpopulation now ranges among the most pressing world problems. Without our awareness, it exacerbates the hidden forces that trigger global warming, deterioration of the environment, extinction of species, air pollution, depletion of natural resources, and other damages happening at speeds that are much faster than our planet’s capacity for regeneration. It means that if we continue ignoring the problem, sooner or later we may be left without a place to populate.

References

Jargin, S. V. (2009). Overpopulation and modern ethics. SAMJ: South African Medical Journal, 99(8), 572-573.

Kuo, G. (2012). MegaCrisis? Overpopulation Is the Problem. World Future Review, 4(3), 23-32.

Pencheon, D. (2012). People and planet: from vicious cycle to virtuous circle: Overpopulation, poverty, and environmental degradation share common solutions. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 345(7864), 9-23.

Pimentel, D. (2006). Overpopulation and sustainability. Petroleum Review, 59(1), 34-36.

The problem of overpopulated prisons in the USA is a very disputable topic nowadays. Many people suggest numerous solutions to cope with the issue. However, some of them are ineffective and can be even harmful for the American society. By all means, it is essential to solve the problem of overcrowded prisons, but every solution should be thoughtful and effective.

Thus, one of the provided solutions is to release older inmates which will leave room for younger ones. This solution is based on the fact that it is three times cheaper to house a young inmate than an old one. Nevertheless, this measure can be ineffective since it can lead to more violence and crimes.

It is rather unclear what the former prisoners would do when released. In fact, younger people have more chances to successfully return to normal life. It will be possible to release definite number of older inmates (which will be rather small) who are unlikely to commit any crime. However, this will not have significant effect on the situation with overpopulation in prisons.

It is also suggested to decrease the population in prisons by deporting illegal immigrants imprisoned in the USA. However, this measure can be even dangerous since those illegal aliens can return and commit new crimes. Moreover, their number is not that large.

For instance, the famous case of Somali pirate, Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, who hijacked “American-flagged cargo ship”, resulted in more than 30 years of imprisonment for the pirate (Weiser). If he was deported to Somali, he could escape the sentence there (justice system in Somali is not perfect), so he could return to hijacking new American ships. Since he is imprisoned he is not a threat.

Finally, it is also suggested to use the death penalty for prisoners who commit very serious crimes like murders and rapes. However, this measure raises too many questions. It can lead to many deaths of innocent people. Besides, the problem of death penalty is also a very disputable topic which is still unsolved, so it cannot be an effective solution.

It can seem that the problem of overpopulated prisons is everlasting, but there are at least two possible measures which can be very effective. First of all, it is necessary to improve the justice system which is the reason of overpopulation in prisons. Thus, it is necessary to rethink the “three-strikes law” which “mandates 25 years to life in prison for three-time felons” (Moore A17). This law is regarded as one of the main reasons for overpopulation in prisons since about 70,000 parolees go back to prison annually because of this law (Moore A17).

Secondly, it is necessary to rethink the life of inmates in prison. People who violated rules of the society should pay their duty to this society. It is ineffective just to keep people imprisoned: simply feeding them.

Inmates should work and be helpful to the country. Of course, it is not about new type of slavery, but it is unfair that people who live according to the rules should feed those who violate those regulations. Everyone should work hard to become really helpful for his/her country. Thus, imprisonment will not be a vacation but a place where those who do not want to work outside the bars will have to work in prison.

Works Cited

Moore, S. “The Prison Overcrowding Fix.” New York Times 2009: A17.

Weiser, B. “Somali Pirate Sentenced to Nearly 34 Years.” New York Times, 2011. Web.

Introduction

Based on the data presented in Chapters 2 and 3 of the book a grim future for humanity is seen wherein farmlands have turned into deserts, freshwater is nonexistent, the climate is hellish and natural disasters abound as a result of the ill-advised nature of the voracious human exploitation of the planet’s resources.

Insights gained from the chapters reveal that the main reason behind the problem of resource overconsumption which threatens the very future of the planet is the rampant overpopulation of humanity which threatens to drain the resources of the planet. It is revealed that as the population of humanity grows so to does the strain the human species places on the planet.

This strain can be seen in the increased consumption of water which has drained underground water reservoirs; formerly lush plains turned into arid deserts and the very sky itself filled with CO2 gases as a result of humanity’s rampant consumption of fossil fuel-based products and resources.

The impression I got from the book itself is that humanity can be compared to a swarm of locusts, consuming everything indiscriminately in its path and leaving nothing but ruin in its wake.

I say this because if current trends are not changed what will be left will be nothing more than a dry empty shell of a planet with few exploitable resources and nothing more than a hellish environmental scenario for future generations.

As such in order to prevent this future from coming to pass one of first initiatives that should be undertaken is population control since with fewer people utilizing resources the more time humanity has in fixing the problems it started.

The Problem of Overpopulation

The inherent problem with the concept of overpopulation is the fact that the finite resources available on Earth cannot hope to support the potentially infinite expansion of humanity. The Earth itself is a closed-off ecosystem with no resources entering into it, as such its surface can only support a certain population of species, both human and animal alike before the ecosystem inevitably collapses in on itself as a result of a severe strain on the planet’s natural and ecological resources.

Nature itself has a specific system of prevention in place that prevents populations from growing beyond their means due to the predator and prey dynamic. Humanity, which long ago evolved to be the dominant species on the planet, does not have an imposed system of control placed upon it by natural forces and as a result can expand exponentially due to this apparent freedom. It is this exponential expansion that I believe is at the heart of today’s problems involving land, water, and climate change.

While there are initiatives towards conservation and the use of renewable energy resources through energy transition the fact remains that such initiatives will become totally useless in the face of a growing human population that has already exceeded the means by which the Earth can support it.

An Examination of an Inconvenient Truth

In the movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”, Al Gore presents viewers with the results of human activity on the planet. He shows how storms are getting stronger, droughts are getting longer and dryer and as a result of humanity’s unmitigated use of fossil fuel resources the Earth is getting hotter resulting in global climate change which has severe ramifications for the future of humanity.

He explains that it is within the past 70 years that humanity’s expansion and consumption has reached a critical point resulting in the slow decline of the planet’s natural ability to replenish resources. ).

The rapid expansion of the global population following the period of the 1960s resulted in humanity consuming more resources than the planet could replenish resulting in the present-day conditions wherein 6.8 billion people are consuming the equivalent of 1.4 Earth’s.

This phenomenon described as an “ecological overshoot” can be seen in the rapid degree of deforestation in various countries around the world, the rampant overpopulation in developing and Third World countries as well as the sheer amount of pollution currently in the planet’s ecological system.

This has affected weather and climate patterns to such a degree that it has actually caused artificial climate changed resulting in an increasingly warm atmosphere due to the accumulation of pollutants such as C02 in the air as a result of cars and fossil fuel burning power plants. Based on the information presented it can be seen that the current growth of the human population is unsustainable in the long run due to the finite resources on the planet.

As a result, the problems currently facing humanity will only get worse if nothing is done to prevent human overconsumption and ecological abuse from permanently disrupting Earth’s natural ecosystem. Based on the movie and the earlier statements involving chapter 2 and 3 it can once again be seen that main problem is not really humanity’s overconsumption but rather the size of the population that has lead to overconsumption.

The problems that Gore states can never be truly overcome so long as overpopulation persists, If true change is to be established what is needed is to reduce the problem of humanity’s burgeoning population which would result in the other problems taking care of themselves over time.

Overpopulation is a concerning factor considering it has led to adverse environmental and societal effects. The consequences of overpopulation include the depletion of natural resources and climate change which have hindered the conservation of natural resources such as water and animals (Weber & Sciubba, 2019). Therefore, there is an urgent need to control overpopulation considering the fact that it will lead to the planet’s conservation (Weber & Sciubba, 2019). Therefore, everyone is obligated to control human population growth since it has steered increased extraction of resources from the environment, such as overfishing, contamination of water, and soil degradation, leading to depletion.

Water has become a scarce commodity due to activities such as the over-pumping of groundwater. People consume large amounts of water as their population increases, leading to its depletion. Other activities, such as water contamination through industrial wastes and marine dumping, have reduced water levels (Weber & Sciubba, 2019). Another situation caused by the growing population is the depletion of natural resources such as fish due to the increasing demand for these aquatic animals (Weber & Sciubba, 2019). When the demand increases, activities such as overfishing become normalized, resulting in extinction.

Soil degradation is another regressive indicator that signifies the change in the ecosystem. Activities that promote soil erosion include the over-cultivation of land for commercial agriculture to sustain the growing population and the overgrazing of animals (Weber & Sciubba, 2019). These activities lead to the reduction of soil quality, which has promoted the loss of biodiversity. All the activities mentioned have resulted from the pressure to sustain the demands of the growing population (Weber & Sciubba, 2019). Everyone is responsible for stopping this menace, considering that human activities destroy the ecosystem. Reducing the population can be promoted by advocating for family planning programs and adopting new conservation alternatives such as not dumping in the oceans.

Reference

Weber, H., & Sciubba, J. D. (2019). The effect of population growth on the environment: Evidence from European regions. European Journal of Population, 35(2), 379-402.

Society has had a detrimental effect upon the Earth through its exploiting or otherwise affecting most of its terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Whether negligently or intentionally, human activities have caused the deterioration of the natural environment and the extinction of many species. The significant movement of the population to the suburbs, coupled with economic prosperity and the technological improvement that made it possible, began to take its toll. Suburban growth overwhelmed land resources. Thesis Overpopulation has a great impact on environmental degradation causing pollution and resource degradation.

In urban areas, overpopulation causes water and air pollution People who resided at the edge of cities observed cherished farmlands and wildlands vanishing before their eyes. Many of the earlier urban émigrés observed that the open spaces they had come to enjoy had disappeared (Hollander 2004). Those who moved to the suburbs later found it even more difficult to find a house within a reasonable commuting distance from the city. Traffic jams became common, and new highways were built to improve traffic flow; but as soon as the new highways were built, that encouraged more suburban (Bengtsson and Saito 2003).

Pollutants may harm the senses of sight, taste, and smell and may also cause health hazards. The potential for climate change and resource depletion may eventually alter the fundamental framework of society. These potential effects will most likely become exacerbated by the end of the twenty-first century when the Earth is expected to have human biomass of thirty billion people. Presently, the human population is increasing exponentially at the rate of approximately 1.5 percent annually (Hollander 2004). If this growth rate were to continue, one can imagine that the sheer mass of all living humans, in a few thousand years, would be greater than the mass of the Earth.

For the human biomass to mushroom to this level, it would need to devour the Earth itself. Planet Earth is essentially a closed system concerning the matter. There is no transfer of matter between the Earth and its surroundings (Kinder, 2007). Because the number of atoms on Earth is finite, a species grows in biomass at the expense of its surrounding environment by obtaining atoms from the Earth. Consequently, the human biomass can never weigh more than the Earth; unless atoms are obtained from other planets, exponential growth cannot occur on Earth forever (Bengtsson and Saito 2003).

The new highways soon filled with traffic, along with all the noise and fumes. As these substances became widely used, it became apparent that they would generate other concerns. One problem with synthetic organic compounds is their proper disposal. Plastic wrappers and bottles entering natural environments remain for years. A number of these items are nonbiodegradable and resist decomposition by microorganisms (Kinder, 2007). There is also concern about the hazardous chemicals that some materials release into the environment (Hollander 2004). The unexpected side effects these substances pose for life are dangerous and sometimes unpredictable. There were reports of farmworkers suffering from overexposure to pesticides and wildlife dying wherever pesticides were used (Kinder, 2007).

The growth of industries and cities placed a tremendous burden on the environment by introducing pollutants such as pesticides, radioactive isotopes, and heavy metals into the air, land, and water. There are now approximately seventy thousand different chemicals in the marketplace, and new ones are being produced at an accelerating rate. In addition, the use of precious supplies of energy and materials for luxuries such as motorboats, air conditioners, and hair dryers has added more stress to the environment. These items deplete limited resources of raw materials necessary to make such products, as well as the depletion of “clean air” in the environment.

Pollutants such as waste heat, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), radiation, pesticides, carbon dioxide, and other gases are found in air, land, or water. They are capable of moving from one sphere to another. Usually, chemicals on the land are carried by rainwater to nearby waterways where they may cause pollution. The activities of one individual can create pollution that is detrimental to other individuals or the society at large (Hollander 2004).

The transboundary movements of pollutants lead to unusual and complex economic and political difficulties. Individuals in one nation may suffer economic loss and health hazards as a result of the pollution that originated in another nation, yet they may not benefit from the economic activity that caused the pollution. On the other hand, a nation or jurisdiction that acts to minimize pollution that is being transported over hundreds of miles may gain little local environmental benefit (Hollander 2004).

The inter-jurisdictional problems related to the regulation of long-range air pollution are especially apparent in the acid rain issue, which has led to several international disagreements. For example, a large amount of acid precipitation that is damaging the environment of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada is caused by industrial activity in the American Midwest (Bengtsson and Saito 2003).

Biodegradable pollutants are temporary nuisances that organisms break down into harmless compounds. If the pollutant is organic (including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and nucleic acids), the organism obtains energy and/or material for its use in the process of breaking it down. However, biodegradable pollutants could have serious environmental consequences if large quantities are released in a small area. For example, the dumping of organic or food waste into a small pond will deplete the pond’s oxygen supply.

Left with no oxygen, the fish will die. Thus, biodegradable substances become pollutants when they overload the environment because they cannot be broken down by organisms at a rate fast enough to maintain the integrity of the environment (Kinder, 2007). Ecologists use the term “assimilative capacity” to express the ability of an aquatic ecosystem to assimilate a substance without degrading or damaging its integrity. Integrity is generally defined as the maintenance of the structure and the functional characteristics of a system. Nonbiodegradable pollutants, on the other hand, are dangerous simply because organisms have neither evolved enzymes capable of digesting them, nor have they developed a defense mechanism against them (Hollander 2004).

Fat-soluble nonbiodegradable pollutants, such as methylated mercury, chlorinated hydrocarbons, benzene, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, have an additional and more significant property. Because they are fat-soluble, but not water-soluble, these pollutants are not excreted in the urine. Instead, they accumulate in the fat of organisms. Because organisms cannot metabolize these toxins, they retain almost 100 percent of them (Hollander 2004).

Current sustainable strategies aimed to reduce pollution and contamination in urban areas. In the USA, environmental activists emphasized images of unbridled polluters, technology out of control, and a laissez-faire attitude of a government that tolerated, even encouraged, the wholesale pollution of air, water, and land. On that day, America witnessed an unprecedented demonstration by millions of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds (Lomborg 2001).

The concern about the state of environmental quality was expressed by people–from kindergartners to university people. Teach-ins, litter collections, and environmental rallies were held in communities throughout the nation. Indeed, these acts of growing public dissatisfaction would propel environmentalism as a potent political force (Kinder, 2007). Over the next few decades, Earth Day’s significance as the focal point for a new political coalition became apparent. Today, however, though the American public remains generally supportive of environmental measures, it often disagrees on specific policies of conservation, antipollution control, and limiting development (Bengtsson and Saito 2003).

In the 1990s, in response to the political activism from citizens and environmental groups, the U.S. Congress enacted and/or amended numerous laws that touched virtually every aspect of public responsibility for the protection and management of the environment–from clean air to the disposal of solid wastes, to saving endangered species. The responsibility for continuous and systematic administration of these laws was largely delegated to public agencies created for just that purpose, such as the Environmental Protection Agency.

The new environmental laws were unlike previous ones in many respects (Lomborg 2001). First, they came in succession; second, most of them had effective means of enforcement; and third, the federal government became more involved in environmental protection. Pressure to involve the federal government in environmental quality came from the awareness that some forms of pollution were complex and required the type of research base that only the federal government could provide (Lomborg 2001).

Moreover, it became apparent to lawmakers that a coordinated system of pollution control was necessary. For most of American history, local and state governments had assumed responsibility for environmental protection. Except in the management of the vast federal lands of the trans-Mississippi West and the protection of American fishing and coastal interests, the federal government’s role in direct environmental control was limited (Lomborg 2001).

A plan to search suitability should consist of two main sections:

1. air pollution, waste control, and water control,
2. birth control.

Municipalities are often able to pass costs onto neighboring communities by dumping sewage into waterways or by building landfills or wastewater treatment plants at municipal borderlines. Local politicians strive to keep taxes down and win re-election by externalizing the costs of their municipality. National governments also have done their share of externalizing. Many nations have lowered pollution standards to encourage industrial development. As already noted, the transboundary issue has been politically divisive due to socioeconomic costs and benefits that have been accrued to different nations (Lomborg 2001).

Birth control methods can involve voluntary sterilization, birth control pills, diaphragms, contraceptive sponges, condoms, intrauterine devices. In a voluntary population education program, the decision to procreate is left to individual couples (McKee, 2003). The government may play a role by discouraging couples from reproducing when the nation is overpopulated and encouraging reproduction when it is underpopulated. In such a case, the population control program would be informative and advisory, but not mandatory. Such programs respect cultural and religious values and are in full agreement with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (McKee, 2003).

The benefits of the plan are government involvement in the problem of pollution and public attention to the problem. The main challenge is a lack of financial resources and great difficulty to establish birth control for low-class citizens. Many of them are deprived of financial resources to spend on contraception pills and medical examinations (McKee, 2003).

Social, government, and global support is important because only joint action will help to reduce pollution and control population growth. The preceding notwithstanding, several positive developments have resulted from these international conferences. The first is that they brought attention to the endangered global commons. Secondly, the conferences brought together international decision-makers. Finally, the conferences galvanized the world’s emerging environmental movement.

The importance of the world’s environmental movement should not be overlooked. Most environmental agreements are not yet subject to international adjudication, and other mechanisms may be used to enforce them. Some of these agreements have been enforced using trade measures, pressures from non-governmental organizations, and debt-for-nature swaps. International commitment to protecting the global commons, an effort that has attracted the attention of both public and private decision-makers, has demonstrated the value of widespread cooperation in the affairs of government (McKee, 2003).

In sum, the population explosion, in many respects, is one of the rudimentary causes of environmental problems. Holding all other variables constant, humans will eventually affect the environment; larger populations will consume enormous quantities of resources and will subsequently generate more pollution. With zero population growth, society could concentrate on improving environmentally benign technology while raising the quality of goods and services.

On the other hand, with an expanding population, society must make use of its resources by providing new goods and services for the growing population. For instance, instead of building factories, resources could be diverted to make the present ones more efficient. Because the population crisis may increase demand for environmental laws, which can sometimes infringe on reproductive rights, population policies are generally topics that politicians are not willing to discuss in public. This is not to say that the population issue has not come up indirectly in other ways–for instance, in funding for famine relief and aid for family counseling.

References

1. Bengtsson, T. Saito, O. (2003). Population and Economy: From Hunger to Modern Economic Growth. Oxford University Press.
2. Hollander, J., M. (2004). The Real Environmental Crisis: Why Poverty, Not Affluence, Is the Environment’s Number One Enemy. University of California Press.
3. Lomborg, B. (2001). The Skeptical Environmentalist, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4. Kinder, C. (2007). The Population Explosion: Causes and Consequences. Web.
5. McKee, J. K. (2003). Sparing Nature: The Conflict Between Human Population Growth and Earth’s Biodiverstiy. Rutgers University Press.

For half a century, scientists have stated that very soon, we will face the problem of overpopulation. Essential topics such as plastic pollution, deforestation, extinction of wildlife, and global climate change are directly related to overcrowding. It can be stated the confidence that the solution to this global challenge is the primary duty of present and future generations. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the overpopulation phenomenon and propose optimal solutions to the problem.

For a long time, people have believed that human beings are the crown of creation of nature. Massive population growth has led to the fact that humankind has become the bane of planet Earth. In just one hundred years, the number of human beings has grown from one and a half to almost eight billion. It was possible thanks to scientific and technological innovations and the system of accessible education. The following ignorant and wasteful use of natural resources also played a role. The keys to solving overpopulation can still be found in these areas. Competent and universal sex education, family policy, and government regulations in natural resource extraction can become possible ways to fix the problem of overpopulation. It is time for human beings to grow up and begin to take care of the future of the planet.

Overpopulation is an issue not only for humanity but for the Earth as a whole. The problem negatively affects the natural and social aspects of human life. Essential factors for a possible solution to overcrowding are competent and modern social policy and government supervision in the field of natural resources. We have a liability to all living creatures on the planet, and we must keep this in mind.