We Should Be Concerned About Population Growth

The earth is finite, and we have no other place to go. As we marvel at our technology we sometimes forget that the fundamentals on which we depend are the the fertility of the soil, the availability and distribution of fresh water, access to sustainable energy supplies and resources, and a stable climate. Above all we depend on the stability of the earth’s natural systems. The breathable atmosphere is less than 5 miles deep. Some reports suggest that we have already lost 80% of the fish in the sea.

The problem is that our rapidly increasing population is just putting more strain on the earth’s resources than it can cope with. If everybody worldwide aspires to live even at the current living standard of the developed world, then we are already at a population beyond sustainability.

As an example just focus on the earth’s fertile soils. They exist only on a very small part of the earth’s surface. If sea levels rise, many of them are in the locations most likely to be flooded. If we misuse them with over-intensive agriculture they will become degraded. If we build on them, then they are unavailable for food production. If we over irrigate we will run out of fresh water. Within human time scales there are not going to be any more.

In the end the natural order will re-assert itself. The earth will reduce the human population to a sustainable number. The only real question is will it be through conflict, starvation and disease, or will we manage to produce a more humane and rational plan.?

The world’s population has been growing rapidly. In 1800 the human population was below 1 billion. By 1930 it had risen by 2 billion on the back of the industrial revolution and ‘agricultural revolution’ in Europe and North America beginning to increase production of food so allowing the human population to grow rapidly. Since then with the green revolution population has soared to 6.8 billion and is projected to increase further to 9 billion by 2050.[[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10578484]] While the growth rate has fallen from 2.5% to 1.2% with a population of 6.8 billion this is still rapid growth in absolute numbers.[[http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=sp_pop_grow&idim=country:GBR&dl=en&hl=en&q=population+growth+statistics#met=sp_pop_grow&tdim=true]] With the human population growing there is less room for other animals. We have become too successful and because of that success our population expands.

According to CNN, many regions will suffer from a lack of fresh water in the future. As the population rises, the world’s water usage will rise. Many areas of the world already suffer from a lack of fresh water. This is likely to result in an increased rate of water borne diseases. More people will be forced to drink from unsanitary water sources.

According to The Center For Biological Diversity, the world’s climate is changing as a result of the burning of fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere, and this causes the world’s temperature to rise. This is likely to reduce the amount of arable land on Earth, and it will cause food prices to increase. Furthermore, climate change is likely to result in rising sea levels. There even are major cities that could be flooded. As the population increases, the production of fossil fuels will increase. This is likely to result in climate change occurring at an increasingly rapid pace.

Due to a decreasing natural resources, it is likely that overpopulation will create more conflict in the world. According to The Population Institute, there is strong evidence of this trend. According to Everything Connects, it is likely that governments will impose new laws to maintain control over the diminishing resources. This could lead to restrictions of personal freedom.

According to Chron, it’s likely that overpopulation will lead to a scarcity of jobs. The jobs that are available are likely to offer lower wages than in the past. As more people are unemployed or underemployed, the crime rate is likely to rise. This is because more people could be forced to commit “crimes of survival”, such as stealing food. According to Conserve Energy Future, the cost of housing is likely to rise due to limited space. This could result in an increase in homelessness. In some regions, little is being done in some areas to prevent this.

As the environment becomes increasingly damaged by overpopulation, it is likely that many more species will be wiped off the Earth. This will result in massive disruption of ecosystems. Due to the disruption, there may be an overpopulation of some species. According to Sea Coast Online, a lack of predators in Maine has resulted in an overpopulation of deer. According to Everything Connects, there currently are more than 19,000 species that are in danger of becoming extinct.

There are many countries in the world which are trapped in a cycle of deprivation. Lack of affordable education and poor infrastructure leads to lack of economic success, which in turn leads to inability to afford the necessary education and infrastrucuture. In these circumstances, having lots of children becomes a kind of social security.

An additional factor is that there are quite a few societies where good education for women is actively discouraged, as a social policy.

Even in countries which have advanced econonically, a drop of birth rate does not really lead to reduced demand on resources, since each person consumes much more in terms of consumer goods, food, water, energy etc. In the UK for example we probably consume about 3 times a fair share of the world resources available. Countries like China, India and Brazil are hoping to join us shortly.

Getting population under control is always going to be difficult, because of the ageing population problem as birth rates drop, but it has to be tackled sometime, and it is not going to get any easier.