Home / Debates / Health / We Should Be Concerned About Population Growth

We Should Be Concerned About Population Growth

According to the UK’s Royal Society, by 2050 the world’s population is estimated to reach around nine billion. Population increase has been a topic of debate and concern over the last fifty years, but feels perhaps even more of an urgent and pertinent issue to address in the context of current concerns such as climate change, immigration and the availability and distribution of the world’s resources.

All the Yes points:

  1. The resources of the earth are limited
  2. Growth
  3. A Lack Of Fresh Water
  4. Acceleration Of Climate Change
  5. Political Instability
  6. Economic Problems And Crime
  7. Extinction Of Species

All the No points:

  1. Population tends to self-regulate based upon access to birth control and education for women.

The resources of the earth are limited

Yes because…

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.?

No because…

Population growth can potentially drive scientific advancement to help sustain the population level. it is conceivable that, with enough motivation, we could learn to make habitations on other planets.

As long as we’re on this planet alone, our species is living on borrowed time. Without a doubt, there will be some sort of natural disaster that will cause an extinction event. If all of us on this planet, that’s the end of the species. If we’ve been pushed into moving off-world, our species and possibly others will survive.

Growth

Yes because…

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.

No because…

A Lack Of Fresh Water

Yes because…

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.

No because…

According to the USGS, it is likely that in desalinization will be widely used in the future. This will drastically increase the world’s water supply, and the technology is already being utilized.

Acceleration Of Climate Change

Yes because…

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.

No because…

While there is little doubt about the reality of climate change, it is unknown how mankind will be able to adapt to it. New technology may create arable land in areas that otherwise couldn’t be farmed. Furthermore, it is possible that relocating people from areas that are flooded will become easier due to improvements in technology.

Political Instability

Yes because…

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.

No because…

Improved technology is likely to reduce or eliminate the need for some natural resources that are necessary today. This could ultimately lead to reduced conflict in the world. This also could keep governments from having to pass new laws to control resources.

Economic Problems And Crime

Yes because…

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.

No because…

While there may be less space available, this could simply result in people having a reduced amount of living space rather than a scarcity of housing. Furthermore, unemployment could be reduced by the creation of skilled labor positions that become available as a result of advances in technology.

Extinction Of Species

Yes because…

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.

No because…

There are increased efforts to protect the environment. This is likely to prevent a large number of extinctions that would otherwise occur. In fact, the World Wildlife Fund is working hard to save a wide range of species.

Population tends to self-regulate based upon access to birth control and education for women.

No because…

It’s been proven over and over again that the initial population boom experienced by former Third World countries doesn’t continue for more than one or two generations. As women are given access to birth control and education, the desired number of children dramatically decreases. People, most notably women, hold off on having children until they complete their college education and begin a career. That takes at least a decade off of their childbearing years.

At the age of around 27, a woman’s fertility begins to decrease. If she’s only just started trying to have children at that age, her total number of children will be drastically reduced.

Italy, Japan, and others literally can’t pay people to have children. Why? They would rather have a job and more income than raise multiple children.

Yes because…

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.

Subscribe
Notify of
3 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Moostachio
5 years ago

We should be concerned about human population growth because the resources on the earth are limited. Factors have changed on Earth such as climate change, energy, food supply, and freshwater. Humans rely on these factors, yet with population growth, some of these factors that humans rely on may disappear or grow limited.

Data backing up my position (EVIDENCE)

One piece of evidence to prove that we are running out of resources is that one in eight people do not have enough food to support themselves. More than 800 million people worldwide do not have enough food on their table. Reverend Thomas Malthus in his 1798 essay predicted that the population would grow geometrically 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32. The food production he predicted would increase arithmetically 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Fossil fuels are increasing because of population growth. Evidence to prove this is that a 2009 study about the how population growth and global warming are connected shows that the “carbon legacy” of one child can produce 20 times more greenhouse gas than a person can save by recycling, using light bulbs, drive electric cars, e.c.t. A child who lives in the United States can add 9,441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the carbon legacy of a parent. The United States population is continuously growing. In the U.S. homebuilding is increasing, but there has been a decrease in people per household. It went from 3.1 persons per home in 1970 to 2.6 in 2000.

Effects on humans and the environment (REASONING)

The food production increases more slowly than the population growth so there will not be enough food for all the people on Earth. With the population increasing, the use of freshwater is also increasing. The freshwater would decrease and there would be more unsanitary water. This would cause an increase in water-borne diseases. As the population increases, the production of fossil fuels will increase. The expanding production of fossil fuels will lead to more carbon in the environment and climate change. The growing use of cars, more houses being built, deforestation, e.c.t. is expanding the production of fossil fuels. Homebuilding is being caused by population growth, increasing deforestation which takes in the CO2 we put into the environment. The miles people drive a year on cars is increasing which is adding more CO2 into the environment. Carbon dioxide is trapping heat in the atmosphere which is causing global warming. As this continues to occur it will cause sea levels to rise. Major cities that are on the coasts could flood as the ice caps continue to melt. As the amount of land would be decreased food would become more and more valuable.

Bob Barker
9 years ago

I think we should defiantly be concerned about population growth. I had no idea how fast it was rising. I am shocked, and whatever it takes I will help, even if we have to move to another planet. We CANNOT let the human race die out, that would be a mistake on our behalf, if we die out then goodness knows what would happen, Aliens might take over or another animal probably an ape or an octopus. I am really concerned and maybe a solution might be to share the world’s resources out equally between everyone an that way there would be enough resources for everyone.

Top
Verified by MonsterInsights