Overpopulation is when the human population exceeds the carrying capacity of the earth and this is not desirable for human race because it may rise the environmental and social issues. Increase of the population will:
- decrease the natural resources,
- degradation of environment,
- rise in unemployment,
- high cost of living ,
- Conflicts and wars.
Decrease of the natural resources:
Since the earth has a limited amount of water and food when we exceed carrying capacity they will decrease as well because people will need land and nutrition. Consumption of land and nutrition and decrease of resources will be proportional due to increase of human population. Energy sources are harder to reach; right now over 1 billion people cannot access enough food and safe drinking water. Land per capita gets fewer this makes people to live places that are unsafe which may kill them later for example in Japan people have died because they were living in tsunami-prone coast. In an article by Guardian it is mentioned that Earth will be expire in 2050.
Degradation of Environment
Polluting world will raise the unwanted factors such as CO2 emissions which will lead to global warming. This will change the climate and land for example increase of melting ice caps rise in sea level etc. These will also affect the ecosystem as well. Ecosystem is being disrupted by global warming; billions of people are threatened with dislocation.
By Guardian’s words:” Experts say that fishes would emptied the seas while forests – which absorb carbon dioxide emissions – are completely destroyed and freshwater supplies become scarce and polluted. The study will also reveal a sharp fall in the planet’s ecosystems between 1970 and 2002 with the Earth’s forest cover shrinking by about 12 per cent, the ocean’s biodiversity by a third and freshwater ecosystems in the region of 55 per cent.
Marine crisis:
North Atlantic cod stocks have collapsed from an estimated 264,000 tonnes in 1970 to under 60,000 in 1995.
Pollution:
The United States places the greatest pressure on the environment, with its carbon dioxide emissions and over-consumption. It takes 12.2 hectares of land to support each American citizen and 6.29 for each Briton, while the figure for Burundi is just half a hectare.
Shrinking Forests:
Between 1970 and 2002 forest cover has dwindled by 12 per cent.
Endangered wildlife:
African elephant numbers have fallen from 1.2 million in 1980 to half a million now. In the UK the songbird population has fallen dramatically, with the corn bunting declining by 92 per cent in the past 30 years.”
Rise in Unemployment
Rise of population will leave less jobs for the individual. Population growth will increase hierarchy between poor and rich by poverty.
High Cost of Living
Over population will increase the demand of supplies which will lead to increase of the prices. These supplies could be related to food shelter and healthcare. And as we mentioned since there will be a rise in unemployment people will suffer more with the high cost of living.
What Causes of Overpopulation?
- Decline in the death rate
- Better medical facilities
- More hands to overcome poverty
- Technological advancement in fertility treatment
- Immigration
- Lack of family planning
Solution for Overpopulation
- Better sex education
- Teaching family planning
Since you are a part of the population why not educate yourself by the following information and solute the overpopulation!
There are 5 types of family planning:
- Barrier method
- Hormonal methods
- IUDs
- Natural Methods
- Permanents
You can find which method is effective or ineffective etc following site: http://en.hesperian.org/hhg/Where_Women_Have_No_Doctor:Choosing_a_Family_Planning_Method
Breaking the inequality between women and men will be effective. When women will have the same job opportunities as men there will be smaller families more income for the family. Since Japan encouraged their women citizens to work more than they used to be the family sizes got smaller and now Japan is stabilising their population.
LED countries parents have the illusion of when they have more kids as they grow up they will more likely to take care of their parents. By this some countries like India are highly populated.
Sources:
http://www.howmany.org/big_picture.php
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-overpopulation.php
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jul/07/research.waste
http://en.hesperian.org/hhg/Where_Women_Have_No_Doctor:Choosing_a_Family_Planning_Method
Ecoist Magazine 