Overpopulation: a ‘pressing’ environment force

Amanda Jung/Staff Writer

As a society, we are constantly reminded about the rapid population growth that the world continues to experience. We live in a world with seven billion people and counting. Families are expanding and communities are growing. But have we reached capacity yet?

According to Everything Connects, overpopulation is one of the most pressing forces when it comes to the environment. It’s behind “global warming, environmental pollution, habitat loss, the sixth mass extinction, intensive farming practices and the consumption of finite natural resources.”

How many more humans can enter this world before we run out of resources for everyone? The world certainly does not revolve around us. But without enough water, arable land and fossil fuels, how will it be able to revolve at all?

Energy Future tells us that there was a point in time where the population was able to balance itself. Birth and death rates were able to reach that balance because of the higher mortality rates and lesser quality medical facilities. But we now live in a time with highly advanced technology and overall, a longer lifespan.

So what are the motivating factors behind overpopulation? To begin with, there has been a decline in the death rate. Energy Future reminds us that when the amount of people that die in a year equals the amount of infants that are born, then the population is bound to balance out.

However, the birth to death ratio is not balanced and therefore is leaving us with more humans.

Next, there have been extreme advances in technology. This is especially true when it comes to medical advancements. Diseases are being defeated, more food is being produced and vaccines are being offered. These are things that were not available back in the day.

Overpopulation is something that with time has affected many aspects of the earth. But one of the biggest concerns is the depletion of natural resources. According to Everything Connects, “fossil fuels, fresh water, coral reefs, frontier forests continue to plummet.”

Even with all the facts written out in front of me, I have thought about this issue long and hard. Although it makes sense that the earth can only sustain so many people with the amount of resources we have available, I do not think it’s the biggest problem the environment is facing. And there is only so much that we can do to fix it.

Places like China have policies that limit the amount of offspring that they can produce. This was an attempt to control overpopulation. But is this a policy that the rest of the world can adopt?

Are we supposed to limit the amount of children everyone can have in hopes that this will help the earth?

According to the New York Times, overpopulation is not something to be worried about. The planet’s carrying capacity has changed. The fact that technology has evolved goes to show that we can take care of the world and its growing population.

However, there are obviously right and wrong ways to do so. With a growing population, this means more people to help take care of the environment and all the problems that it’s facing.

More hands to pick up trash from the streets. More minds to learn about how we need to stop eating animal products. And more compassion and love toward Planet Earth.

Whether overpopulation should be on the top of our worries or the bottom, there are so many ways that we can use the people that inhabit this earth to help make a positive mark.

 

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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Image retrieved from Flickr.