The Earth’s population is growing at an alarming rate. The current population according to the United States Census Bureau, is over 7.7 billion people and counting (Bureau, 2021). It is projected to increase to over 8 billion by 2025 and reach 9 billion by 2040 (LeBlanc, 2021). Humans are the most widely distributed and manifestly have a greater global environmental impact than any other species (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2020). Given current circumstances, the population increase is outpacing the ability of our planet to support it.
Technology has increased the carrying capacity for
humans. The surge of world population growth began 200 years ago and was
stimulated by industrial and scientific revolutions. Advancements made in
agricultural productivity, engineering, information technology, commerce,
medicine, sanitation, and other modern achievements have made it possible to
support 1,000 times as many people per unit area as was possible 10,000 years
ago. There are still concerns about whether limited supplies easily acquired
natural resources and fossil fuels, or adverse consequences of their use will
result in a crisis in food production, transportation, or some other critical
factor in human society (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2020).
The
relationship involving overpopulation and the environmental impacts are
interrelated and complex. Some of the key environmental issues associated with
overpopulation include farming impacts, deforestation, eutrophication, freshwater
scarcity, and global warming. The main economic issues associated with
overpopulation are food, mineral, and food shortages, low per capita income,
unemployment, social and economic insecurity, and increased pressure on
environmental and land degradation (LeBlanc, 2021). The term conservation vs
preservation is an appropriately used term in reference to overpopulation.
Earth’s massive population has a major impact on the environment and must be
checked in order to preserve the planets natural heritage. Conservation vs
preservation both imply a level of protection. Conservationists aim to regulate
human use and look for ways to enhance the economy at the same time.
Preservationists aim to eliminate human use of the environments and preserve
the life of all living beings. Conservation plays an essential role in limiting
human practices to a sustainable level. Conservation promotes sustainability
and responsible management of natural habitats and resources. Preservation serves
as a way to maintain natural areas and addresses the concern of human
encroachment on the environment.
Overpopulation
and overconsumption are one of the most pressing ethical issues faced at this
time. There are those that oppose coercive population restraint policies on
ethical grounds. They believe that population control mechanisms degrade the
value of human life and is morally unacceptable. Advocates for population
control assert that it is necessary to combat global poverty and the continuing
deterioration of the environment. Population raises important ethical issues
regarding the balance between reproductive rights and environmental and social
responsibility.
There are many proactive solutions that can be taken to
resolve the issues associated with overpopulation. One unique solution could be
modeled after the Population and Community Development Association in Thailand.
After recognizing rapid population growth in poor, rural areas, Mechai
Viravaidya developed a way to spread information regarding family planning and
population growth through humorous methods. The PDA hands out free condoms,
sells t-shirts with safe sex messages, and pays farmers money to paint birth
control ads on the sides of their water buffalo. By addressing the topic of
birth control and family planning through humor, PDA has successfully made the
issue less taboo. When PDA started in 1974, Thailand’s growth rate was 3.3
percent per year. In 15 years, the growth rate fell to 1.6 percent and
contraceptive use among married couples increased from 15 to 70 percent
(Cunningham & Cunningham, 2020). Some other ways to solve the
overpopulation issue would be educating and empowering women and giving them
easy, affordable access to reproductive health services. Educating ourselves
and others about the negative impacts of overpopulation is crucial. Government
incentives and tax should also be put into action. Individuals can also work to
provide a solution.
Reducing emissions, conserving water, saving energy, and consuming less are all
simple solutions that can easily be adopted in an effort to reduce our
environmental impact. From the time we wake up in the morning, we are making
decisions that impact whether or not we are supporting sustainable lifestyles.
Our personal actions may not seem like they make much of an impact short term,
but it is important to realize that they do add up over time. Adopting
sustainable practices and teaching our children about sustainability is
important not only for our own future, but for our children and our children’s
children. Our planet as well as future generations can all benefit from the
sustainable practices we engage in today.
It is an innate human desire to want to
produce, but we are doing it at an excessive rate. It is imperative that we
implement solutions that will clear paths forward to a more sustainable world
where humans can share a habitat and resources with other species. Scarcity of
our resources will only ensure suffering, war, and death.
References
Bureau, U. S. C. (2021, July
7). World population Day: July 11, 2021. The United States Census
Bureau. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/world-population-day.html.
Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham,
M. A. (2020). Principles of environmental science: Inquiry and applications
(9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
LeBlanc, R. (2021, February
6). The environmental impacts of overpopulation. The Balance Small
Business. https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-overpopulation-impacts-the-environment-4172964#:~:text=2%EF%BB%BF%20Population%20is%20growing,to%20eutrophication%20and%20global%20warming.
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