Global Population Control and Environmental Policies Essay

The current global population of 7.6 billion people is expected to reach 11.2 billion in 2100 (UN DESA), and as the Earth’s population continues to grow exponentially, the topic of environmental sustainability is being debated with increased urgency. In the past few years, many large-scale environmental issues have emerged due to human activities: climate change, air and water pollution, rising sea levels, habitat loss, species extinction, and worsening natural disasters are all becoming more and more prevalent. But perhaps our most immediate concern should be whether or not we will be able to continue feeding this ever-increasing population.

The human population has continued to exceed seven billion people as of 2012. This large increase in population has created substantial alterations to earth’s environment and created heavy reliance on nonrenewable resources it provides us. Currently the human population consumes nonrenewable resources at an unsustainable rate. If this consumption continues to be unsustainable it will lead to the depletion or loss of the resources that we currently rely largely on. The use of natural resources generates waste products (Faure, 1998), and as nonrenewable resources continue to be of high demand they will create increased amounts of

Stephen Emmott, the author of Ten Billion, states in his book, “that if population levels continue to rise, our grandchildren will see the Earth plunged into an unprecedented environment crisis.” There are many threats to our biosphere, that are directly related to human population increases. Over the past last two decades, the human

“I would be absolutely astounded if population growth and industrialization and all the stuff we are pumping into the atmosphere hadn't changed the climatic balance. Of course it has. There is no valid argument for denial.” -David Attenborough

     In 1804 for the first time in the history of humanity more than one billion people were living on Earth. Then in 1927, 123 years later, the Earth's population surpassed two billion. Another billion was added by 1960, another in 1974, and another-bringing the total to over five billion-in 1987. Estimates are that the Earth's population will surpass six billion in 1999 and reach nine billion people in the year 2054-250 years after first reaching one billion.[1] Traditionally the historically slow increase in population has been attributed to limits on agriculture. Modern analysis of population growth, however, indicates that the primary restriction has been disease. The

Throughout this paper, we will explore some of the problems associated with a rapidly growing population leading to overpopulation, such as an increase in hunger, a loss of land, and a loss of resources received from the land. We will discuss when the problem began and the history of how fast the world’s population has multiplied from the lack of contraception assistance due to cost or availability; consequently, resulting in the overpopulation problem. Furthermore, I will purpose the righting of these problems will contribute to the solution. Moreover, we will discuss who and what are affected by the overpopulation problem. I will argue that population growth will be reduced with the use of Reproductive Education License of Four

The earth has been around for billions of years and it everyone’s hope that it will continue to be here for billions more; The world of the future is often very exciting to think about. All the new inventions and advances that humans have yet to achieve are endless. Although there is hope and excitement for the coming future there is also a danger that is looming over the earth. Currently, the earth’s population is estimated at around 7.2 billion and is growing exponentially at an alarming rate. Resources on our earth are limited and it is unknown how many more people that the earth can handle. With these growing numbers, action needs to be taken to protect to the earth and to protectant the continuation of the human species. As the earth’s population grows, it is crucial to think of ways to deal with the increasing numbers to come, through urban planning, birth control and alternative food sources can plan for the future of the earth.

The world population will increase another 3 billion to 9 billion in 2044 (Figure 1), with the imbalance growing between population numbers and vital life sustaining resources, humans must actively conserve cropland, freshwater, energy, and biological resources.

The planet on which we live is dying, harsh: yes, but true. The sustaining capacity of the globe is shrinking a little bit every year and soon, if the population trend continues at the current rate the sustaining capacity will have reached its peak. The ignorance of humanity has lead all to believe that the planets resources are infinite well, I'm here to tell you that research, study, and observation has proven that it is in fact very finite. The population explosion has its roots in developing countries such as China and India, the two most populous countries in the

While overpopulation is a problem that plagues many developing nations, it would be wrong to assume that it is their main problem, or that the countering of overpopulation should receive priority above all else. There are more serious problems facing the third world. Poverty and the unequal distribution of wealth are two that must be dealt with first.

The world is currently home to around 7 billion people, but only a century ago there were only about 1.6 billion people living on it. It is estimated that the world population will soar to approximately 9 or 10 billion within the next forty years (Lambert 6). Along with the increasing global population, climate change and water scarcity are also burdening the survival of our planet (Lambert 5). The FAO has warned that agriculture must produce 70% more food within the next 40 years to feed our expanding population, but the world’s resources and land are dwindling as quickly as the population is expanding (Lambert 5). The world urban populations have been increasing consistently and are

Have you ever heard the metaphor “packed in like sardines”? You could only imagine how uncomfortable it would be. Picture a couple. This couple has three children, and these three children each have a spouse and three children of their own. Now picture these seventeen people all living in one room. Would you feel a little crowded, maybe claustrophobic? How soon before panic would set in, and you find yourself needing space? Now imagine that even if you could leave this room, the situation outside is no better.

It’s a common fear that population growth will exhaust resources and result in social or economic disaster if it is not controlled. It is anticipated that most of the projected population growth during this century will take place in developing nations. These countries have faced many challenges in recent years, including low levels of education, poor health standards, scarcity, limited housing, natural resource exhaustion, strife, and monetary and governmental command by other countries. In places like Africa, industrial development has stalled and most workers still make a living from survival agriculture. The association between population and the environment is a complicated one, human cultures’ bearings on the environment are a

The mass of the population is an important subject because it is not only the cause for environmental problems but it also determines the gravity of its impact on our life-sustaining resources (Warren, 2015). It is assumed, that in some developing countries, people should contribute to the conservation of life- sustaining resources by lessening their high intake of natural resources. For example, some countries have integrated governmental policies in order to reduce the amount of members one can have in their families (Warren, 2015). Therefore, because of the concerns of population growth, it has been stated that each nation is to determine their own environmental protection plans and their own family preparation programs. Also, since each nation is best suited to make decisions about its own population and issues with their environmental resources, they are best fit to know what is necessary for their country (Schneider, Havlík, Schmid, Valin, & Mosnier, 2011). However, there are problems when simply focusing only on the control of the population (Magdoff, 2013). Ideas about resources, the environment and population, are not the same because individuals who focus only in the environment and overpopulation, neglect to acknowledge everything else (Magdoff, 2013). There is no discussion about the connection between all of them, and there is also a neglect to produce new ideas on how people can live neutrally with the environment in order to make

The population of the earth has grown immensely over the past few hundred years, one of the most prominent spikes occurred towards the agricultural age and again during the industrial age. The Earth’s carrying capacity, how many people the Earth can hold without depletion, cannot sustain the growing population for much longer. The increasing human population has also increased its consumption. The population and connection with increases in consumption have many negative effects towards human sustainability. Some of the ways in which the human population can become more sustainable include regulating fertility rates and limiting product production. A study by researchers at the University of Central Florida found that making college students more aware of their consumption levels can actually limit their consumption levels (Grauerholz). Pollution is another factor that contributes the sustainability of the human population. More pollution and human activities will result in less available resources such as clean air (Trevors). Not only will this affect the human population, but also the populations of other living organisms. Lack of resources, for example, can lead to the extinction of animals. To maintain sustainability, the human population needs to create limits and begin creating regulations that will allow resources to replenish themselves at a continuous rate. One of the first steps is to begin working with developing nations so that they can begin to control their