What is overpopulation?: Overpopulation is a condition in which the number of human exceeds the actually carrying capacity of earth. The fastest increase of human population is putting an fantastic strain on our surroundings.
Overpopulation occurred due to the increase in fertility rate and decline in mortality rate. The population of earth in 1800 was 1 billion and only 2 centuries later the population of earth exceeds to 6 billion, half of which lives in cities and half lives in rural areas. Developed countries start polluting the environment and depleting its resources and developing countries are under increasing pressure to compete economically and their industrial advancements are damaging as well.
Malthus in his essay Principle of Population argued that populations are likely to outgrow their food supplies. He argued that people would reproduce until they starved, the food supply would only increase arithmetically but the number of people would progress geometrically.
The increase of the global population is not a problem that appeared within the past couple of decades, but its origins come from the prehistoric time and extend to the very present day. Migration was also a major component that encouraged the increase of population and the migration imposes serious threats to the environment.
The impact of the overpopulation that it had on the environment has been just striking as seen by the changes in rates of soil erosion, extinction of species and in greenhouse gas emission. The overpopulation is a serious issue faced by the people of Pakistan and also the whole world is facing this problem. People actually do not completely known what is overpopulation.
The biodiversity and depletion of resources, destroying of natural habitat and production of waste are serious problems that must be resolved in order to ensure that life on earth will be sustainable throughout the next century.
Causes of the Overpopulation
As above we explained what is overpopulation, now we will explained the causes and impacts of overpopulation. The major causes of overpopulation are decline in the death rate, agricultural advancements, better medical facilities, more hands to overcome the poverty, child labor, technological advancement in fertility treatment, immigration, lack of family planning and poor contraceptive use. These are the major causes of the overpopulation.
Decline in the Death Rate
The decline in the death rate is the leading cause of overpopulation. If the number of adults that die equal the number of children born each year then the population will stabilize. With the increase of industrialization the world is getting progress in producing the different kinds of technologies, In hospitals various kinds of machines are produced that easily diagnose or cure the diseases of humans. A better food is provided to the people due to which the people remains healthy and the death rate is declining day by day which causes the overpopulation.
Agricultural Advancements
Advanced technology is the major leading cause of over population. Population â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– and technological revolutions occur at the same time. There have been three major technological revolutions.
- Agricultural Revolution
- Industrial Revolution
- Tool-making Revolution
Agricultural advancements in the 20th century have allowed humans to increase food production using herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and yields further.
Better Medical Facilities
Industrial revolution and technology advancement were the biggest reason why the balance has been disturbed. Science produced better means of producing food which allowed the families to feed more mouths. Also many discoveries are made in medical health center. With the advanced technology it is now easy to cure the various diseases. Treatment for every disease is discovered by the science due to which the death rate is declining day by day and the population size is increasing.
More Hands to Overcome the Poverty
Poverty is considered the main cause of overpopulation. In the unavailability of educational resources, coupled with high death rates, which resulted in higher birth rates that is why impoverished areas are seeing large booms in population. Some of the families that are going through poverty, natural disaster like thunderstorms, deforestation, earthquakes, or are in need of more hands to work are a major factor for overpopulation.
Technology Advancement in Fertility Treatment
With the increased industrialization and technology advancement the more discoveries are made in medical sciences. The couples who are unable to conceive, it has become possible for them to undergo fertility treatment methods and have their own babies.
It has become possible to increase the chance of conception with the help of effective medicines and this lead to the rise in the birth rate. Moreover due to the modern techniques, pregnancies today are far safer. Due to these reasons the size of population is increasing day by day.
The increase of population is more among the poorer families because the necessary education is not provided to them about the family planning. The couple must do a proper family planning so that the population size should not increase. Education regarding what is overpopulation should also be provided to the individuals.
In Short
What is overpopulation: A condition in which the number of human exceeds the actually carrying capacity of earth is known as the overpopulation. Decline in the death rate, agricultural advancements and better medical facilities are the main causes of overpopulation.
Impacts of Overpopulation on the Physical Environment
Physical environment means the non living environment and it includes the water, air, land ,soil and minerals. The utilization, overuse and misuse of physical resources increased manifold due to the growth of human population. More population means more mouths to eat food which acquire agricultural production. Advanced agriculture requires utilization of more fertilizers, more pesticides and more water. Application of the pesticides and fertilizers makes the soil infertile.
More population means the availability of more consumer goods and more space to construct houses. It also acquires more consumption of fossil fuels, more means of transport and more pollution of water, land and air. A number of problems are caused by the different types of pollutions in the physical environment that are further affecting the biological environmental seriously.
Air and Water Pollution
As the population size is increasing day by day more and more forests are cleared. The foremost common reasons for the deforestation are to use wood as a fuel within the industries and to form houses for increased number of individuals to live in. Due to the cutting of forest the trees that help us in reducing the air pollution through the process of photosynthesis are not able to do so any more.
The increase in the population cause increase in the numbers of factories. These factories causes the various kinds of pollution including the water pollution. The water pollution also comes from the pesticides used for agricultural. The increased population size is leading to increased pollution like air pollution, land pollution and water pollution, which in turn is leading to a more hostile environment for human beings themselves.
Deforestation
Forest are an important natural resource of Pakistan. They protect the soil erosion and they have moderate influence against floods. More population means the availability of more consumer goods and more space to construct houses. The most common reasons for the deforestation are to use wood as a fuel in the industries and to make houses for increased number of people to live in. Due to the cutting of forest the trees that help us in reducing the air pollution through the process of photosynthesis are not able to do so any more. By influencing the ecological balance and life support system, the forests play an important role in enhancing the quality of environment.
Depletion of ozone layer
The different kinds of chemicals released by the activities of humans ruined the ozone layer. The ozone layer is gradually destroying by the effect of the CFCs. The CFCs were used as refrigerants, solvents, aerosol propellants and to â– â– â– â– foam plastics. Other chemicals such as the nitrous oxides from fertilizers and bromine halocarbons may also attack the ozone layer.
Methane and nitrogen oxides
Methane and nitrogen oxides are also compounds which adversely affect the stratosphere’s ozone. With the increase of population the concentration of CFCs has been increased. The thickness of the ozone layer is lesser to that a hole in the layer has been formed. Now the ozone layer is unable to completely protect the earth from the ultraviolet rays sent down by the sun.
Global Warming and Climate Change
The major issue that is bothering the environment is the global warming. Global warming is basically like glass in a green house, gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide admit the sun’s light but tend to reflect back downward the heat that is radiated from the ground below, trapping heat in the earth’s atmosphere and it is called the green house effect.
Global climate change is identified as one of the biggest threats to the planet. Scientists and Governments alike have agreed that the problem is serious. There is a worldwide consensus among climate scientists that global average temperature has raised about 1F in the past 130 years.
Land and Soil Degradation
The land is the storage for so much useful nutrients and water required for living micro-organism and plants. The demand for energy, food and other human requirements depends upon the improvement of the productivity of land. The loss of arable land has been caused by a number of factors, many or most of which are tied to human development. The major causes are deforestation, agricultural activities, overgrazing and industrialization.
Solutions to Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a serious issue and it causes various problems to the environment. This issue should be resolved to sustain the life on earth. Solutions to the overpopulation is the better education, education for girl child, making people aware of family planning, tax benefits or concessions, knowledge of sex education and social marketing. These are the solutions to overpopulation. It is necessary to know what is overpopulation and how to resolve it.
Better Education
Better education is necessary to resolve the issue of overpopulation. Educating the people helps them understand the need to have one or two children at the most. Efficient birth control and family planning can help in women making their own reproductive choices. Voluntary sterilization and open dialogue on abortion should be seen when talking about overpopulation.
Education for Girl Child
Education for the girl child is important but in our society the education is not considered necessary for the girls and child marriage further disrupt their access to education. The girl who receives less education in this era is more likely to have children early or vulnerable to exploitation. The poorer families are less likely to enroll their female children in school. The knowledge should be provided to them about what is overpopulation.
Making People Aware of Family Planning
The population of the world is increasing at a rapid pace, it is essential to give awareness to the people about family planning. Raising some awareness among the people of the family planning and letting them know about serious after effects of overpopulation can help to control population growth. One of the best way is to let them know about the contraceptive methods available to avoid any unwanted pregnancy and various safe sex techniques.
Social Marketing
Social marketing has already been started by some people to educate the people on overpopulation effects. A variety of print materials ( fact sheets, brochures, stickers and flyers) can be distributed in places such as at sporting events, schools, local food markets, car parks and at local places of worship.
Role of environmental Psychologist to resolve this issue
A number of changes in the environment and in the issue of overpopulation are brought about by environmental psychologists. Environmental psychologists are very much concerned to the health of mother earth. They realize there are no quick fixes and that only through understanding and changing human behavior can there be any hope of maintaining a habitable planet that is even though psychologist recognize that many of the problems are technological they also emphasize that the source of these problems is human behavior.
Malthus’s work
Malthus’s work induced a number of followers to advocate for birth control to limit reproduction and the population size. A first call for birth control pill came from Margaret Sanger, a nurse living in New York, who was affected by the lack of women’s rights. Rise to the birth control movement is given by the Margaret when he came across women in hospital who were dying of septic abortions.
This view stuck her and she decided to call for women’s rights to their body. “No women could call herself free who does not even own and have control of her own body”. This thought give rise to the birth control movement. Malthus advocated changes for the lower-class, with an intention of decreasing the population because the unaware and the uneducated people had too many babies.
Summary
As we know what is overpopulation, the impact of the overpopulation that it had on the environment has been just striking as seen by the changes in rates of soil erosion, extinction of species and in greenhouse gas emission. Due to the overpopulation people are facing the issues of food scarcity, shortage of water as well as there is the lack of job opportunities Solutions to the overpopulation are the better education, education for girl child and making people aware of family planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding what is overpopulation.
Which country has the fastest growing population?
South Sudan has the fastest growing population. The population in South Sudan grew by about 3.82 percent compared to the previous year, making it the country with the highest population growth rate in 2017. The global population today amounts to around 7.5 billion people, i.e. the total number of living humans on Earth.
What is overpopulation and which country has negative growth?
Overpopulation is a condition in which the number of human exceeds the actually carrying capacity of earth. The countries experiencing negative population growth include the Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Japan, Hungary, Italy, and Greece. Negative population growth cannot be good in a stable environment but can be good in an area that is overpopulated.
Is world population declining?
Global population grew very slowly, up until the beginning of the industrial revolution. After about 1800 the growth rate increased to a peak of 2.2% annually in 1968; but since then, because of the world-wide collapse of the total fertility rate, it has declined to 1.2% today (2020).
What country has a stable population?
The population of some 43 countries around the world are either essentially stable or declining slowly. In countries with the lowest fertility rates, including Russia, Japan, Italy, and Germany, populations will probably decline somewhat over the next half-century.
Which countries are increasing in population?
There are some countries that are increasing in population. India is expected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country by 2027. On a percentage premise, all 10 countries that are projected to encounter the biggest growth in population by 2100 are in Africa, led by ■■■■■(582% increase), Angola (472%) and Tanzania (379%).
Conclusion
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What is Overpopulation: Overpopulation is a condition in which the number of human exceeds the actually carrying capacity of earth. Overpopulation occurred due to the increase in fertility rate and decline in mortality rate. Agricultural advancements, better medical facilities, more hands to overcome the poverty, child labor, technological advancement in fertility treatment, immigration, lack of family planning and poor contraceptive use. These are all the major causes of overpopulation.
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Due to the increased number of humans there is more necessity of big houses and large amount of food, water and other resources that are in the use of human beings. For the construction of houses people need lands and for this purpose people start cutting the trees from forest due to which the issue of deforestation occurred in all over the world. Deforestation makes the environment unpleasant. The temperature of the environment is increasing day by day due to the deforestation.
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Reasonable steps should be taken to resolve the issue of overpopulation. The better education, education for girl child, making people aware of family planning, tax benefits or concessions, knowledge of sex education and social marketing, these are the solutions to overpopulation.