Enviromental concerns of overpopulation - Essay Example

Introduction Human procreation has been very important in propagation of the human race. Through it, people have been able to pass on various talents to future generation, which has continuously been modified according to the needs of a time. Technological advancement has been essential in improving human life styles. Despite this, the technology has had negative effects on some aspects of the human existence. In the recent past, the population increase has been alarming. This has posed some challenges in the maintenance of our environment. This paper seeks to give an in-depth analysis of environmental concerns of overpopulation. Environmental concerns of overpopulation The population growth rate in the twenty first century has been alarming. This has resulted in the exploitation of natural resources, which has exposed the world to more danger. Despite this, most of the stakeholders in population issues have not been active enough to sensitize the threat posed to all persons across the globe. According to research conducted by global footprint network, the water necessary to provide the resources we currently use has declined. Taking into consideration the population at hand, and the food and water they consume, great risk is evidence. To be able to handle the problem effectively, the current technologies in recycling have helped a great deal. Despite this, if the population continuously increases, the technology may not be able to sustain future global needs. Currently, various cities around the globe are experiencing water shortages, which were not experienced in the past. On the other hand, technological advancements have resulted in machinery replacing persons in various industries. This creates unemployment, which becomes alarming due to the large population. Thus, population control and education is necessary so that no resources to be used in the future are exploited now posing future generations into trouble. It would be too late for us to respond when the disaster have befallen (Friedman 1). Human population has increased to alarming numbers resulting to overuse of the currently available resources. These exploitations have affected various aspects of life not only in human race but also in the animal kingdom. Global warming has resulted from alteration of the normal environmental conditions of various regions posing danger to the existence of humankind. In the United States of America, well-informed and equipped institutions such as NASA should provide sufficient information without exaggeration on the current state of global warming. It is evident that the living conditions have been affected and according to Friedman, “The weather gets weird. The hots are expected to get hotter, the wets wetter, the dries drier and the most violent storms more numerous” (Friedman 1). Through too much pollution by the large number of the world’s population, more heat is trapped resulting into the alterations of the temperatures (Frazier 1). This affects the world in social, political, and economic aspects (Krugman 1). As a result, various institutions across the globe have been conduction numerous researches on renewable energy and increased efficiency. This has been brought forth by the reality that most human activities are catastrophic and irreversible. In most countries such as china, Russia and Iran among others, various transformations are being conducted in transport and energy sources to ensure that the damage caused by the enormous population on the environment is curtailed. This is because the world population may have increased by about a third translating to about 9.2 billion by 2050. Thus, lack of proper implementation of effective strategies, the world may become inhabitable in future (Diamond 5). In some cases, issues relating to overpopulation have encountered rejection from various persons who directly or indirectly benefit from natural resources exploitation activities. This contributes, to enormous pollution and exploitation of natural resources. There are various perspective observed to be contributing to the increased number of threats observed because of increased global population. According to Jared, the rapid increase in human consumption in specified regions have caused limitation in accessibility of natural resources to other persons. For example, according to a report released by France’s national agricultural and development research agencies, the carbon footprint of an American is far much beyond that of an Ethiopian. Between 1941 and 1945, significant change in the consumption habits in the USA were evidenced. To many economies, more consumption means more return on investments, which is one of the factors contributing to increased consumption rates. This results into more destruction of resources, which have direct and indirect repercussion on the entire world. In a bid to contain this, coordination between various stakeholders is necessary. In addition, a balance in the consumption between various persons should be stricken with overconsumption being reduced to create more. This together with population control rules implemented by the government could be effective in controlling the propagation of overpopulation problem. Despite this, the birth rates should be controlled effectively to ensure no generation gap is created which would still cause more problems such as human resource deficiency in the future. Conclusion The world population has been a point of consideration in response to the problems it poses. In some instances, enough sensitization of the problem has not been given to the public. Currently natural resources have been exploited posing different challenges in the current population. Technology has played a significant part in combating the threats encountered so far but may be ineffective in handling future challenges. Despite the efforts in respect to the problem of overpopulation resulting from exploitation, obstructions from various institution and persons have been a challenge. On the other hand, increased consumption has been observed to contribute to limited accessibility of resources by various persons. Thus, proper structure must be implemented to ensure that the future does not suffer from overpopulation. Works cited Friedman Thomas. “Global Weirding Is Here.” The New York Times. 17 Feb. 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/opinion/17friedman.html?hpw. 08 Nov. 2011. 1. Diamond, Jared. “The Last Americans: Environmental collapse and the end of civilization.” http://www.astepback.com/GEP/Diamond,%20The%20Last%20Americans.pdf. 08 Nov. 2011. 5. Frazier, Ian. “Terminal Ice.” Outside. 10 Feb. 2002. http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Terminal-Ice.html?page=all. 08 Nov. 2011. 1. Friedman Thomas. “The Earth Is Full.” The New York Times. 07 June 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/opinion/08friedman.html?_r=2&ref=thomaslfriedman. 08 Nov. 2011. P.1 Krugman, Paul. “Cassandras of Climate.” The New York Times. 27 Sep. 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/opinion/28krugman.html. 08 Nov. 2011. P.1 Read More