Overpopulation
Since human beings first became a species capable of agriculture, the question has been asked of how many people we can support. Overpopulation, by definition, is the crowding of people to the point where resources are spent and the human condition falters. This can include, but is not limited to: a lack of food, water, or medical care. One of the earliest predictions of a “population bomb” came from a British Minister, Thomas Malthus. In Malthus’s An Essay on Population, he predicted that the population would outrun food supply, leading to a decrease in food per person. He based this idea that population, if left unchecked, increases at a geometric rate, while food supply would only grow at an arithmetic rate. He believed that only misery, moral restraint, and vice could keep population growth in check. (Malthus, Thomas/An Essay on the Principle of Overpopulation, 1798)
When An Essay on Population was published in 1798, few people at the time would have guessed that events like the Industrial Revolution and the long term effects of Imperialism would begin to materialize into a boom of population that would require new methods of control. In the year 8,000 B.C., it was estimated that the human population was 5,000,000. Approximately 800,000,000 were estimated to be alive in 1798, and today that number is at about 5,000,000,000; it is estimated to grow to 6,000,000,000 by the early 21st century. (Eldredge, Niles/Will Malthus Be Right?, 1999) Only in modern times have there been attempts to slow the population explosion. Improving women’s status, family planning, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, reforestation, and environmental protection have all proved effective methods of counteracting the effects of overpopulation.
Today the populations of many modern, developed nations are beginning to level off, and in some countries, such as Italy, the population is beginning to decline. (Wikipedia/Overpopulation, 2004) The United States is the only developed nation predicted to have a significant increase in population in the next 100 years, mostly due to immigration. These decreases in population growth can be linked to control efforts, such as modern medicines, contraception, family planning, and increased output of agriculture. The problem of overpopulation does not lie within the developed nations, but within the third world. 95% of population growth can be accounted for in developing nations, where population control methods are not being applied. The world’s fastest growing population is in Africa, where the countries that are most affected by overpopulation are the ones least able to control it. Nearly three fifths of the 4.8 billion people in developing countries lack basic sanitation, almost a third have no access to clean water, a quarter lack adequate housing, and a fifth lack access to modern health services. (National Geographic/Overpopulation, 2001) In addition, over 800,000,000 people in the world are malnourished. Disease is also on the rise due to urban crowding and lack of education in reproductive health in third world countries.
Human beings have, in a sense, globalized themselves both socially and economically. Along with these social and economic unifications comes a consolidation of resources. We rely on at least 40,000 different species of plant and animals for necessities like food, shelter, clothing, and fuel; yet, every 20 minutes, another 3,500 humans are born, but at least 27,000 species of plants and animals become extinct every year. (Gaia, Karen/World Population Awareness, 2004) Wild habitats that shelter endangered plants and animals are giving way to human activities and needs, and even some areas of the world’s oceans are becoming over-fished, along with coral reefs dying in many places. (Eldredge, Niles/ Will Malthus Be Right?, 1999) It is even predicted that within the next one hundred years, we will have completely sapped ourselves of all fossil fuels. Already conflicts over control of water have become a problem in areas such as the Middle East. Less and less water worldwide is usable with each passing day, contaminated to unsanitary levels by pollutions. The situation is becoming increasingly dire and desperate, as problems contributed to overpopulation are becoming almost interminable in many areas.
Overpopulation and its accompanying effects cannot be ignored as they have been by previous generations. The calamitous predictions of Malthus are now coming to widespread fruition in the continents of Asia and Africa. These situations are not isolated, as signs of overpopulation are now becoming evident in many countries along the Pacific Rim. Nations in such areas are beginning to be benefited with the marvels of modern medicine, but have yet to evolve into societies with modern cultural practices. Without the implementation of family planning into their societies, it is the norm for families to exceed six or more children; that number of children is unnecessary, and to some extent, irresponsible in any modern society. Large families to work the farm are no longer essential to survival, and, in fact, are an economic drain. Causelessly large families only contribute to overpopulation. Longer life-spans are also a contributing factor, as it adds to the number of people alive at a given time. If kept unchecked, these problems will only worsen, and in the most ruinous case, the nations within the Pacific Rim will enter themselves into an already frivolously long list impoverished and downtrodden nations. Methods of controlling overpopulation have already been proven effective in many European nations. If implemented into developing nations, overpopulation can be stifled and a catastrophe avoided.
In the past, there have been several different approaches to counteracting overpopulation. Many European nations have taken to the method of implementing social programs, such as: family planning, increased education, and urbanization. However, an example of the absolute fallacious way to counteract overpopulation can be found in Communist China.
In China, the government has instituted restrictions on population growth that have created devastating consequences with minimal desired results. Since the early 1980’s, the Chinese government has been reinforcing inhumane birth control regulations. They have imposed laws that have restricted family sizes to three; if a family had more than one child, they could face punishments such as taxation of up to 50% of income or loss of employment. In many cases, births that were not pre-approved by the government would be forcefully terminated. Even more frighteningly, the government enacted forced sterilization programs for families that had more than two children. The effects of these regimentations have been heinous. Among female babies, an insurgence of infanticide has lead to the death of an uncountable number of children. Additionally, many of the agriculturally primitive Chinese people rely on large families to work the land, and with only a single child, have been unable to properly work the land and produce the necessary food. Reports have even shown that many of the programs instituted by the Chinese government are factually ineffective. Nations such as the United States have expressed strong opposition to programs that mandate sterilization and forced abortions. Despite international disapproval, inefficiency, and barbarism of such laws, they are still instituted upon the people of China.
Although for the average American or European, proclaiming the inevitability of a rampant spread of disease and poverty would seem conspicuous, the more subtle effects of a growing population are evident. We repeatedly destroy and endanger many wild species. It’s estimated that at least 27,000 species of plant and animal have become extinct every year since the Industrial Revolution. Without more restraint, it is clear that at this rate of destruction, we may one day exterminate all non-domesticated species. The earth’s atmosphere and climate is constantly changing; how much of this change is a result of human behavior is uncountable, but a potentially severe problem.
The larger the human population becomes, the more resources that are necessary to support ourselves. If present population and consumption trends go unchecked, the earth’s resources will become scarcer than the already are. Fossil Fuels are being depleted at a tremendous rate, with some estimating that all sources of it will be depleted within the next 75 years. With a society so dependent on fossil fuels for basic modes of transportation, it should seem that some drastic changes must occur within the transportation industry within the next 75 years, or transportation would literally shut down across the world. Gradually, competition for resources will lead to conflict unless if effective management of our natural resources is put into place.
The populations of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Rim will, without a doubt, continue to rise. Many of the governments of these areas have far greater issues to be concerned about than dealing what could be considered a theoretical problem. Even if programs are implemented to counteract overpopulation, the possibility would remain that they could end up as ineffectual and inhumane as those imposed by Communist China. Most likely, these nations will not take the initiative to correct the problem. That would leave the only plausible solution to foreign intervention into the crisis.
To many civilized societies, overpopulation would seem to be nothing more than a dire prediction that never came to be. The truth, however, is exactly opposite. The threat to modernized nations is currently minimal, but the condition of the human species is not isolated to the fortunate modernized nations; the state of mankind is a collective measure that includes the less fortunate nations of our world who are incapable of helping themselves. Preventing a future crisis that will have global consequences should have broader international support and priority. It should be the responsibility of the nations who are endowed with more fortunate situations to better the human condition and improve living conditions for those in the third world to truly counteract overpopulation in its deadliest manifestation.
By incorporating technology, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, reforestation, and environmental protection, any residual effects of overpopulation can be ended worldwide. Technology can be used by humans to create and better manage resources, rather than deplete them. The challenge remains to find more efficient and less environmentally harmful ways to feed the growing population of the world. At the least, providing a combination of help towards population control and self-sufficiency can adequately prevent any threat of overpopulation in a country such as the United States. To finally annul any future threat of population, history has shown us that the only effective means of ending it in developing nations is by foreign intervention, or minimally, foreign aid. 10,000 years ago, human beings became the first species in the 3.7 billion year history of life to be able to generate their own food by harnessing agriculture; thusly creating the original issue of overpopulation. As a means of closure and prevention of any future issues regarding overpopulation, the developed nations of the world must implement social programs, such as family planning, successfully harness technology, and conserve current resources.
Works Cited
Eldredge, Niles. “Will Malthus Be Right?” Time. 23 Feb. 2004 <http://www.time.com/time/reports/v21/health/malthus_mag.html>.
Gaia, Karen. “World Overpopulation Awareness.” WOA. 23 Feb. 2004 <http://www.overpopulation.org/>.
“Overpopulation.” National Geographic 2001. 23 Feb. 2004 <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/overpopulation/overpopulation.html>.
Malthus, Thomas. An Essay on the Principle of Population. London: Printed for J. Johnson, in St. Paul's churchyard, 1798.
Sommerfeld, Julia. “Will Technology Save Us from Overpopulation?” MSNBC News 12 Oct. 1999. News. 23 Feb. 2004 <http://www.msnbc.com/news/320915.asp?cp1=1>.
“Overpopulation.” Wikipedia. 17 Feb. 2004 <http://www.en.wikpedia.org/wiki/overpopulation>.