­­Human Overpopulation: Still an Issue of Concern?

            Overpopulation. It is the word that makes politicians wince, and is often described as the “elephant in the ­­­­room” in discussions about the future­­ of our planet (“John Guillebaud”). So, is overpopulation a problem that the world should be concerned about? The world’s population has doubled in the last 50 years to a staggering 7.6 billion, while resource limits and environmental degradation is becoming evident every day. (“Population Growth Is Still the Biggest Problem Facing Humanity.”) Resource deficiencies, especially oil, estimated to only last the human population for another 42 years, are likely to limit future economic growth for the world; the demographic transition that has guided and represented economic growth in the past may no longer be possible for many nations today. Rich nations and experts such as Han Rosling have assured that poor nations would have to one day be pulled out of poverty and that their rates of population growth would decline, but it is no longer clear that this will occur for most of today’s poor nations. (“Global population growth, box by box”). Many may argue that overpopulation is not something the world needs to be concerned with today; instead, the world must focus on consumption because there are enough resources in the world for everyone. However, overpopulation is something that the world needs to be concerned with today because with the current technology, high economy and consumption of nations such as the United States and United Arab Emirates, telling these countries to go back and live like Indian villagers to decrease the consumption of their people is impossible (“Concern about overpopulation is a red herring…”). Despite these differences in opinion, both sides often bring up the same problem; they often show how ignorance has kept countries in the poverty cycle and that this has severely affected the living conditions of their people. Ultimately, humans must be aware that overpopulation is a big issue that the world needs to be concerned with today.

The human population is too big to comprehend. Seven and a half billion people in this world – it would take you approximately 240 years if you were to take one second shaking hands with each person on Earth. By 2050, we are projected to reach 9.7 billion – two billion more individuals in little over 30 years (“United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs”). That is so many that it is practically meaningless. However, it is essential to the survival of life on this planet. Time Magazine reports that “there’s an undeniable cost to all these people and all this growth: the planet itself” (“Why the Real Victim of Overpopulation Will Be the Environment”). The Guardian sums up the consequences of overpopulation in another article: “Since we passed one billion in 1800, our rising numbers and consumption have already caused climate change, rising sea levels, expanding deserts and the ‘sixth extinction’ of wildlife” (“Why the Current Population Growth is Costing Us the Earth”). We may be nearing the point where indefinite growth will no longer be physically possible on our finite planet. The Independent reported that an “environmental assessment by the conservation charity WWF and the World Watch Institute in Washington found that humans were now exploiting about 20 per cent more renewable resources than can be replaced each year” (“’Overpopulation’ is main threat to planet”). That was 12 years ago. Things have only gotten worse. In the same article, Professor John Guillebaud of University College London states that “it would require the natural resources equivalent to four more Planet Earths to sustain the projected 2050 population of nine billion people.” All these articles point out that overpopulation is a problem because there will not be enough resources on this planet to sustain the continuously growing population.

In Kenya, the population crisis has turned Africa’s most stable democracy into a complete implosion (“Unreported World: Kenya’s Human Time Bomb”). Kenya’s population has doubled over the last 25 years, to 40 million people, and the rapid population growth is set to continue. To get Kenya’s natural increase, subtract # of deaths/year from # of births/year, which will total around 1 million, meaning Kenya’s population currently grows by around 1 million per year: 3 000 people every day. In 2050, Kenya’s population is projected to double their population and reach almost 100 million (“Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100: Kenya”). Already, the land is unable to sustain Kenya’s booming population and that is leading to terrible violence driven by a gang of frustrated young men who resort to crime rather than accept poverty and hunger. In An essay on the principle of population, Thomas Malthus says, “The number of mouths to be fed will have no limit; but the food that is to supply them cannot keep pace with the demand for it… famine, distress, havoc, and dismay will spread around; hatred, violence, war and bloodshed will be the infallible consequence” (1798). A key portion of the book was dedicated to what is now known as Malthus’ Iron Law of Population. This theory suggested that growing population rates would contribute to a rising supply of labor that would inevitably lower wages which would lead to poverty and famine. He recognized and predicted a grim future, as population would increase geometrically, doubling every 25 years, but food production would only grow arithmetically (“An Essay on the Principle of Population”). This is exactly what is happening in Kenya today and will continue to result in famine, starvation, violence, and war, unless births are controlled. Better healthcare and family planning must be provided to Kenya and other developing countries to lower birth and death rates move them along the stages in the demographic transition model. In the long term, providing better healthcare to people in need will steadily decrease the world’s natural increase per year, steadying the world’s population growth, and counter overpopulation.

Some people believe that overpopulation is not the main problem; instead, the world should pay more attention to overconsumption. In an article for The Georgia Straight, a news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, David Suzuki recalls asking the great ecologist E.O. Wilson: “How many people would the planet sustain indefinitely?” Wilson responded, “If you want to live like North Americans, 200 million” (“David Suzuki: Overconsumption, not overpopulation, is the biggest problem”). This number is so low compared to our actual population because North Americans, Europeans, Japanese, and Australians, who make up 20 percent of the world’s population, are consuming more than 80 percent of the world’s resources. He brings up the fact that humans are major predators and the biggest consumers of the planet, so they blame their havoc on overpopulation. In an article for The Guardian, Charles Eisenstein suggests that “if everyone on Earth lived the lifestyle of a traditional Indian villager, it is arguable that even 12 billion would be a sustainable world population. If everyone lives like an upper-middle-class North American, then even two billion is unsustainable.” (Concern about overpopulation is a red herring…”). He points out that the option for population decline is welcome, but it needs to be considered in a larger context as humans need to realize that overconsumption is also a problem to be aware of. Although these are good arguments, becoming greener is not enough. Even if every one of us were more environmentally conscious, consuming and polluting less and conserving more, it would still come a point when there are simply too many people. Although reducing human emissions to the atmosphere is no doubt very important, the truth is that the contribution of an individual’s environmental “footprint” cannot be reduced to zero. Keep in mind, though, that most of human emissions is not directly caused by individuals or households, but by corporations driven more by profits than human needs (“Sources of Greenhouse Gas”). Although individuals can take actions toward overconsumption by considering their personal consumption, such as using smarter means of transportation, using less electricity, and buying less, overpopulation will eventually pose as a threat to humans’ survival on this planet.

In conclusion, human overpopulation is a becoming a bigger threat to the world every day. It is something that the world needs to be concerned with today. Continued population growth is unsustainable, such as continued growth in the production of oil and other fossil fuels. The current population will continue to use the Earth’s resources, destroying the land and ruining the natural biodiversity of the Earth while draining its freshwater supplies, eradicating many species of plant life and filling landfills with toxic waste.  There simply are not enough resources on this Earth to support overpopulation. We can either do nothing and just hope that science will solve these problems for us, or we can all put in an effort to make an impact – spreading awareness and education about overpopulation. Better healthcare must be given to countries in poverty, birth control measures and regulations must be created, universal access to birth control devices be provided, and family planning must be taken. By educating the public, particularly in developing countries, about overpopulation – providing them the tools they need to make the decisions they want, the world may be able to halt world population at around 9 billion.

 

Works Cited

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