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Effects Of Overpopulation: Natural Resources, Fossil Fuels, Water And Food
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Published: November 8, 2007
Overpopulation is a worldwide challenge that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. This is because the rapid growth of population in different countries has adverse effects on the world's overall natural resources. As a consequence, overpopulation also leads to a lower quality of lifestyle characterized by poor public health services, unsanitary conditions, lack of habitable areas and a sluggish economy.
The various effects of overpopulation degrade the world's natural resources -- water and food supply, animal and plant biodiversity, and healthy ecosystems that make the world a habitable place. Unfortunately, most of these natural resources are experiencing a decline because of crowded cities and abusive behavior towards energy consumption.
Despite the fact that the world's water and food supply is limited, the demand for it surges as the number of people dramatically increases. According to calculations done by experts, when the global population has reached 8 billion by 2025, about 3 billion individuals worldwide will experience serious water shortages. This concept is also applicable to the world's food supply -- erratic population growth especially in developing nations continue to negatively affect the amount of usable or arable land and other natural resources.
The world's natural resources such as forests and oceans continue to experience pollution and degradation because of so many people living in areas once the habitats of plants and animals. According to experts, 16 million hectares of forests are being cut, burned or developed to accommodate the surge in population. Aquatic species are also in danger due to overpopulation because of improper waste disposal, dynamite fishing, and other harmful human activities. Unfortunately, 50% of the world's aquatic ecosystem is currently pressured by rapid population growth.
The destruction and degradation of the world's fragile ecosystem affects the animal and plant biodiversity. Many animal and plant species from various parts of the world are driven into near extinction every year. Without the different animal and plant species, agricultural activities will not exist and the field of medicine will not develop, since many of the world's medical breakthroughs are based on studies involving plants or animals.
Aside from natural resources, the global climate is also adversely affected by overpopulation. Because too many fossil fuels are burned to sustain today's lifestyle, the global temperature dramatically increases. As a consequence, global warming continues to drive certain aquatic species into near extinction and severe floods and droughts occur in various parts of the world. The "greenhouse effect" caused by burning fossil fuels is a controversial issue among scientists and environmentalists because this leads to the overproduction of carbon dioxide, a gas that can damage the earth's natural resources when produced in excess amounts. The burning of fossil fuels also lead to pollution that can cause diseases and illnesses, affecting the health of the world population and natural resources.
A decline in the world's natural resources leads to disastrous living conditions -- undrinkable water, drought, worldwide hunger, polluted or unsanitary environment and a downward trend in the global economy. To combat the effects of rapid population growth and loss of natural resources, experts propose sustainable actions that include conservation, waste management, improved policies that can help create better standards of living, and stabilization of the population growth.
Sources:
Hinrichsen, Don & Robey, Bryant. "Population and the Environment: The Global Challenge." Actionbioscience.org. 2000. 06 Nov. 2007. http://www.actionbioscience.org/environment/hinric hsen_robey.html.
Landes, Lynn. "Zero Waste." Zero Waste America. 2002. 06 Nov. 2007. http://www.zerowasteamerica.org/index.html.
Rana, Saleem. "An Open Letter To A Dying Planet." EzineArticles. 16 Dec. 2006. 06 Nov. 2007. http://ezinearticles.com/?An-Open-Letter-To-A-Dyin g-Planet&id=388768.
Santo, Ralf. "Introducing Fossil Fuels." EzineArticles. 08 Aug. 2007. 06 Nov. 2007. http://ezinearticles.com/?Introducing-Fossil-Fuels &id=680332.
Related Articles
The various effects of overpopulation degrade the world's natural resources -- water and food supply, animal and plant biodiversity, and healthy ecosystems that make the world a habitable place. Unfortunately, most of these natural resources are experiencing a decline because of crowded cities and abusive behavior towards energy consumption.
Despite the fact that the world's water and food supply is limited, the demand for it surges as the number of people dramatically increases. According to calculations done by experts, when the global population has reached 8 billion by 2025, about 3 billion individuals worldwide will experience serious water shortages. This concept is also applicable to the world's food supply -- erratic population growth especially in developing nations continue to negatively affect the amount of usable or arable land and other natural resources.
The world's natural resources such as forests and oceans continue to experience pollution and degradation because of so many people living in areas once the habitats of plants and animals. According to experts, 16 million hectares of forests are being cut, burned or developed to accommodate the surge in population. Aquatic species are also in danger due to overpopulation because of improper waste disposal, dynamite fishing, and other harmful human activities. Unfortunately, 50% of the world's aquatic ecosystem is currently pressured by rapid population growth.
The destruction and degradation of the world's fragile ecosystem affects the animal and plant biodiversity. Many animal and plant species from various parts of the world are driven into near extinction every year. Without the different animal and plant species, agricultural activities will not exist and the field of medicine will not develop, since many of the world's medical breakthroughs are based on studies involving plants or animals.
Aside from natural resources, the global climate is also adversely affected by overpopulation. Because too many fossil fuels are burned to sustain today's lifestyle, the global temperature dramatically increases. As a consequence, global warming continues to drive certain aquatic species into near extinction and severe floods and droughts occur in various parts of the world. The "greenhouse effect" caused by burning fossil fuels is a controversial issue among scientists and environmentalists because this leads to the overproduction of carbon dioxide, a gas that can damage the earth's natural resources when produced in excess amounts. The burning of fossil fuels also lead to pollution that can cause diseases and illnesses, affecting the health of the world population and natural resources.
A decline in the world's natural resources leads to disastrous living conditions -- undrinkable water, drought, worldwide hunger, polluted or unsanitary environment and a downward trend in the global economy. To combat the effects of rapid population growth and loss of natural resources, experts propose sustainable actions that include conservation, waste management, improved policies that can help create better standards of living, and stabilization of the population growth.
Sources:
Hinrichsen, Don & Robey, Bryant. "Population and the Environment: The Global Challenge." Actionbioscience.org. 2000. 06 Nov. 2007. http://www.actionbioscience.org/environment/hinric hsen_robey.html.
Landes, Lynn. "Zero Waste." Zero Waste America. 2002. 06 Nov. 2007. http://www.zerowasteamerica.org/index.html.
Rana, Saleem. "An Open Letter To A Dying Planet." EzineArticles. 16 Dec. 2006. 06 Nov. 2007. http://ezinearticles.com/?An-Open-Letter-To-A-Dyin g-Planet&id=388768.
Santo, Ralf. "Introducing Fossil Fuels." EzineArticles. 08 Aug. 2007. 06 Nov. 2007. http://ezinearticles.com/?Introducing-Fossil-Fuels &id=680332.
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