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Nosotros recomendamos que lean sobre la superpoblación.

Nosotros recomendamos que tú minimices el consumo.

Nosotros recomendamos que tú eduques tú mismo y tú amigos.

Nosotros recomendamos que tú dones a programas de superpoblación.

Nosotros recomendamos que tú votes para bueno gente.

Nosotros recomendamos que tú adoptes.

Nosotros recomendamos que tú tengas menos hijos.

Nosotros recomendamos que tú escribas tu opinión.

Nosotros recomendamos que los pueblos por terrenos cercanos y sean buenos para ello.

Nosotros recomendamos que te hagas vegano.

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Había más recursos.

Había menos personas.

Las personas reciclaron.

Los recursos se conservaron.

El medio ambiente estaba limpio.

Había mucha comida.

Las personas usaron energía solar.

Los combustibles fósiles fueron conservados.

El medio ambiente podría apoyar a la población.

Los carros no emitían gasolina.

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Son demasiadas personas.
Nosotros usamos más recursos.
El medio ambiente no puede apoyar a la población.
Nosotros competimos con el otro.
Muchas personas no tienen comida.
Muchas personas no tienen casas.
Muchas personas son pobres.
Son las gases invernadero en la atmósfera.
Es contaminación en el océano.
Los animales no tienen habitantes.

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- Na'Ima

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Overpopulation facts - the problem no one will discuss: Alexandra Paul at TEDxTopanga

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- Na'Ima

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Na'Ima

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Recommendations To Improve Overpopulation - Marissa

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Recommendations To Improve Overpopulation - Marissa

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Read, educate yourself about population issues

Reduce your personal consumption: go vegan, limit flying, share your household with others, and more

Educate your teenage child(ren) about sex and contraception early, without taboos

Spread your knowledge and concern among your friends and family, raise awareness about overpopulation on social media – read more here

Donate to family planning programs in your own or other countries – for example to International Planned Parenthood, FP2020 or another equally deserving organization

Vote for politicians who acknowledge the detrimental impacts of population growth and propose political solutions

Consider adoption

Have fewer children

Join local environmental groups, encouraging them to “connect the dots” between population and the environment and address population issues

Write opinion pieces for local newspapers, contact local media sources requesting more reporting on population issues – create demand!

Municipalities should set growth management boundaries, discouraging sprawl development on their fringes

Towns and cities should purchase surrounding lands, or the development rights to such lands, in order to set them aside as nature preserves and open space

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Here at The Overpopulation Project, we try to keep a positive outlook. Although many environmental trends are grim, there exist clear paths forward toward a more sustainable world: one where people steward resources for the future and share habitat and resources generously with other species.

Recently, a correspondent wrote challenging us to identify solutions to the demographic and environmental problems we write about. We appreciate the reminder to remain forward looking and in response share the ideas below. Obviously, no one person or organization can cover all these efforts. But each of us can do something and together we can create a sustainable world.

These are personal and policy suggestions that we and others study. Some points are obvious, others fairly well established, but all need more research. If you are a scientist or scholar, one of the most important actions to take is to address population matters in your research, or join other researchers who are doing so.

What suggestions would you add or take off this list? Which ideas need further research? We would love to hear from you!
Actions on the individual level

Have fewer children! One is good, two is enough - read more here

Consider adoption!

Read, educate yourself about population issues - read more here

Reduce your personal consumption: go vegan, limit flying, share your household with others, and more

Educate your teenage child(ren) about sex and contraception early, without taboos

Spread your knowledge and concern among your friends and family, raise awareness about overpopulation on social media - read more here

Donate to family planning programs in your own or other countries - for example to International Planned Parenthood, FP2020 or another equally deserving organization

Vote for politicians who acknowledge the detrimental impacts of population growth and propose political solutions

Actions on the community level

Join local environmental groups, encouraging them to "connect the dots" between population and the environment and address population issues

Write opinion pieces for local newspapers, contact local media sources requesting more reporting on population issues - create demand!

Municipalities should set growth management boundaries, discouraging sprawl development on their fringes

Towns and cities should purchase surrounding lands, or the development rights to such lands, in order to set them aside as nature preserves and open space

City councils should pass resolutions accepting limits to growth, and directing their national governments to develop policies to stabilize or reduce national populations

Actions on the national level In high fertility developing countries, governments should ...

Generously fund family planning programs

Make modern contraception legal, free and available everywhere, even in remote areas

Improve health care to reduce infant and child mortality

Restrict child marriage and raise the legal age of marriage (minimum 18 years)

Introduce obligatory education as long as possible (minimum until the age of 16), and generously fund the necessary infrastructure

In low fertility developed countries, governments should ...

Embrace rather than fight aging and shrinking societies - read more here

Reorganize pensions and other socio-economic systems to accommodate aging societies

Eliminate baby bonuses, government funding for fertility treatments, and other incentives to raise fertility rates

Reduce immigration numbers (at least to a level that will stabilize national populations, preferably to one that will lower them) - read our blog here

Reduce resource consumption and pollution through an effective mix of taxes, incentives and regulations

I n every country, governments should ... Actions on the global level

Empower women, assuring equal rights, treatment and opportunities for both genders

Provide information and access to reproductive health care, including all types of low cost, safe, effective contraception - read more here

Make sterilization free, for men and women, or at least covered under all healthcare plans

Legalize abortion without restrictions or social stigma - read our blog here

Integrate family planning and safe motherhood programs into primary health care systems

Make population and environmental issues and sex education part of the basic educational curriculum

Disincentivize third and further children non-coercively, by limiting government support to the first two children

Create a national population policy built around an optimal population size, and work to achieve it

Set aside half the national landscape free from intensive development and dedicated to biodiversity protection - read more here

Make "ending population growth" one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals - read our blog here

Greatly increase the amount of foreign aid going to family planning - learn more here

Change the current foreign aid distribution, giving more support for health and education, while ending international military aid - read more here

Global religious leaders should approve modern contraception methods and forcefully reject a fatalistic view of procreation - read more here

Financially support media programs designed to change social norms to bolster family planning, best example is Population Media Center

Hold a new global population conference, the first in twenty-five years, to reaffirm the ecological need to limit human numbers and the basic human right to family planning

Connect family planning to international environmental and development funding; e.g., include family planning in the Green Climate Fund

Create a new global treaty to end population growth, with all countries choosing population targets every half decade with a plan on how to achieve them (similar to the NDC format) - read our blog here

Create an online platform similar to the ClimateWatch platform, where visitors can see countries' goals, plans and achievements to date

The views and opinions expressed through the MAHB Website are those of the contributing authors and do not necessarily reflect an official position of the MAHB. The MAHB aims to share a range of perspectives and welcomes the discussions that they prompt.

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Solutions to overpopulation and what you can do - MAHB

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Here at The Overpopulation Project, we try to keep a positive outlook. Although many environmental trends are grim, there exist clear paths forward toward a more sustainable world: one where people steward resources for the future and share habitat and resources generously with other species.

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Negative effects of Overpopulation - Gregory

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Negative effects of Overpopulation - Gregory

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As the population rises, we have to compete with each other more for resources. This leads to less favorable living conditions, especially in developing countries. Overpopulation has caused an increase in poverty in developing countries and continues to do so.

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- Increased Human Resources
- Higher Demand In Industry
- Increased Military Might
- Cheaper And More Readily Available Products

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The Effect of the Population on the Ecosystem | Synonym

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With all of the concern about human effects on the environment, a considerable amount of study has been done on the ecosystems of the world. These ecosystems can be devastated by many factors, but the one that affects them the most is population.

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- Na'Ima

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Overpopulation – The Human Explosion Explained

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- Na'Ima

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Negative effects of overpopulation - Gregory

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Negative effects of overpopulation - Gregory

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As we take up more land and resources, we deprive other animals of their habitats and what they need to survive.

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What Does Overpopulation Do To The Earth? - Marissa

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What Does Overpopulation Do To The Earth? - Marissa

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Overpopulation aggravates the forces behind global warming, environmental pollution, habitat loss, the sixth mass extinction, intensive farming practices and the consumption of finite natural resources, such as fresh water, arable land and fossil fuels,

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According to UN-Water, 75% of planet Earth is covered in water. 97.5% of that is ocean and 2.5% is freshwater. 70% of freshwater is divided into glaciers and ice caps and the remaining 30% into land surface water, such as rivers, lakes, ponds and groundwater. Most of the freshwater resources are either unreachable or too polluted, leaving less than 1% of the world's freshwater, or about 0.003% of all water on Earth, readily accessible for direct human use. According to the Global Outlook for Water Resources to the Year 2025, it is estimated that by 2025, more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability and human demand for water will account for 70% of all available freshwater. Furthermore, a report in November 2009 by the 2030 Water Resources Group suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions in the world, water demand will exceed supply by 50% and a report jointly produced by more than two dozen U.N. bodies states that, "By 2030, nearly half of the world's people will be living in areas of acute water shortage." The planet is in the midst of what the United Nations is calling a " Global Water Crisis." Freshwater is the most fundamental finite resource with no substitutes for most uses, yet we are consuming fresh water at least 10 times faster than it is being replenished in regions of northern Africa, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, China, and the U.S.. According to the World Resources Institute, "Freshwater ecosystems - the diverse communities found in lakes, rivers, and wetlands - may be the most endangered of all. Some 34 percent of fish species, mostly from fresh water, are threatened with extinction, according to the latest tally of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which tracks threats to the world's biodiversity. Freshwater ecosystems have lost a greater proportion of their species and habitat than ecosystems on land or in the oceans; in addition, they are probably in greater danger of further losses from dams, pollution, overfishing, and other threats. In extent, freshwater ecosystems are quite limited, covering only about 1 percent of the Earth's surface. Yet, they are highly diverse and contain a disproportionately large number of the world's species." As human populations grow, so will the problem of clean freshwater availability.

"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." ~Thomas Fuller

As population densities increase, laws, which serve as a primary social mediator of relations between people, will more frequently regulate interactions between humans and develop a need for more rules and restrictions to regulate these interactions. Aldous Huxley predicted in 1958 that democracy is threatened due to overpopulation and could give rise to totalitarian style governments and it turns out he was right. Rules and restrictions can be good ideas, but only because they are necessary in order to accommodate the growing populations that are encouraging such policies. Without these policies, the global ecological crisis, and the societal and economic issues that ensue, would be worse than they are today. Examples of such restrictions would be putting limits on water consumption, on driving and on what people can do on their land. Some are good ideas while others may be too invasive, but all are exacerbated by overpopulation.

Increased Global Warming and Climate Change

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, "The largest single threat to the ecology and biodiversity of the planet in the decades to come will be global climate disruption due to the buildup of human-generated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. People around the world are beginning to address the problem by reducing their carbon footprint through less consumption and better technology. But unsustainable human population growth can overwhelm those efforts, leading us to conclude that we not only need smaller footprints, but fewer feet." Every national academy of science of every major country in the world agrees. Every professional scientific society in every field related to the field of climate endorses it. 97-98 percent of all scientists that are most active in publishing in the field of climate science agree with it. The consensus is unequivocal: human activities are causing climate change. The effects of climate change are profound and far-reaching. Learning the hard way that we can't separate the economy from the ecological systems that support it, climate change, perhaps the greatest challenge and threat humanity has ever faced, has been left largely unchecked by world leaders to continue unabated threatening the basis of civilization itself.

Human beings are currently causing the greatest mass extinction of species since the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago at rates 1000 to 10,000 times faster than normal. The 2012 update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species shows that of the 63,837 species examined worldwide, 19,817 are threatened with extinction - nearly a third of the total. If present trends continue, scientists warn that within a few decades, at least half of all plant and animal species on Earth will be extinct, as a result of climate change, habitat loss, pollution, acidifying oceans, invasive species, over-exploitation of natural resources, overfishing, poaching and human overpopulation. Human overpopulation has been dominating planetary physical, chemical, and biological conditions and limits, with an annual absorption of 42% of the Earth's terrestrial net primary productivity, 30% of its marine net primary productivity, 50% of its fresh water, 40% of its land devoted to human food production, up from 7% in 1700, 50% of its land mass being transformed for human use and atmospheric nitrogen being fixated by humans than all other natural processes combined. Compared to the natural background rate of one extinction per million species per year, we are now losing 30,000 species per year, or three species per hour, which is faster than new species can evolve. The chart below further exemplifies the correlation between human population and species extinction.

As the human population continues to explode, finite natural resources, such as fossil fuels, fresh water, arable land, coral reefs and frontier forests, continue to plummet, which is placing competitive stress on the basic life sustaining resources and leading to a diminished quality of life. A study by the UNEP Global Environment Outlook, which involves 1,400 scientists and five years worth of work to prepare, found that "Human consumption had far outstripped available resources. Each person on Earth now requires a third more land to supply his or her needs than the planet can supply." Furthermore, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment , which is a four-year research effort by 1,360 of the world's leading scientists commissioned to measure the actual value of natural resources to humans and the world, concluded that, "The structure of the world's ecosystems changed more rapidly in the second half of the twentieth century than at any time in recorded human history, and virtually all of Earth's ecosystems have now been significantly transformed through human actions."

Intensive farming practices produce more and cheaper food per acre and animal, which has helped feed a booming human population and may prevent surrounding land from being converted into agricultural land, but has grown to become the biggest threat to the global environment through the loss of ecosystem services and global warming, has led to the emergence of new parasites and re-emergence of parasites previously considered to be 'under control' by creating the conditions for parasite growth and is responsible for 80% of tropical deforestation . Furthermore, intensive farming kills beneficial insects and plants, degrades and depletes the very soil it depends on, creates polluted runoff and clogged water systems, increases susceptibility to flooding, causes the genetic erosion of crops and livestock species around the world, decreases biodiversity, and destroys natural habitats.

Lower Life Expectancy in the Fastest Growing Countries

According to a Harvard study, "Over the next forty years, nearly all (97%) of the 2.3 billion projected increase will be in the less developed regions, with nearly half (49%) in Africa." Already strained with relentless population explosion, many developing countries, such as in Sub Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, will experience a degradation of their quality and length of life as they face increasing difficulties to supply water, food, energy and housing to their growing populations, which will have major repercussions for public health, security measures and economic growth. These situations are especially dire for populations in Uganda, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, which will double and, in some cases, even triple over the next 40 years.

Increased Emergence of New Epidemics and Pandemics

A WHO report shows that environmental degradation, combined with the growth in world population, is a major cause of the rapid increase in human diseases, which contributes to the malnutrition of 3.7 billion people worldwide, making them more susceptible to disease. According to the World Health Organization, "Every three seconds a young child dies - in most cases from an infectious disease. In some countries, one in five children die before their fifth birthday. Every day 3 000 people die from malaria - three out of four of them children. Every year 1.5 million people die from tuberculosis and another eight million are newly infected." Overpopulation exacerbates many social and environmental factors, including overcrowded living conditions, pollution, malnutrition and inadequate or non-existent health care, which wreak havoc on the poor and increase their likelihood of being exposed to infections diseases.

Human overpopulation is a major driving force behind the loss of ecosystems, such as rainforests, coral reefs, wetlands and Arctic ice. Rainforests once covered 14% of the Earth's land surface, now they cover a bare 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years and certainly by the end of the century at the current rate of deforestation. Due mainly to warming temperatures, acidifying oceans and pollution, close to 30% of the ocean's reefs have already vanished since 1980, including half of the reefs in the Caribbean and 90% of the Philippines' coral reefs, and scientists forecast that Australia's Great Barrier Reef may be dead by the year 2050 and all coral reefs could be gone by the end of the century . Furthermore, the area of permanent ice cover is now declining at a rate of 11.5% per decade, relative to the 1979 to 2000 average. If this trend continues, summers in the Arctic could become ice-free in as few as 4 years or in the next 30 years. Wetlands are increasingly under threat in the United States, but also all over the world. In the U.S., less than half of original wetlands remain with 53% being lost, which is about 104 million acres. In Europe, between 60% and 70% of wetlands have been completely destroyed. As human populations continue to grow, so will our footprint on the interconnected, ecological infrastructures of life.

IAP (Global Network of Science Academies) Statement on Population and Consumption

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According to UN-Water, 75% of planet Earth is covered in water. 97.5% of that is ocean and 2.5% is freshwater. 70% of freshwater is divided into glaciers and ice caps and the remaining 30% into land surface water, such as rivers, lakes, ponds and groundwater.

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Population is growing rapidly, far outpacing the ability of our planet to support it, given current practices. Overpopulation is associated with negative environmental and economic outcomes ranging from the impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming.

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The current population of the Earth is almost 7.6 billion people and growing.﻿ It is projected to reach over 8 billion by 2025, 9 billion by 2040, and a whopping 11 billion by 2100.﻿﻿ Population is growing rapidly, far outpacing the ability of our planet to support it, given current practices.

Overpopulation is associated with negative environmental and economic outcomes ranging from the impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming. While a lot of positive steps are being taken to better ensure the sustainability of humans on our planet, the problem of having too many people has made lasting solutions more challenging to find.

Overpopulation, Briefly Defined

The term overpopulation is used to describe a situation in which the world or area has a population so large that the people there are suffering as a result. In other words, the population exceeds the region or planet's carrying capacity--the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that can be supported without environmental degradation. Their suffering may include a shortage of food, limited access to healthcare and other public services, overcrowding, and high unemployment.

Causes of Overpopulation

Overpopulation is largely attributed to trends stemming from spike in birth rates in the mid 20th century.﻿﻿ Overpopulation of specific locations can also result from migration. Oddly enough, the overpopulation of an area can occur without a net gain of population. It can result from a population with an economy reliant on exports outgrowing its carrying capacity coupled with slim changes of migration. This has been called "demographic entrapment."﻿﻿

Environmental Effects of Overpopulation

The relationship between overpopulation and environmental impacts are often interrelated and complex. Below are some of the key sustainability challenges associated with overpopulation. For the sake of simplicity they are listed separately, but understand the connections between them are complicated, which makes them more challenging to manage.

A growing agricultural base to feed an expanding world population comes with its own complications. As the global population increases, more food is needed. Such measures may be met through more intensive farming, or through deforestation to create new farm lands, which in turn can have negative outcomes. Agriculture is responsible for about 80 percent of deforestation, worldwide.﻿﻿﻿

The yield of existing farmland can be increased through intensive farming to feed our rapidly growing population. This approach is characterized by reliance on mechanization, pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Such practices can be associated with soil erosion or depletion. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the land used and abandoned in the last 50 years globally may be equal to the amount of land used today.﻿﻿ As well, the agricultural runoff of excess fertilizers is one of the main causes of eutrophication, which depletes waters from oxygen and results in significant negative impacts for marine life.﻿﻿﻿

Deforestation in turn leads to a reduced ability to capture CO2, thus exasperating the greenhouse gas problem. Deforestation is also strongly associated with loss of habitat and extinctions. Agriculture, as mentioned above, is responsible for nearly 80% of global deforestation. Another 14 percent is attributed to logging, 5 percent to firewood collection, and the balance resulting from other causes.﻿﻿﻿

Human population increase is related to all of these deforestation pressures. More people means we need more food, more wood products, and more firewood.

Agricultural runoff is one of the main causes of eutrophication, the presence of excessive nutrients in bodies of waster, such as large pockets like the Dead Zone of the Gulf of Mexico.﻿﻿﻿ Worldwide, there are more than 400 marine 'dead zones' caused by eutrophication, collectively covering an area six times the size of Switzerland.﻿﻿﻿

Eutrophication causes the dense growth of plant life that consumes oxygen, resulting in the death of aquatic animals. Other major sources of eutrophication are industry and sewage disposal--both related to population growth. The cost of mediating eutrophication in the U.S., in 2013, was estimated at over over $2.2 billion annually.﻿﻿﻿ Recent research points out that there are other important impacts other than food production, such as clothing and manufactured good production. Cotton or linen production, for example, can involve direct agricultural impacts.﻿﻿﻿ The use of fossil fuel for electrical production to power factories also creates combustion byproduct emissions, which can ultimately be absorbed by oceans through rainwater.﻿﻿﻿

While there is plenty of water on the planet, it is very much a scarce resource. Only 2.5 percent of water resources are fresh water, and just a small fraction of that is available as unpolluted drinking water.﻿﻿﻿

One of the byproducts of population growth has been stress on freshwater supplies. "Water stressed" is defined as a case of demand exceeding the supply of suitable water available. According to one report, around 40 percent of the world's population endure water scarcity, and that amount has been projected to skyrocket by 2030 as global demand for water increases by 50 percent.﻿﻿﻿ Another commentator expects 2/3 of the world's population to be living with water shortages by 2025, which he attributes to population growth. Also consider that population growth is most rapid in part of the world where water is in high demand already, such as Africa and Asia.﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿

Human population growth and climate change have grown hand in hand as the use of fossil fuels has exploded to support industrialized societies. More people necessitates more demand for oil, coal, gas, and other energy sources extracted from below the Earth's surface that spew carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere when burned, trapping warm air inside like a greenhouse. Most fossil fuel consumption comes from developed countries.﻿﻿﻿ It is a sobering thought that most developing nations aspire to similar industrial economies as they experience economic growth, which further escalates CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

Deforestation is another important component of greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, forests store more than twice the amount of carbon dioxide than is found in the atmosphere.﻿﻿﻿ As forests are cleared and burned, that CO2 is released into the atmosphere, accounting for an estimated 12 percent of total greenhouse gas production.﻿﻿﻿

Outlook for Overpopulation and Sustainability

There are issues aplenty to overcome. Clearly, initiatives to switch to clean energy sources such as solar, improve agricultural practices, better manage water resources and fully embrace the principles of the circular economy will help us mitigate the impact of population growth. At the other end of the spectrum, policies that encourage family planning, education, gender equity and other measures to help slow population growth will help reduce pressure on the planet. Take time to understand the issues, and support policies that will make a difference.

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The Environmental Impacts of Overpopulation

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The current population of the Earth is almost 7.6 billion people and growing.﻿ It is projected to reach over 8 billion by 2025, 9 billion by 2040, and a whopping 11 billion by 2100.﻿﻿ Population is growing rapidly, far outpacing the ability of our planet to support it, given current practices.

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Effects of overpopulation mainly involve the number of resources required to support a large population, which can lead to a great deal of pollution and other detriments to the environment. In many countries. the rapid use of these resources can have a negative impact on healthcare and destroy the land we live on.

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Causes of Overpopulation are different for many countries but are mostly associated with poverty, reduced mortality rates, poor medical access, poor contraceptive use, as well as immigration. With overpopulation comes a decrease in resources and an increase in symptoms of illness and disease. There are a number of factors that contribute to overpopulation. These are the leading causes:

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Over the last half century the population of the world has exploded. In 2021 there are almost Eight billion people on the planet and this number is projected to grow in a short period of time.

Of all of the environmental challenges facing the planet today overpopulation is one that sometimes slips under the radar. Issues like pollution, climate change and water shortages all seem to take precedence, but overpopulation is one of the main contributors to many other environmental issues.

Overpopulation will place great demands on resources and land, leading to widespread environmental issues in addition to impacting global economies and standards of living.

The issue is compounded by the difficulty in providing solutions for this problem and the misunderstanding of the causes and effects of overpopulation.

Here we will cover both causes and effects of overpopulation in order for you to have a more informed view of the risks that come with it.
On This Page:
Causes of Over Population

Causes of Overpopulation are different for many countries but are mostly associated with poverty, reduced mortality rates, poor medical access, poor contraceptive use, as well as immigration. With overpopulation comes a decrease in resources and an increase in symptoms of illness and disease. There are a number of factors that contribute to overpopulation. These are the leading causes:

Poverty

Poverty is believed to be the leading cause of overpopulation. A lack of educational resources, coupled with high death rates leading to higher birth rates, result in impoverished areas seeing large booms in population.

The effect is so extensive that the UN has predicted that the forty-eight poorest countries in the world are also likely to be the biggest contributors to population growth. Their estimates state that the combined population of these countries is likely to balloon to 1.7 billion in 2050, from 850 million in 2010.

Poor Contraceptive Use

Though the availability of contraceptives is widespread in developed countries, poor planning on both partners' parts can lead to unexpected pregnancies. Statistics have shown that in Great Britain 76% of women aged between 16 and 49 used at least one form of contraceptive, leaving a quarter open to unexpected pregnancies.

This issue is exacerbated in underdeveloped areas. A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that this usage figure drops to 43% in countries that are blighted by issues like poverty, which leads to higher birth rates.

Child Labor

As distressing as it may be to hear, child labor is still used extensively in many parts of the world. UNICEF estimates that approximately 150 million children are currently working, primarily in countries that have few child labor laws.

This can result in children being seen as a source of income by impoverished families. Furthermore, children who begin work too young also lose the educational opportunities they should be granted, particularly when it comes to birth control.

Reduced Mortality Rates

Improvement in medical technology has led to lower mortality rates for many serious diseases. Particularly dangerous viruses and ailments such as polio, smallpox and measles have been practically eradicated by such advances.

While this is positive news in many ways, it also means that people are living longer than ever before. This "delay" in the cycle of life and death has led to birth rates outstripping death rates by over two to one in modern times.

Fertility Treatment

Though it only plays a minor role in comparison to the other causes of overpopulation, improved fertility treatments have made it possible for more people to have children.

The number of women using various fertility treatments has been on the rise since their inception. Now most have the option of conceiving children, even if they may not have been able to do so without such treatments.

Immigration

Unchecked immigration into countries may lead to overpopulation to the point where those countries no longer have the required resources for their population. This is particularly problematic in countries where immigration numbers far exceed emigration numbers.

In some cases, immigrants may be attempting to escape overpopulation in their own countries, only to contribute to the same issues in the countries they move to. However, data also exists to show the immigration can bolster economies, with the effect in the UK being particularly pronounced.

Effects of Overpopulation

Effects of overpopulation mainly involve the number of resources required to support a large population, which can lead to a great deal of pollution and other detriments to the environment. In many countries. the rapid use of these resources can have a negative impact on healthcare and destroy the land we live on.

Lack of Water

Overpopulation creates greater demand on the world's freshwater supplies. As only roughly 1% of the world's water is fresh and accessible, this creates a major issue.

Some estimates state that human demand for fresh water will stand at approximately 70% of what is available on the planet by 2025. This will place those living in impoverished areas that already have limited access to such water at great risk.

Lower Life Expectancy

While higher life expectancy is leading to increases in population in developed countries, lower life expectancy may be caused by the booms in population that less developed nations are experiencing.

A large proportion of the world's population growth occurs in less developed countries. This stretches the resources these countries have thinner resulting in less access to medical care, fresh water, food and jobs, all resulting in a fall in life expectancy.

Extinction

The effect of overpopulation on the world's wildlife is also a major issue. As demand for land grows, so too does the destruction of natural habitats, such as forests.

Some scientists warn that if present trends continue, as many as 50% of the world's wildlife species will be at risk of extinction. Data has also been collected to show that there is a direct link between increases in human population and decreases in the number of species on the planet.

Resource Consumption

As the population grows, so too does the amount of resources needed to keep so many people alive. Food, water and fossil fuels are all being consumed at record rates, placing greater demands on producers and the planet itself.

Ironically, it is the discovery of many of these natural resources - particularly fossil fuels - that have contributed to conditions that are favorable to population growth. A study has shown that the world's ecosystem changed more rapidly in the latter-half of the twentieth century than at any other point in history because of increased use of these resources.

Increased Intensive Farming

As population has grown over the years, farming practices have evolved to produce enough food to feed larger numbers of people. However, intensive farming methods also cause damage to local ecosystems and the land, which may pose problems in the future.

Furthermore, intensive farming is also considered a major contributor to climate change due to the machinery required. This effect will likely intensify if the population continues to grow at its current rate.

Faster Climate Change

Overpopulation directly correlates to climate change, particularly as larger nations, like China and India, continue to develop their industrial capacities. They now rank as two of the three largest contributors to emissions in the world, alongside the United States.

97% of the scientific community agrees that human activities are changing global temperatures. Larger populations may speed these changes up, especially if more is not done to reduce individual carbon footprints on a wide scale.

Overpopulation Solutions

Overpopulation solutions are necessary to mitigate the impacts of overpopulation. The rapid development of a country will see large growth in population. Education, access to contraceptives, and policy will help control the population in these countries.

Better Sex Education

A lack of sex education - or poorly-implemented education - has led to overpopulation issues in many countries. The issue is so pronounced that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling for improvements to be made, particularly in poorer areas of the world.

Better education will help people understand more about the potential consequences of having sex as they relate to child birth. It will also do away with many of the myths that surround the sexual act and introduce scientifically-proven methods of birth control.

Access to Contraceptives

Access to birth control must go hand-in-hand with better sex education. After all, without it people cannot put what they have learned into practice.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 225 million women who are living in the developing countries would prefer to postpone giving birth but are not using any form of contraception. Many organizations, such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), also support improving access to contraceptives.

Changes in Policy

Many nations offer rewards, whether in the form of financial incentives or increased benefits, to those who have more children. This may lead to some couples having more children than they otherwise would if they needed to worry about the financial consequences.

This is a difficult issue to confront. China's "One-Child' policy was recently abandoned, in part, because of the restrictions it placed on freedom, and it is likely that similar policies would be seen as equally restrictive.

Education on the Subject

While a number of organizations exist to provide schools with curricula and teaching materials to cover the subject of overpopulation, it is still a subject that is not covered in schools as well as it should be.

This education should extend beyond talking about sex and into the global consequences of overpopulation. Dialog about the subject needs to be more open, with sites like debate.org offering useful resources that allow the issue to be confronted rationally.

Conclusion

Overpopulation is a crisis that potentially stands alongside climate change as one of the biggest challenges facing humanity today.

Despite this, there is little in the way of education or dialog relating to the issue, particularly in schools.

If this doesn't change, the issues highlighted in this article may continue to grow unabated. If that happens, this one issue could have a knock-on effect that will lead to untold problems in the future.

If you wish to share your own opinions about overpopulation, please do continue the debate in the comments section below. Alternatively, share this article on social media to encourage a conversation in your own community.

Resources
Featured Image Credit: James Cridland @ Flickr

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What is Overpopulation? | 2021 (Causes, Effects & Solutions)

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Over the last half century the population of the world has exploded. In 2021 there are almost Eight billion people on the planet and this number is projected to grow in a short period of time. Of all of the environmental challenges facing the planet today overpopulation is one that sometimes slips under the radar.

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Over the last half century the population of the world has exploded. In 2021 there are almost Eight billion people on the planet and this number is projected to grow in a short period of time.

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There are almost Eight billion people on the planet and this number is growing rapidly.

Issues like pollution, climate change, and water shortages all seem to take precedence, but population growth is one of the main contributors to many other environmental issues.

Overpopulation will place great demands on resources and land, leading to widespread environmental issues in addition to impacting global economies and standards of living.

The issue is compounded by the difficulty in providing solutions for this problem and the misunderstanding of the causes and effects of overpopulation.

Here we will cover causes and effects of overpopulation to give you a more informed view of the risks that come with it.
On This Page:
Overpopulation Definition

Overpopulation occurs when there are more people than can be sustained by resources in a given area.

It leads to poverty, high mortality rates, lack of resources, environmental degradation, habitat loss, and ecosystem loss.

While it is a global issue, overpopulation is a serious problem in developing countries with fewer natural resources.

Causes of Overpopulation

With population growth comes a decrease in resources and an increase in mortality rates and poverty. There are a number of factors that contribute to overpopulation.

These are the leading causes:

Read our related article on the Cause of Overpopulation in South Africa for a bird's eye view of African overpopulation.

Poverty

Poverty is one cause for overpopulation. Lack of education and contraceptive resources makes it inevitable that sexual activity will bring new babies on the scene in the poorest countries.

Couple this with the uncertainty of survival and many couples aim to produce many offspring because they expect to lose a significant number of children before they can reach adulthood.

The effect is so extensive that the UN has predicted that the forty-eight poorest countries in the world are also likely to be the biggest contributors to population growth.

Their estimates state that the combined population of these countries is likely to balloon to 1.7 billion in 2050, from 850 million in 2010.

Poor Contraceptive Use

Though the availability of contraceptives is widespread in developed countries, poor planning on both partners' parts can lead to unexpected pregnancies.

Statistics have shown that in Great Britain 76% of women aged between 16 and 49 used at least one form of contraceptive.

It is assumed that the other 25% are desirous to build a family or face an unplanned pregnancy.

A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that contraceptive usage drops to 43% in countries that are blighted by issues like poverty, which leads to higher birth rates.

Though couples may want to use some form of contraceptive, it is not available to them.

Child Labor

As distressing as it may be to hear, child labor is still used extensively in many parts of the world.

UNICEF estimates that approximately 150 million children are currently working, primarily in countries that have few child labor laws.

This means that children are often seen as a source of income by impoverished families.

Furthermore, children who begin work too young also lose the educational opportunities they should be granted, perpetuating a destructive cycle of poverty.

Reduced Mortality Rates

Improvement in medical technology has led to lower mortality rates for many serious diseases.

Particularly dangerous viruses and ailments such as polio, smallpox, and measles have been practically eradicated by such advances.

While this is positive news in many ways, it also means that people are living longer than ever before.

This "delay" in the cycle of life and death has led to birth rates outstripping death rates by over two to one.

However, in developing countries where the infant mortality rate is high, statistics show that people have more babies to counteract the probability of infant mortality.

Fertility Treatments

Though it only plays a minor role in comparison to the other causes of overpopulation, improved fertility treatments have made it possible for more people to have children.

The number of women using various fertility treatments has been on the rise since their inception.

Now, most women have the option of conceiving children, even if they may not have been able to do so without fertility treatments.

This is a blessing to those who greatly desire children, but it often results in a woman having multiple babies at once.

Immigration

Unchecked immigration into countries may lead to overpopulation to the point where those countries no longer have the required resources for their population.

In this case, overpopulation refers to the local inability to provide for the number of residents rather than the overarching problem of taxing global resources.

This is particularly problematic in countries where immigration numbers far exceed emigration numbers.

In some cases, immigrants may be attempting to escape population growth in their own countries, only to contribute to the same issues in the countries they move to.

However, data also exists to show that immigration can bolster economies, with the effect in the UK being particularly pronounced.

Effects of Overpopulation

There is a long list of environmental issues surrounding humanity's use and abuse of the planet.

Overpopulation effects mainly involve the number of resources required to support a large population.

When resources are overtaxed, it leads to a great deal of pollution, natural resource depletion, soil degradation, and other detriments to the environment.

In many countries, the resources are used faster than they can replenish. This leads to an overall degradation in the quality of life for the people that live there.

Lack of Water

Overpopulation creates greater demand for freshwater supplies. As only roughly 1% of the world's water is fresh and accessible, this creates a major issue.

In areas where fresh water is in short supply or heavily polluted, this demand creates dire suffering for residents.

Some estimates state that human demand for fresh water will stand at approximately 70% of what is available on the planet by 2025.

This will place those living in impoverished areas that already have limited access to fresh water at great risk.

Lower Life Expectancy

While higher life expectancy is leading to increases in population in developed countries, lower life expectancy may be caused by the same booms in population.

A large proportion of global population growth occurs in less developed countries.

This stretches the scant resources these countries have resulting in less access to medical care, fresh water, food, and jobs, all resulting in a drop in life expectancy.

Extinction

The effect of overpopulation on the world's wildlife is also a major issue. As demand for land grows, so too does the destruction of natural habitats, such as forests.

Some scientists warn that if present trends continue, as many as 50% of the world's wildlife species will be at risk of extinction.

Data has also been collected to show that there is a direct link between increases in human population and decreases in the number of species on the planet.

Natural Resource Depletion

As the global population grows, so too does the number of resources needed to keep so many people alive.

Food, water, and fossil fuels are all being consumed at record rates, placing greater demands on producers and the planet itself. This causes depletion of non-renewable natural resources.

This is exacerbated by urban sprawl. What is urban sprawl? It is the ever-expanding cities marked by burgeoning suburbia that seems to never end. It is high water consumption and an hour-long commute.

All of this is fueled by a burgeoning global population.

Ironically, it is the discovery of many of these natural resources - particularly fossil fuels - that have contributed to conditions that are favorable to population growth.

A study has shown that the world's ecosystem changed more rapidly in the latter half of the twentieth century than at any other point in history because of the use of these resources.

This is why it's vital that we explore these natural resources examples to see which ones we can use now to curb the negative effects of the energy needs of our global population.

Increased Intensive Farming

As the population has grown over the years, farming practices have evolved to produce enough food to feed larger numbers of people.

However, intensive farming methods is one of the most prevalent types of environmental degradation.

Environmental degradation refers to the damage to local ecosystems and the land, which may pose problems in the future.

Furthermore, intensive farming is also considered a major contributor to climate change due to the machinery required.

This effect will likely increase as the global population continues to grow.

Faster Climate Change

Overpopulation directly correlates to climate change, particularly as larger nations, like China and India, continue to develop their industrial capacities.

They now rank as two of the three largest contributors to emissions in the world, alongside the United States.

China's recent investments in the advantages of nuclear energy will help to clean up the environmental impact of its massive population.

However, this type of clean energy is too expensive for developing countries where it is needed the most to supply electricity for development without contributing to climate change.

Overpopulation Solutions

Overpopulation solutions are necessary to mitigate the impacts of overpopulation.

Education, access to contraceptives, and policy will help control the population in developing countries.

Better Sex Education

A lack of sex education - or poorly-implemented education - has led to overpopulation issues in many countries.

It has also led to rapidly spreading sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. The more people know, the better decisions they can make for themselves and others.

Better education will also do away with many of the myths that surround sex and contraceptive methods.

Access to Contraceptives

Access to contraceptives must go hand-in-hand with better sex education.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 270 million women in developing countries would prefer to postpone giving birth but have no access to contraceptives.

Many organizations, such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), also support improving access to contraceptives.

This is the safest, most humane way to promote family planning around the world.

Changes in Policy

Many nations offer rewards, whether in the form of financial incentives or increased benefits, to those who have more children.

This helps to ensure that the country will have enough population to maintain GDP and wartime security. It also helps to offset the cost of caring for the elderly and maintaining retiree pensions.

However, when the benefits are too good it encourages women to have children for the sake of the financial benefits they will receive.

Family planning shouldn't be financially incentivized.

Education on Overpopulation

While a number of organizations exist to provide schools with curricula and teaching materials to cover the subject of global population, it is still a subject that is not covered in schools as well as it should be.

This education should extend beyond talking about sex and into the global consequences of overpopulation and family planning.

Dialog about the subject needs to be more open, with sites like debate.org offering useful resources that allow the issue to be confronted rationally.

The key is to discuss the issue without abandoning human dignity.

Overpopulation Effects

The effects of overpopulation look different depending on where you find it. In some areas there is no problem with overpopulation.

There are vast areas in the world where there are 0-50 people per square mile. The problem is that there also hasn't been a development of natural resources so people don't congregate there.

People flock to areas where there is access to water. This can be a river, spring, lake, ocean, or reservoir. If there is drinkable water, there is where you'll find heavy population density.

These areas have expanded due to our ability to drill deep wells for water.

In the developed world, overpopulated areas suffer from traffic congestion, air pollution, high crime, obesity, high rents, high housing prices, and expensive commodities.

Typically wages rise to meet the need and people stay because they enjoy the metro lifestyle and the convenience of shopping, schools, work, etc.

In the developing world, overpopulation has dire consequences.

People often don't have any shelter, they live on just a little water that's not always clean, they never have enough to eat, and work is hard to find.

Medical care can be nearly impossible to get. In some areas, people wait for hours or even days to be seen by a doctor.

In these areas, sexual education and access to contraceptives are seen as a lesser need than basic medical care because people suffer so deeply and lack basic things like clothing and shelter.

What is the Overpopulation Myth?

Many people, including the Population Research Institute, believe that the overpopulation theory put forth by Malthus is a myth based on bogus science.

They put forth the following tenets to disprove the overpopulation myth.

The earth has plenty of resources to support global population growth. The problem is distribution, not availability.

Forced abortions in nations like China and India are used to exterminate girls in favor of culturally valued boys.

Concentrations of abortion centers in areas that are majority black are used to control specifically the black population - the racist agenda of Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger.

The birth rate and death rate will naturally balance out when left alone.

Statistics show that we are currently living in the largest human population that ever will be.

A sharp decline in the human population is about to occur - the natural effect of abortion, contraceptives, and mortality in overpopulated areas.

Depopulation is a bigger risk than overpopulation - causing an economic catastrophe and cultural stagnation in countries with declining populations.

The overpopulation myth proponents seek to maintain individual human dignity and propose different solutions to natural resource depletion that don't involve harm to humanity.

Jordan Peterson worked on the UN Secretary General's Report on Sustainable Economic Development and argues that the world is heading toward a precipitous drop in the birth rate.

Final Thoughts

Education and medical care are the keys to helping women make the decisions they need to have the families they want when the time is right.

Overpopulation in any area taxes the natural resources and makes medical care, food, housing, and water harder to get than they should be.

The fact is that not every place on the planet can be developed to sustain large numbers of humans. That leads to overpopulation in areas where there are limited resources and many people.

What are your thoughts about global overpopulation? Let us know in the comments below!

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Causes of Overpopulation (and Effects on the Planet)

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There are almost Eight billion people on the planet and this number is growing rapidly. Issues like pollution, climate change, and water shortages all seem to take precedence, but population growth is one of the main contributors to many other environmental issues.

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Human overpopulation is the concept of a human population becoming too large to be sustained by its environment or resources in the long term.