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The increase in human population is having many negative effects on the environment. Should voluntary family planning be integrated into climate-change policies and discussions on a global scale?

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The population growth is having increasing effects on the climate in negative ways.  However, this very important topic has gone unacknowledged for quite some time. The reluctance to address this critical issue comes from the sensitive nature of the topic and the harsh, diverse opinions surrounding it. It is necessary to stop avoiding this issue because of the deadly consequences that will take place with the constantly growing population. Although the population is growing rapidly, the resources needed to provide for each human are declining. Population growth is not the sole reason, but plays a factor in poverty and hunger. These challenges will only intensify as the number of individuals surpasses the number of homes. The controversial aspect of this problem is which solution to go with. Historically there have been many inhuman and immoral solutions to this problem such as forced sterilization and China’s one-child policy. The more humane and simpler approach to this problem is to promote voluntary family planning. Birth control and contraceptives should be highly accessible to all. Strengthening the sex education provided to students can help lessen the incidence of unwanted pregnancies. This can help by reducing the amount of unwanted pregnancies would not only improve women’s health but also slow the increase in population. In 2010 the study, “Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, found that the decrease in population growth due to the reduction of unplanned pregnancies would create a benefit of around 16 to 29 percent decrease in emissions. The decrease in emissions will aid in avoiding 2 extra degrees of global warming. Unfortunately, besides 37 countries acknowledging the issue at hand, only six countries have recognized family planning as an effective solution. The six countries that have recognized it, however, do not hold enough funding to try and commit to the solution.

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Key Terms

Population growth: The increase in the number of individuals in a population over time.

Environmental impact: the effects of human activities on the environment such as pollution and climate change.

Voluntary Family planning: programs that encourage sec education and contraceptives.

Climate change: Long term changes in the atmosphere and weather patterns due to human activities.

Emission reduction: efforts to decrease the release of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

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Impact of population growth on climate change.

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Impact of population growth on climate change.

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Increase of population has put a strain on human resources and the envirnment.

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There is a lack of attention and funding for family planning in climate change discussions.

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Discussions on population have been neglected due to historical controversies

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China’s one-child policy

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forced sterilizations

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Create an emphasis on family planning programs by providing better sex education and making contraceptives widely available.

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Research has found that reducing population growth will lead to emissions reduction and climate change mitigation.

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However, this solution is being unacknowledged on an international level. Very few countries view this solution and even fewer are trying to follow through with the solution.

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There are six countries that have been brave enough to view this solution and know that it will work well. Unfortunately, these few countries do not have enough funding to fully follow through and commit to these solutions.

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There are also people who do not believe this is an effective method for the reduction of population growth and that funding spent on it would be highly wasteful.

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A study of Austalia’s University of Adelaide projecting continued population growth despite drastic measures.

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The Woodrow Wilson Center is working on bridging this gap between family planning and climate change policies globally. They hope to make major progress leading up to the U.N. climate summit.

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During the process of creating Project 3, I was surprised by how controversial this topic can truly be. I learned about a wide range of opinions while searching to find the perfect article to use. I believe this will help me a lot when it comes time to start Project 4. I was also highly surprised and concerned about previous solutions to this high population and climate change crisis. However, I find that learning about these past mistakes and why they were wrong will help immensely to find the correct solutions. I was very interested in whether the solution presented in the article I chose, “The Climate-Change Solution No One Will Talk About” by Jason Plautz and National Journal, was an effective method and whether it would have a positive impact on climate change. I found that whereas the solution does seem ideal, it is unlikely to take place anytime soon due to underfunding and lack of discussion. During the project, I had a difficult time connecting each subtopic separately because in my mind everything should be connected because they are all related. However, I soon understood that some topics correlated a bit more than they connected to other topics. I also used explanations of topics to further separate things into subcategories. I plan to do further research on the solutions to overpopulation and its effects on climate. I would like to start by discovering what the different engineering fields are doing to help fight against the negative effects. I hope this research for Project 4 will also help me gain an understanding of each engineering field to guide me to which major I should choose.

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Source 1: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/opinion/overpopulation-is-not-the-problem.html

NYTIMES

Source 2:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/07/30/how-big-of-a-problem-is-overpopulation/?sh=3b8a0c34216a

Forbes

Source 3:

https://newengineer.com/blog/global-challenges-engineering-solutions-1508934

NewEngineer

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Do you think that overpopulation is a big problem? This question was originally answered on Quora by Chelsea Follett.

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“National Adaption Programs of Action” mentions the population issue but the lack of financial support.