over population
The Enviromnetal Degradation as a Result of Overpopulation 1Introduction There are simply too many people on our planet, and the population is not showing any signs ofslowing down(see Figure 1). It is having disastrous effects on our environment. There are too manyimplications and interrelationships to discuss in this paper, but the three substances that our earthconsists of: land, water and air, are being destroyed. Our forests are being cut down at an alarmingrate, bearing enormous impacts on the health of earth. Our oceans and seas are being polluted andoverfished. Our atmosphere is injected with increasing amounts of carbon dioxide, which hurts theentire planet. All of these problems can be traced to our vast, rapidly expanding population, which hasstressed our world far too greatly.Our Population In 1994, the world population was 5 602 800 000. This population had a doubling time of onlyforty-one years (De Blij and Muller, 1994, p.527). The massive amount of people has had highlydestructive impacts on the earth's environment. These impacts occur on two levels: global and local. Onthe global level, there is the accumulation of green house gases that deplete the ozone layer, theextinction of species, and a global food shortage.
On the local level, there is erosion of soils (andthe loss of vegetation), the depletion of water supply, and toxification of the air and water. The earthis dynamic though, all of these aspects are interrelated, and no one impact is completely isolated. Allof these destructive elements can be traced to our enormous population. As the population increases, sodo all of the economic, social, and technological impacts. The concept of momentum of population growth is one that must be considered. It states thatareas with traditionally high fertility rates will have a very young structure age. Thus, a decrease inthe fertility rate will still result in a greater absolute number of births, 2as there are more potential mothers. Populations are very slow in adjusting to decreases in fertilityrates. This is especially frightening when considering that South Asia has a population of 1 204 600000 (and a doubling time of thirty two years), Subsaharan Africa has 528 000 000 (doubling time: thirtyone years), and North Africa/Southwest Asia has 448 100 000 (doubling time: twenty seven years) (De Blijand Muller, 1994, p. 529-531)and all of these areas have traditionally high fertility rates. Although third world countries do have a far larger population than industrialized nations, andthe trend is constantly increasing, their populations should not bear the responsibility for our population-enduced degrading environment. The impact we make on the biosphere is sometimes expressedmathematically by ecological economists as I = PAT. I being impact, P population, A affluence(consumption) , and T technology (environmentally bad technology)(Ehrlich and Ehrlich, 1990, p.24).Concern regarding population increases often focuses on the third world, since it is there that growth isexponential. Yet, it is necessary to recognize that people are by no means equal or identical in theirconsumption, and thus their impact on the environment (see Map 2). 3Our Forests"The sky is held up by the trees. If the forest disappears the sky, which is the roof of the worldcollapses. Nature and man perish together." - Amerindian legend Forests are a precious link in the life systems of our planet. They are a part of these vitalecosystem services without which earth would not have been habitable by the human species in the firstplace and would certainly have become inhabitable again. Forests have crucial roles in the carbon,nitrogen, and oxygen cycles that nourish and sustain life on earth. They protect the watersheds thatsupport farming and influence climate and rainfall(Lindahl-Kiessling, 1994, p.167). They save the soilfrom erosion and are home to thousands of species, and forest peoples whose lives depend on them. Theyare also a source for industrial and medical purposes. In developing countries, much deforestation is for both local purposes and for export. The UNFPA(United Nations Fund for Population Activities) said in it's 1990 report that population growth may havebeen responsible for as much as eighty percent of the forest land cleared between 1971 and 1986 to makeroom for agriculture, cattle ranching, houses, roads and industries(Ramphal, 1992, p.55). It is estimated that in that period nearly sixty million hectares of forest were converted to farmland and asimilar amount of forest was put to non-agricultural uses. This is equivalent to the mass of twelvehundred square metres of forest added to the population(Ramphal, 1992, p. 57). Quite often, areas of forest were cleared in such a way (ex.: slash and burn) that they willnever grow back. After a forest area has been converted to grazing lands or intensive farming, the soilwill only sustain it for a few years. Then the land is left lifeless. The increasing demand for fuel wood as populations expand is another important factor leading todeforestation. In most developing areas, wood is the primary source of fuel. In many of these areas,the demand for fuel wood is rising at about the rate of population growth, and ahea
Some common words found in the essay are:
Industry CFC's, Population Activities, Kazakhstan Uzbekistan, Blijand Muller, Blij Muller, Vikram Seth, Result Overpopulation, Climate Change, Harold Byron, Agriculture Organization, carbon dioxide, developed countries, population growth, developing countries, greenhouse gases, third world, ozone layer, population increases, fertility rates, forest land, consumption energy fossil, paul ehrlich anne, demand fuel wood, ehrlich anne population, traditionally fertility rates,
Approximate Word count = 3026
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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