Myassignment.live is not sponsored or endorsed by this college or university
Population geography is a subfield of geography involving the study of ways in which spatial variations in the growth, distribution, migration, and composition of the population affect the state of regions. Population growth can result in overpopulation which is a state in which there are too many people to supply them with basic human needs like breathable air, drinkable water, food, and shelter. Therefore, population growth affects the space and how human interaction with the space of the earth as they try to meet their needs. Overpopulation is a state where the ecological footprint of humanity is greater than the carrying capacity of a region or the entire world, meaning that the process of damage is faster compared to the process of repairing performed by nature which ultimately results in deterioration of the planet. This research paper seeks to assess the environmental impacts of overpopulation.
The research questions adopted for this research paper include:
The present population of Earth is more than 7.6 billion people and increasing. It is anticipated that the population will reach 11 billion by 2100, 9 billion by 2040, and 8 billion by 2025. The population is rapidly growing, outpacing the capability of the planet to support the population, considering the present practices (Bartlett, 2011). The figure below is a global map of the population density in different parts of the world:
Figure 1: Population density in various parts of the world (Desjardins, 2018)
From the map above, the high population density is evident in Asia, Africa, and Europe while the low population density is evident in most parts of Latin America and Northern America. These regions experiencing high population density are known to significantly contribute to environmental degradation caused by overpopulation especially in urban areas (Pimentel, 2012). Overpopulation in developing countries feels the impacts on environmental issues caused by depletion of resources, while overpopulation in developing countries trends toward using significantly more resources. Overpopulation is related to the negative economic and environmental impacts discussed below.
Overpopulation is primarily attributed to immigration, urban concentration, poverty, improved food production, the agricultural and industrial revolution, and decline in death rate. Urban concentration is the major cause of overpopulation in major cities over the last decades. The majority of people move to the cities in such of employment resulting in overpopulation in these regions. High birth rate caused by early marriages is also attributed to a lack of proper family planning among early marriages (Tyner, 2014). Family pressure and lack of education are the major causes of increased birth rates in some African countries.
The drop in death rate also promotes overpopulation in some regions and is generally caused by the improvement in medical knowledge and a better supply of food. When the birth rates stay the same and the death rate reduces, the regions become overpopulated. Improved food production is also another contributor to overpopulation. Increase crop yields essentially increase wealth which promotes families to have more children hence increasing the population number (BAUS, 2017).
Overpopulation has significantly adversely affected the environment of the earth starting specifically in the early 20th century. The impacts of environmental issues are not equal globally since the impacts of overpopulation vary depending on the region. Some of the environmental impacts of overpopulation include:
Deforestation is one of the major impacts of overpopulation is deforestation caused by cutting down trees for the construction of buildings, industries, and crop production to support the increased number of people. Crop production is responsible for approximately 80% of the total deforestation that has occurred across the whole world (MIttal, 2013). Humans have been forced to interact with the space on earth to feed the increasing population by cutting down trees for large-scale agricultural production. Another 14% of the total deforestation globally is attributed to logging which is generally used in the construction of structures to serve as human habitat and also industrial structures. 5% of the total deforestation globally is attributed to firewood collection which is majorly used for heating and cooking purposes (Peters, 2013). Overpopulation has significantly increased all the pressures of deforestation as more people seek firewood, more wood products, and more food. Deforestation is also responsible for the loss of habitats and the extinction of animals and plants.
The current rate of extinction of plant and animal species is attributed to the overpopulation which has destroyed natural habitats. The human population is currently resulting in the greatest mass extinction of animal and plant species more than the 65 million ago extinction of dinosaurs. The current rate of extinction is between 10,000 and 1000 times faster than the ordinary. 19,800 species are endangered by extinction out of about 63,800 species examined globally in 2012 by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Sharqi & Shabir, 2013). In case the present extinction rate continues, scientists warn that almost half of all animal and plant species on the planet will be extinct within a few decades as a result of poaching, overfishing, invasive species, acidifying oceans, pollution, habitat loss, and climate change. All of these factors are as a result of overpopulation.
Human overpopulation on space of earth has been dominating the biological, chemical, and physical condition and limit of the planet, with 50% of its landmass being converted to human use, 40% of its land, and 50% of its freshwater devoted to the production of food. The figure below illustrates the relationship between human population and the extinction of species:
Figure 2: Relationship between human population and extinction of species (Tsiattalos, 2016)
From the figure above, as the population escalates, the number of species becoming extinct also increases. However, the current rate of extinction higher starting the 1950s compared to the rate before this year.
Natural resources, such as frontier forests, coral reefs, arable land, freshwater, and fossil fuels continue to reduce as the overpopulation continues to increase, which is placing competitive stresses on the basic resources of life and resulting into a reduce life quality. Research shows that human consumption had far outstripped available resources. Every person on the planet needs a third more land to supply her or his necessities than the earth can provide (Diamand, 2016). As the population continues to grow, it is believed that it will reach a time when there will be no sufficient water and food supply for everyone to feed on resulting in starvation.
The major contributor to the loss of ecosystems such as rainforests, arctic ice, and wetlands is human overpopulation. Rainforests in the past covered about 14% of the surface of the earth, currently covering only 6% and it is approximated that the remaining rainforests may be cleared in less than 40 years considering the current rate of deforestation. It is estimated that about 30% of the ocean reefs have disappeared already since 1980 because of pollution, acidification of oceans, and warming temperatures (Burnett, 2016). Additionally, the regions covered by ice permanently has also reduced as a rate of 11.5 % every decade relative to the average between 2000 and 1979. Summers in the Arctic is expected to be without ice in the next 30 years in case this trend continues. Between 70% and 60% of wetlands in Europe have been destroyed complexly as the human population in this region continues to increase.
The most advanced effect of overpopulation on the environment is climate change which is caused by factors such as increased emission of carbon dioxide in industrial, transport, residential, and agricultural sectors caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Overpopulation has forced the manufacturing companies to produce more products to meet the increasing demand. In the transport sector, the number of vehicles on roads has also substantially increased to accommodate the increased population (Malmberg, 2014). The agricultural sector has also mechanized to improve crop yield by introducing machines that also contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases. Trees are responsible for the absorption of atmospheric CO2, but with deforestation also in progress, the level of GHG in the atmosphere continues rising. These greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming and climate change which are experienced in various parts of the world. Some effects of climate change include prolonged drought, extreme temperatures, floods, warming of oceans, melting of glaciers, and tropical cyclones.
The issue of overpopulation can be prevented by promoting extraterrestrial settlement, birth regulation, education, raising awareness of advance effects of overpopulation, and improvement of family planning. Family planning enables people to have several children that they can provide. Some people are ignorant of the impacts of overpopulation of the environment and through creating awareness, they can avoid going to cities in search of employment rather generate income from their native homes (Dutta, 2019).
From the research question, ‘what are the environmental effects of overpopulation?’, the responses gathered include climate change, loss of biodiversity, depletion of natural resources, extinction, and deforestation. Overpopulation has completely changed how human interaction with the space of earth since the current state of earth cannot sufficiently provide for the highly populated world. There is a need for mitigating these effects by mitigating overpopulation through family planning and education.
Bartlett, A., 2011. Energy threat from overpopulation. Physics Today, 64(11). Physics Today.
BAUS, D., 2017. Overpopulation and the Impact on the Environment. Retreived From: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2929&context=gc_etds.
Burnett, P., 2016. OVERPOPULATION, OPTIMAL CITY SIZE AND THE EFFICIENCY OF URBAN SPRAWL. Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, 28(3), pp. 143-161.
Desjardins, J., 2018. Mapped: Population Density With a Dot For Each Town. Retrieved From: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapping-population-density-dot-town/.
Diamand, M., 2016. The Solution to Overpopulation, The Depletion of Resources and Global Warming. Journal of Neurology and Neuroscience, 7(4).
Dutta, M., 2019. Environmental impact of overpopulation in India. The Clarion- International Multidisciplinary Journal, Volume 8, p. 49.
Malmberg, B., 2014. Book review: Population and Development: The Demographic Transition. Progress in Human Geography, Volume 38, pp. 331-333.
MIttal, R., 2013. impact of population explosion on environment. 1(1). retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237771340_impact_of_population_explosion_on_environment.
Peters, G., 2013. Population geography. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co..
Pimentel, D., 2012. World overpopulation. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 14(2), pp. 151-152.
Sharqi, S. & Shabir, N., 2013. Population geography. Population geography: APH Pub. Corp.
Tsiattalos, G., 2016. Effects of Human Overpopulation. Retrieved From: https://www.everythingconnects.org/overpopulation-effects.html.
Tyner, J., 2014. Population geography II. Progress in Human Geography, 39(3), pp. 360-373.
To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:
My Assignment Help. (2022). Accounting Principles II. Retrieved from https://myassignment.live/free-samples/acct2023-accounting-principles-ii/financial-statements-of-the-business-file-A1D39FE.html.
"Accounting Principles II." My Assignment Help, 2022, https://myassignment.live/free-samples/acct2023-accounting-principles-ii/financial-statements-of-the-business-file-A1D39FE.html.
My Assignment Help (2022) Accounting Principles II [Online]. Available from: https://myassignment.live/free-samples/acct2023-accounting-principles-ii/financial-statements-of-the-business-file-A1D39FE.html
[Accessed 06 September 2022].
My Assignment Help. 'Accounting Principles II' (My Assignment Help, 2022) < https://myassignment.live/free-samples/acct2023-accounting-principles-ii/financial-statements-of-the-business-file-A1D39FE.html> accessed 06 September 2022.
My Assignment Help. Accounting Principles II [Internet]. My Assignment Help. 2022 [cited 06 September 2022]. Available from: https://myassignment.live/free-samples/acct2023-accounting-principles-ii/financial-statements-of-the-business-file-A1D39FE.html.
Are you confident that you will achieve the grade?
Our best Expert will help you improve your grade
If you are the original writer of this content and no longer wish to have your work published on Myassignment.live then please raise the content removal request.