Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment Essay

Introduction

There has been a rapid increase in the world population. The untold increase can never go unrecognized especially on the effects that it has on the environment. The naivety and the ignorance of human beings can be said to be the root cause of this increased population. It is unfortunate that even the developed nations have to struggle with the ever-increasing population. What angers most is that these same nations are the loudest in international conferences on environmental conservation. The highest degree of hypocrisy is demonstrated by them. An increasing population has a lot of effects on the environment. Some of them include the destruction of forest covers, degradation of the soil and land, pollution of water bodies, air pollution as well as global warming among many others. All these changes in the environment come to haunt the same humans who have contributed to their existence. It is too unfortunate that the future generations have to suffer from the mistakes of their forefathers. With good will, all these can be avoided.

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The Root Cause: Human Ignorance and the Hypocrisy of Developed Nations

Destruction of forest covers is the main problem associated with overpopulation. Trees form an important part of the natural ecosystem. Unfortunately, these same trees are being cleared to create room for human settlement. Additionally, there is a need for more land for agricultural activities. The largest portion of the world's population depends on agriculture not only for their source of income but also for food for their families. Majority of countries also depend on the agricultural sector for their economic growth. However, it is misguided to start clearing forests just looking at short-term gains. But maybe some of them participate in the vice without knowing the problem that they are causing. Deforestation is the root cause of all other environmental problems (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2017, p. 221-237). Trees are an important part of any healthy environment. One of the obvious ones is that trees serve to beautify the environment. An environment with no trees is very boring to the eyes. Secondly, trees take in carbon dioxide and give oxygen which is used by human beings. Lack of trees is likely to bring about breathing difficulties due to lack of a carbon balance.

Environmental Consequences of an Increasing Population

Apart from the health effects, deforestation has a lot of effects on the environment. It is the duty of the trees to blow winds that help in the pulling of rain-bearing clouds. These rain-bearing clouds are responsible for the rainfall that is experienced in the mainland. A scarcity in the forest cover means that the rain-bearing clouds will rarely come close to the mainland and thus no rain can be experienced. Rainfall is an important part of the agricultural sector. Lack of rains means that the sector is bound for failure and most probably a drought may ensue (Cripps, 2016). Droughts are very severe in most cases and there is a possibility that deaths may occur. All these can be attributed to the ignorance and greed for short-term goals characterized by human nature. At times, common sense has to be used to ensure that there are no such problems. Deforestation does not affect the United States alone but the other part of the world as well. To be more precise, the African continent is adversely affected by this menace. Forests have been cleared to create room for agricultural activities and the end result is evident in the form of unending droughts.

Industrialization and its Environmental Consequences

Industrialization is another fact that can be attributed to the increasing population. During the times when there was a low population, man was not interested in industrialization and thus the environment had no wrath to suffer. Apparently, the increased population forced man to be more creative. This lead to the emergence of industrialization in a bid to salvage the dense population. The first industries were meant to produce food products to take care of the environment although other sectors were explored as well. The problem with industrialization is the problems that it has posed to the environment. Industries have the tendency of emitting very poisonous gases in the forms of sulphur and carbon. These gases end up accumulating in the ozone layer of the atmosphere. The saturated gases absorb the heat radiations from the sun and over time, there are elevated temperatures on the surface of the earth. The elevated temperatures cause more than what catches the eye.

One of the problems associated with global warming is the melting of the glaciers and ice. These will end up destroying the natural habitats of some of the animals such as the polar bears which live in the extreme temperatures at the poles. Another fact is that the storms happen to gain more strength. The recent hurricanes for example experienced in the US explain more about this. There is also said to be flooding in the coastal regions due to the rising of sea levels. All these problems can be attributed to the menace of increased population and industrialization. Additionally, emission of these gases can easily lead to the formation of acid rain. Acid rain is very detrimental to all forms of life may it be aquatic or terrestrial.

Mining and its Impact on the Environment

Other human activities among them mining have an effect on the environment. Mining is meant to take care of the rising population. It is not that people mine for fun but as a way of looking for food for their families. It is never bad to explore the earth and use the minerals to make certain products. Unfortunately, these natural resources are depleting at a very fast rate and the miners have to look for new grounds to mine. In the long run, it is the environment that ends up suffering. This is for the simple reason that the mines are left open for the longest time and thus pose a threat to the environmental threat (Entwisle, Stern, National Research Council (U.S.), 2015). First of all, the beauty of the land is altered. Secondly, the ditches may serve as the home to harmful animals. Consequently, the increased population is proportional to increased environmental waste. These wastes may come directly from the industries or from other human activities. These waste have effects on the environments including the pollution of water bodies as well the prevalence of bad odours.

Short-Term and Long-Term Solutions to Environmental Pollution

Several measures have been put in place to curb the problem of environmental pollution. Some of them are short-term solutions and thus the problem is bound to keep on recurring. In recent time The Environmental Protection Agency of the US promised to lower the rate of carbon production from industrial processes (Guria, 2015). Carbon being the main product of these processes, it will be hard for the agency to successfully achieve its goals. To make the matters worse more industries are being developed meaning the rate of carbon production keeps on increasing. Similarly, The Department of Transport has come up with procedures for reducing car emissions. With increased populations, there is an increased number of cars. These cars break down the fuels to yield carbon which is detrimental to the environment. As a way of saving the environment, the transport agency has recommended for the manufacturing of electric powered cars. This type of cars do not use any form of fuels and thus can save the world from the carbon menace. The US is committed to the protection of the environment by all means. It is however ironical that recently, the president of the US withdrew from the Paris Climate agreement yet he purports to be a conservative of the environment.

Conclusion

In addition to these short-term solutions adopted by the state, there are other long-term goals that the government has to concentrate in. It is very important that the ministry of education ensures that environmental studies are incorporated into the curriculum as a compulsory subject for all. This may help in the conservation of natural resources. Additionally, families have to be educated about the importance of family planning. These are not the days of Moses where one had to have many children. The world has grown and thus there is a need to adjust. God commanded human beings to take care of the environment and that can never happen through reckless multiplication. Civic education thus may help in conserving nature.

References

Cripps, E. (2016). Population and Environment. Oxford Handbooks Online. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199941339.013.34

Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. A. (2017). Principles of Environmental Science: Inquiry and Applications (8th ed.). CA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Entwisle, B., Stern, P. C., National Research Council (U.S.), & National Research Council (U.S.). (2015). Population, land use, and environment: Research directions. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Guria, N. (2015, December). Population Growth and its Effects on Environment: A Case Study of Bilaspur city. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305650666_Population_Growth_and_its_Effects_on_Environment_A_Case_Study_of_Bilaspur_city