Demographers are sounding the alarm: overpopulation of the planet every year is becoming an increasingly pressing problem for our planet. An increase in the number of people threatens a social and environmental catastrophe. Dangerous trends are forcing specialists to look for ways to solve this problem.
Is there a threat?
The generalized explanation of the threat posed by overpopulation of the planet is that in the event of a demographic crisis, the Earth will run out of resources, and part of the population will face the fact of a lack of food, water or other important means of subsistence. This process is closely related to economic growth. If the development of human infrastructure does not keep up with the pace of population growth, someone will inevitably find themselves in unfavorable conditions for life.
Degradation of forests, pastures, wildlife, soils - this is just an incomplete list of what threatens overpopulation of the planet. According to scientists, already today, due to overcrowding and lack of resources in the world's poorest countries, about 30 million people die prematurely every year.
Overconsumption
The multifaceted problem of overpopulation of the planet lies not only in the impoverishment of naturalresources (this situation is more typical for poor countries). In the case of economically developed countries, another difficulty arises - overconsumption. It leads to the fact that not the largest society in its size uses the resources provided to it too wastefully, polluting the environment. Population density also plays a role. In large industrial cities, it is so high that it cannot but harm the environment.
Background
The modern problem of overpopulation of the planet arose by the end of the 20th century. At the beginning of our era, about 100 million people lived on Earth. Regular wars, epidemics, archaic medicine - all this did not allow the population to grow rapidly. The mark of 1 billion was overcome only in 1820. But already in the 20th century, overpopulation of the planet became an increasingly possible fact, as the number of people grew exponentially (which was facilitated by progress and rising living standards).
Today, about 7 billion people live on Earth (the seventh billion was "recruited" in just the last fifteen years). The annual growth is 90 million. Scientists call this situation a population explosion. A direct consequence of this phenomenon is the overpopulation of the planet. The main increase is in the countries of the second and third world, including Africa, where the increase in the birth rate of significance overtakes economic and social development.
Costs of urbanization
Of all types of settlements, cities grow the fastest (grows asarea occupied by them, as well as the number of citizens). This process is called urbanization. The role of the city in the life of society is consistently increasing, the urban way of life is spreading to new territories. This is due to the fact that agriculture has ceased to be a key sector of the world economy, as it has been for many centuries.
In the 20th century, there was a "quiet revolution", which resulted in the emergence of many megacities in various parts of the globe. In science, the modern era is also called the "epoch of large cities", which clearly reflects the fundamental changes that have occurred with humanity over the past few generations.
What do dry numbers say about this? In the 20th century, the urban population increased by about half a percent annually. This figure is even higher than the demographic growth itself. If in 1900 13% of the world's population lived in cities, then in 2010 - already 52%. This indicator is not going to stop.
Cities do the most harm to the environment. In third world countries, they are also growing into huge slums with many environmental and social problems. As with the general increase in population, the largest increase in the urban population today is in Africa. There the rates are about 4%.
Reasons
Traditional reasons for the overpopulation of the planet lie in the religious and cultural traditions of some societies in Asia and Africa, where a large family is the norm for the overwhelmingthe number of inhabitants. Many countries ban contraception and abortion. A large number of children does not bother the inhabitants of those states where poverty and poverty remain commonplace. All this leads to the fact that in the countries of Central Africa there are on average 4-6 newborns per family, even though parents often cannot support them.
Harm from overpopulation
The key threat to overpopulation on the planet comes down to pressure on the environment. The main blow to nature comes from cities. Occupying only 2% of the earth's land, they are the source of 80% of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. They also account for 6/10 of fresh water consumption. Landfills poison the soil. The more people live in cities, the greater the effects of overpopulation on the planet.
Humanity is increasing its consumption. At the same time, earth's reserves do not have time to recover and simply disappear. This applies even to renewable resources (forests, fresh water, fish), as well as food. All new fertile lands are withdrawn from circulation. This is facilitated by open mining of fossil states. Pesticides and mineral fertilizers are used to increase agricultural productivity. They poison the soil, lead to its erosion.
Global crop growth is approximately 1% per year. This indicator lags far behind the indicator of the increase in the earth's population. The consequence of this gap is the danger of a food crisis (for example, in the event of droughts). An increase in any production also puts the planet in dangerlack of energy.
The "upper threshold" of the planet
Scientists believe that at the current level of consumption, typical for rich countries, the Earth is able to feed about 2 billion more people, and with a noticeable decrease in the quality of life, the planet will be able to “accommodate” several billion more. For example, in India, there is 1.5 hectares of land per inhabitant, while in Europe - 3.5 hectares.
These figures were announced by scientists Mathis Wackernagel and William Reese. In the 1990s, they created a concept they called the Ecological Footprint. The researchers calculated that the earth's habitable area is approximately 9 billion hectares, while the then population of the planet was 6 billion people, which means that there was an average of 1.5 hectares per person.
Increasing crowding and lack of resources will cause not only an environmental disaster. Already today, in some regions of the Earth, crowding of people leads to social, national and, finally, political crises. This pattern is proved by the situation in the Middle East. Most of this region is occupied by deserts. The population of narrow fertile valleys is characterized by high density. There are not enough resources for everyone. And in this regard, there are regular conflicts between different ethnic groups.
Indian case
The most obvious example of overpopulation and its consequences is India. Birth rate in this countryis 2.3 children per woman. This does not greatly exceed the level of natural reproduction. However, India is already experiencing overpopulation (1.2 billion people, 2/3 of which are under 35). These figures indicate an imminent humanitarian catastrophe (if the situation is not intervened).
According to the UN forecast, in 2100 the population of India will be 2.6 billion people. If the situation really reaches such figures, then due to deforestation for fields and lack of water resources, the country will face environmental destruction. India is home to many ethnic groups, which threatens civil war and the collapse of the state. Such a scenario will certainly affect the whole world, if only because a massive flow of refugees will pour out of the country, and they will settle in completely different, more prosperous states.
Problem Solving Methods
There are several theories about how to deal with the demographic problem of the land. The fight against overpopulation of the planet can be carried out with the help of stimulating policies. It lies in social change that offers people goals and opportunities that can replace traditional family roles. Single people can be given benefits in the form of tax breaks, housing, etc. Such a policy will increase the number of people who refuse to decide to marry early.
Women need a system to provide work and education to increase interest in a career and, conversely, reduce interest in premature motherhood. It also needs to legalize abortion. That's how it canbe delayed overpopulation of the planet. Ways to solve this problem include other concepts.
Restrictive measures
Today, in some countries with high fertility, a restrictive demographic policy is being pursued. Somewhere within the framework of such a course, methods of coercion are used. For example, in India in the 1970s forced sterilization was carried out.
The most famous and successful example of a containment policy in the field of demography is China. In China, couples with two or more children paid fines. Pregnant women gave a fifth of their salary. Such a policy made it possible to reduce the demographic growth from 30% to 10% in 20 years (1970-1990).
With the restriction in China, 200 million fewer newborns were born than would have been born without sanctions. The problem of overpopulation of the planet and ways to solve it can create new difficulties. Thus, the restrictive policy of China has led to a noticeable aging of the population, which is why today the PRC is gradually waiving fines for large families. There were also attempts to introduce demographic restrictions in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka.
Care for the environment
In order for overpopulation of the Earth not to become fatal for the entire planet, it is necessary not only to limit the birth rate, but also to use resources more rationally. Changes may include the use of alternative energy sources. They are less wasteful and more efficient. Sweden to phase out fuel sources by 2020organic origin (they will be replaced by energy from renewable sources). Iceland is following the same path.
Overpopulation of the planet, as a global problem, threatens the whole world. While Scandinavia is switching to alternative energy, Brazil is going to switch vehicles to ethanol extracted from sugar cane, a large amount of which is produced in this South American country.
In 2012, 10% of Britain's energy was already generated by wind power. In the US, the focus is on the nuclear industry. The European leaders in wind energy are Germany and Spain, where the sectoral annual growth is 25%. The opening of new reserves and national parks is excellent as an ecological measure for the protection of the biosphere.
All these examples show that policies aimed at alleviating the burden on the environment are not only possible, but also effective. Such measures will not rid the world of overpopulation, but at least mitigate its most negative consequences. To care for the environment, it is necessary to reduce the area of agricultural land used, while avoiding food shortages. The global distribution of resources must be fair. The well-to-do part of humanity can refuse surpluses of its own resources, providing them to those who need them more.
Changing attitudes towards family
Propaganda of the idea of family planning solves the problem of overpopulation of the Earth. This requires easy access for buyers tocontraceptives. In developed countries, governments are trying to limit the birth rate through their own economic growth. Statistics show that there is a pattern: in a we althy society, people start families later. According to experts, about a third of pregnancies today are unwanted.
For many ordinary people, overpopulation of the planet is a myth that does not directly concern them, and national and religious traditions remain in the foreground, according to which a large family is the only way for a woman to fulfill herself in life. Until there is an understanding of the need for social change in North Africa, Southwest Asia and some other regions of the world, the demographic problem will remain a serious challenge for all of humanity.
