Population Growth and the Arising Environmental Issues Essay

Population is determined by the relationship of two factors. One being birth rate and the other is death rate. If the number of deaths is less than the number of births then the population is growing larger. In John Laffin’s novel The Hunger to Come data is present showing that the population will continue to grow and not stop; â€Å"About 2050 the population will be 15. 000 million, a century later 82. 000 million and by 2350 a frightening 440. 000 million will be reached†(Engelman, 47). Like all living organisms, humans grow and reproduce; however, compared to the rate of which food is grown and supplied, the birth rate rises at a much faster rate. This compared rate of growth is known as the Malthusian relationship. The Malthusian relationship concludes that human population will eventually grow to be too big, to the point where there will not be enough food supply and other vital resources. When this happens, famine and/or death will occur, unless a plan is put into place regarding how to limit population growth. One main problem which results in the Malthusian relationship would be uncontrolled fertility. Since the death rate is decreasing due to medical advancements it allows more births to happen. Humans without doubt will create a baby faster than the supplies needed to support them. This results in birthrate being dropped down to zero population growth. This can happen in many ways, providing women with contraception (birth control), abortion centers and by creating laws to prevent couples from having more then two children. Education on family planning and birth control is a primary factor in restraining population growth. A common problem that people think is associated with overpopulation is having nowhere to put everyone, but there are also many other environmental issues that it causes. More humans will be using more cars, burning more fuel, eating more food and drinking more water. This causes more air pollution, more lands are ruined and more water and food to disappear. Therefore, population control is necessary on a global level in order to protect our environment. Population growth is ruining the earth’s oceans and water sources. This causes a decrease in earth’s water supply for the future. Due to the fact that water is vital to survive, the water sources being polluted will not do humans well. Besides water pollution, population growth also pollutes the air, which causes the greenhouse effect and reduction of the ozone layer. The greenhouse effect is when gases build up around the earth’s outer atmosphere which literally turns the earth into a greenhouse. What this means is that the heat allowed into the earth’s atmosphere is trapped inside and not aloud back out of the earth’s atmosphere. This results in an increase of the earth’s temperature, therefore it causes natural disasters such as hurricanes and due to the increased heat, crops do not grow properly. With the greenhouse effect comes the disappearing ozone layer. The main purpose of the ozone layer is to regulate the amount of UV light coming down to the earth’s surface from the sun. The chemical chlorofluorocarbon which is found in air conditioning systems, when in the air breaks down the ozone layer. This relates to population growth because of how many families are being produced everyday which results in more communities being built which means more houses. Therefore, this means more air-conditioning units will be in use, which results in the chemical chlorofluorocarbon being let out into the air and breaking down the ozone layer. With the ozone layer being broken down, more UV light enters the earth’s atmosphere and causes humans to gain skin diseases such as skin cancer. Therefore, if population growth is controlled and there is less people, less air conditioning will be used, global warming and the breaking ozone layer could be prevented. Main causes of air pollution are the use of cars and industrial plants, both which let loose harmful fumes into the air. Acid rain is a result of air pollution, it occurs when too many toxins are released into the air. It is made by fossil fuels being burnt then released into the air as a gas which then reacts with sunlight, oxygen and moisture. Acid rain when precipitated pollutes water and damages many materials and resources. Another downfall to cars with population growth is the fact of cars having air conditioning. This is because more chlorofluorocarbon will be let into the air from the car’s air conditioning. With the population increasing, it is creating air pollution which is harmful to all living organism because they need clean air, one of the most important necessities of life, to breathe. Population growth also threatens the earth’s farming resources. For example the desertification of land, this occurs when fertile land is turned into infertile land. This can happen from overgrazing of cattle, or the topsoil being carried away (erosion). If too much water is used, it can cause desertification which is mostly caused by a growing population. The more people need food, the more land is being used in the wrong way to try and make food. Another way population growth affects our outdoors is deforestation. Forests are cut down for the demand of fire wood, agricultural space, paper products and more space to live. However, forests are needed for more than human needs such as to regulate the amount of carbon dioxide let out into the atmosphere. Let it be known that population control will not end all the problems, but it would allow more time for them to be fixed and alienate environment problems. The earth’s environment is not infinite and can come to an end if population control was not started. Actions must be taken now to correct the current situations with the world involving population growth, these actions are the increase of deforestation and desertification, the decrease of farmland, more water pollution, the deteriorating ozone layer and the greenhouse effect. It is evident that there is no way our population can keep growing at the rate it does now without negatively impacting our environment.