Introduction
Prior to the discovery of abundant natural resources, the scarcity of natural resources was a major concern in the debate over population growth and sustainable development. For decades, many people have worried about the ability of humans to produce enough food to sustain rising populations, particularly in Africa and Asia, where population growth has been most rapid. At a rate of about 3% per year, the number of people in the world has reached three billion, the largest population in history. Over the last two or three centuries, population growth has been steady; however, in the last two decades, it has accelerated dramatically. Consider that the world’s population grew by 1,800 years from Christ to the middle of the 17th century in order to understand the rate of population growth. If the current rate of population growth continues at its current pace, it will double every 35 years in the next 200 years. This percentage is also continuing to rise. An ever-increasing population poses a serious threat to our planet’s future by causing environmental issues such as deforestation and eutrophication and the loss of freshwater. Additionally, rising populations have the potential to negatively impact the economy in other ways, such as the reduction of labor productivity due to underutilization of resources, overdependence on government assistance, and other factors.
Building a larger agricultural base to feed an ever-increasing global population is not an easy task. More food is required to feed the world’s expanding population. In order to achieve these goals, more farming that is intensive or cutting down trees to make way for new farmland may be necessary. However, these measures may have negative consequences. More than seventy percent of the world’s deforestation can be traced back to agricultural activities. There are many ways in which intensive farming can help feed our rapidly expanding population. Machines, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers are used in this type of farming. This can result in soil erosion or exhaustion. The amount of land that has been used and neglected in the last 50 years is comparable to the amount that exists today. Agricultural runoff contributes to eutrophication, a process that reduces the amount of oxygen in the water and harms marine life.
Rapid population growth poses a significant obstacle to meeting the world’s growing demand for food. A lack of agricultural technology, malnutrition, and scarcity of arable land are all issues that developing countries have had to deal with in the past. Many countries are stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty, disease, and malnutrition because of a lack of arable land. Food prices are rising because of a variety of factors, including a shrinking natural food supply, rising unemployment, and the destruction of natural vegetation. Because of this, harrowing land is in danger of being lost to population growth.
CO2 is released into the atmosphere when trees are cut down, making the problem worse. Species extinction and habitat loss are also closely linked to deforestation. Approximately 75% of global deforestation can be attributed to agriculture. Collecting firewood contributes another ten percent, with the remaining ten percent coming from other sources. These pressures to cut down trees are linked to human population growth. As the population grows, so does the need for additional food, timber products, and firewood. Increasing human populations in and around forests have a direct impact on deforestation because locals and young migrants who move into the forest horizon clear land for subsistence farming. Less agricultural production per hectare and more land per person will be cleared if the soil is less fertile. In Central America, population growth and the loss of forest cover are closely intertwined. At both regional and national levels, as well as in small areas within and near forest reserves, such as the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala, this is a fact. If the local population relies heavily on subsistence farming, this relationship could make it difficult for people to manage forests in protected areas.
The biological structure and ecosystem functions of cultivated forests differ greatly from those of the previous forest cover. There is a wide range of plant and animal species that cannot be accommodated by planting forests, which are often monocultures. In contrast to the original forest cover, they are unable to withstand drought and disease. Many of the world’s species still exist in natural tropical forests. In less developed areas, trees cover more than half of the remaining forest land. In areas with rapid population growth, poverty, a lack of reproductive health services, and a high volume of people on the move, tropical forests abound. In the population-forests equation, global warming is a significant wild card. This can alter rainfall and temperature patterns so much that the established forest cover type is no longer valid. Even a small decrease in rainfall can cause more fires, stop some species from regrowing, or even change the ecosystem permanently from forests to grasslands in areas with a lot of dry seasons.
Runoff from agricultural fields contributes significantly to eutrophication, the buildup of nitrogen and phosphorus in waterways that results in areas like the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. More than 400 marine ‘dead zones’ have been identified as a result of eutrophication, totaling an area six times the size of Switzerland. As a result of excessive plant growth, oxygen depletion and the eventual death of aquatic animals are caused by eutrophication. Eutrophication is a consequence of population growth, but it is also a result of other human activities like industry and sewage disposal. Over $3.1 billion was spent on eutrophication mitigation in the United States in 2013. Many other industries, such as clothing and manufactured goods, have also been affected by climate change, according to recent studies. For example, the production of cotton and linen can directly affect agriculture. Combustion byproduct emissions from using fossil fuels to generate electricity for factories can be absorbed by oceans through rainfall.
The formation of dense blooms of foul-smelling, foul-smelling phytoplankton is the most obvious effect of cultural eutrophication, affecting water clarity and dependability. As a result of reduced light penetration caused by algal blooms, plants in the intertidal zone suffer and die off, and predators reliant on light are unable to pursue and catch prey. Eutrophication-related increases in photosynthesis can also deplete dissolved inorganic carbon and raise pH to dangerously high levels during the daytime. Elevated pH can ‘blind’ microbes that depend on the impression of soluble organic cues for survival by impairing chemosensory strengths. Algal blooms that produce harmful toxins (such as microcystin and anatoxin-a) also pose a threat. HABs have been linked to deterioration of water quality, extinction of economically significant fisheries, and increased public health risks over the last century. To survive in environments with abundant nutrients, low denitrification, low light thresholds, reduced mixing, and high temperatures, cyanobacteria are the most common cyanobacteria to be found in aquatic habitats.
A cyanobacterium bloom in the United States has been linked to the first inspection of dead farm animals. Poisonings in wildlife, domestic animals, and even humans have been documented all over the world. Several off-flavor compounds (e.g., methyl isoborneol and geosmin) are found in municipal drinking water systems and aquaculture-reared fish because of cyanobacteria, and this results in significant financial losses for states and local economies. While cyanobacteria do present serious health risks, experimental studies have shown that they are an unreliable food source for the majority of zooplankton grazers, reducing the efficiency of energy transfer in aquatic food webs and possibly impairing the ability of zooplankton to control algal blooms in water. As the population grows, there will be an increase in human activity, which will lead to an increase in river pollution. According to a recent study, Africa and Asia have the highest rates of population growth. As the world’s population grows, so does the demand on the world’s available water resources. It’s predicted that by 2030, roughly half of the world’s population will be living in regions that are considered water-strained, which is defined as a situation where water consumption exceeds the amount that is available, either due to scarcity or poor quality.
Approximately eighty million people are added to the world’s population every year since 1990, according to the United Nations. There are approximately 64 billion cubic meters of freshwater needed each year. Food manufacturing in regions with a lot of water, such as the Middle East, India, China, and the southwest of the United States, will be affected by this increased water consumption. More than 8 percent of California’s fresh water is used by water-intensive crops such as almonds, which require 1000 tons per ton of grain. As the population grows in both the region and the world, there will also be more cases of water pollution. Approximately 780 million people lack safe drinking water, and approximately 3 billion people lack adequate water sanitation. In 2013, this is how it looked. (WHO). Many people choose to make their home in a city. Almost two and a half billion people are expected to live in cities by the year 2050, on top of the nearly four billion people already living there. About 60% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050, according to this projection. There is a high risk of water pollution in cities. Oils, heavy metals, and other pollutants can be found in street runoff. Bacteria, nitrogen, potassium, and other chemicals can be released into the earth’s water supply by sewage water.
Fossil fuel consumption has skyrocketed in support of rapidly industrializing societies, which has coincided with an increase in global population. Because of the increasing number of people who rely on fossil fuels, it is imperative that more of these energy sources be utilized. When burned, they produce carbon dioxide (CO2), which acts as a greenhouse, trapping heat within. More people in developed countries use fossil fuels than in developing ones. Economic growth in developing countries is causing an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. This is a discouraging trend. The destruction of trees is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. More than twice as much carbon dioxide as currently exists in the atmosphere is stored in the world’s forests. Carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere as a result of forest clearing and burning, accounting for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Human emissions of greenhouse gases are putting the Earth’s ecology and biodiversity at risk for many years to come. It’s a problem that’s becoming more and more apparent to people around the world. They are reducing their consumption and upgrading their technology at the same time. However, these efforts may be overwhelmed if the human population continues to grow at its current rate. As a result, we have come to the conclusion that we require smaller footprints and fewer limbs.
Population growth in developing countries is used as a tool to increase capital formation. Almost everyone has a relative living in one of these states, owing to the high birth rate and short life expectancy of residents. About 39 to 51 percent of the population is in the non-productive age group, which uses but does not produce. In developing countries, rapid population growth depletes capital per capita, resulting in a decrease in the productivity of the workforce. Because of this, they have less money to invest, which has a negative impact on the creation of new capital. Investment needs are too high in countries that are not very wealthy. Demographic investment becomes more critical as the population grows, making it more difficult for people to save. As a result, a large gap develops between what the company needs to invest and what it actually has on hand. What an economy spends on this is a function of how many people are growing up in that area. According to Tomasello et al. (2015), some economists believe that if the population grows by 2% a year, 3% to 6% of the country’s income must be invested to maintain the same per capita income.
Demographic investment consumes 3% to 13.6 percent of their government revenue, leaving no funds for economic growth. Because of these factors, these countries’ economies do not move at a rapid pace. People in less developed countries have less money per capita as their numbers increase. This is especially true in less developed countries, where access to capital is limited and unreliable. This is also correct. As the population grows, it becomes more difficult for everyone to get the money they need to do their jobs. This has the effect of decreasing output and decreasing returns. The amount of money each person earns in an economy is directly influenced by population growth. To a certain point, the more people there are the more money each person makes. After that, each person’s income begins to decline. The rate of economic growth will increase when the rate of population growth is lower than the rate of economic growth. There must be a decrease in per capita income in countries where the rate of population growth exceeds the rate of economic growth.
During periods of rapid population growth, there may not be enough jobs to go around. Many people in search of work in less developed countries are moving there at such a rapid pace that even careful preparations have not been successful. There is a lot of unemployment, underemployment, and hidden employment in these countries.. Since so many people are being born into the world, countries that are not wealthy will find it nearly impossible to solve their unemployment issues. Rapid population growth is a major cause of poverty perpetuation in developing countries. Because of the rapid increase in the population, parents are forced to spend a significant portion of their income to raise their children. People’s incomes are falling and prices are rising as a result of this. The cost of living is also rising significantly as a result. Unemployment, low income, and poor living conditions are all factors that contribute to low living standards. The economy of a developing country is stuck in a rut, making it difficult to make progress.
Conclusion
On the question of whether or not an increase in population is beneficial, many different points of view exist. People have different views on whether or not rapid growth is a problem. In other words, the data on the link between population growth and economic growth may not be consistent across countries. Consider that technological advancements are beneficial to the planet because they allow it to accommodate a greater number of people while also improving the quality of those people’s lives. Agriculture and water purification advancements can help feed the world’s population. There are a slew of issues that need to be addressed. We can mitigate the negative effects of population growth by adopting clean energy sources such as solar, improving farming practices, managing water more effectively, and fully embracing the circular economy. Still, they are not going to be enough. In some countries, population growth can be slowed by encouraging family planning and other measures. Policies like these will help alleviate the strain on our planet. Get informed about the issues and vote for the measures that will make a difference.
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