Effects of Increasing World Population

by ody101 (student)

Increasing Population

According to the US Census Bureau, the estimated population of the world 2 centuries ago in 1800 was around 1 billion people. As of March 2012 is it 7,003,019,800 and that number is expected to increase by about 212,035 every day. This increase in population is known to be the biggest in history. This huge increase in world population has led many people to wonder and question how the population was able to increase at such a high rate and how it could affect the world as we know it. With intensive research and logical reasoning we are now able to understand the population growth spurt.

The biggest factor that has led to the growth of the population is the industrial revolution. The Industrial revolution was a period from 1750 to 1850 where changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. It began in , and then subsequently spread throughout , , , and eventually the rest of the world. The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. Most notably, average income and population began to show unprecedented sustained growth. The industrial revolution created much advancement in society. It improved agricultural practices that have led to fewer famines, allowing farmers to sustain much larger numbers of people. Machinery reduces manpower needed to farm while improved fertilizers and pesticides increase crop yields and reduce crops lost to pests. It created advances in health care, technology and medicine which allow fewer individuals to die from injuries and illnesses. The industrial revolution also changed the standard of living which has a complicated effect on population growth. Areas with low standards of living have high birth rates, but also have high infant mortality rates. As the standard of living increases, better medical care leads to lower infant mortality rates and fertility medications increase a woman's chances for pregnancy. Statistically, societies with high standards of living tend to stabilize and eventually decline in population.

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Although the cause of the increase in population seems beneficial and healthy to mankind, its effects are mostly negative and turn into a liability in the years to come. Looking at the statistics, the way the world is heading right now is to overpopulation. Overpopulation is a generally undesirable condition where an 's numbers exceed the of its . If the world reaches the state of overpopulation many negative effects will follow. There would be increased levels of air pollution, , and . There will be an increase of inadequate fresh water for as well as which would increase amounts of waste. There would be a significant depletion of natural resources. Deforestation and loss of ecosystems would lead to mass species extinction. There would be an increased chance of the spread of new and . Some of these will result from many environmental and social reasons, including overcrowded living conditions, and non-existent health care, . With ill health diet-deficiency diseases will increase among countries and society. The will be an increased unhygienic living conditions for many based upon water resource depletion, discharge of raw sewage and solid waste disposal. The crime rate and conflict over scarce resources and crowding, leading to increased levels of warfare would be elevated due to drug cartels and increased theft by people stealing resources to survive. The increase in crime would lead to less personal freedom and more restrictive laws. The higher the population density, the more frequent such interactions between people become, and thus there develops a need for more restrictive laws to regulate these interactions.

A growing population leads to several environmental issues as well as social problems. An increasing population can be attributed to several variables. Within countries, we can credit the growth to increased immigration or lack of migration. Lack of education and contraceptive use and the need or desire for more children also adds to the population. In more developed countries we can attribute the population rises to better medical care, thus a longer lifespan and/or fewer deaths. As a result of this overpopulation we experience social issues such as increased rates of poverty, crime, disease, and environmental problems such as increased global warming, natural disasters, loss of habitat, pollution, and more. It is very necessary that these threats are addressed, as they will affect people worldwide. It is important that we look at these problems since every human has the ability to prevent future damages and adjust their lifestyles to decelerate this increase in population.