Speaking of China, it is possibly one of the best examples of over population. It is home to over one-fifth of the worlds population, and still, only a country. When China experienced the population growth, the country had already been established, therefore, the new members of society could not expand out across the land. The people were forced to live on over crowded farm land. Also, the amount of resources available was still the same as when it was with less people. Therefore, much of the rivers, such as the Yangtze River, dry up annually from over use. Many things are affect by the over use of water, such as grain production (agriculture), in which China is the second largest producer. Also, if China’s agriculture is affected, it might not be able to feed the members of its own country, let alone export some of the cereal into developing countries. Measures are being taken in China, to reduce the over population problem, the main of which is restricting each family to have one child.
One of the main reasons why the population growth rate has gone down is from the better accesses and affordability of contraceptives. In many countries this has brought the population growth rate down, but this is not the case in third world countries. In many of these countries, it is difficult to get a hold of contraceptives, and many families have 3 or more children. Developing countries have a large population of children, often more than 40% of the population under the age of 15. In industrialized countries, many women are beginning to choose careers over large families, therefore reducing the number of children born in these areas. Creating this affect in developing countries will be difficult and almost impossible for several decades to come.
Our natural resources are being diminished as our population increases, destroying not only our own habitat, but the habitat of millions of species on earth. Over population effects almost every aspect of life, from food to shelter to our natural ecosystems that we need to survive. Unless the exponential growth of human beings slows, and eventually begins going in reverse, the place we live will no longer be able to support us. Not much can really be done about slowly the population growth, besides attempting to slow reproduction (contraceptives), but attempts are being made by many parties.
