The population of the world grew at an infinitesimal rate for most of human history, about 0.002 percent per year. Not until the 17th century, with advances in science, agriculture, and industry, did world population growth begin to accelerate. Over the next 300 years the world’s population increased fivefold, from about 500 million in 1650 to about 2.5 billion in 1950.
In the second half of the 20th century the population grew even faster, reaching more than 6 billion in 2000, according to the United Nations (UN). These figures mean that the world’s population has grown more in 50 years than it did during the more than 4 million years since our early ancestors first stood upright.
This unprecedented surge in population, combined with rising individual consumption of food, water, and natural resources, has begun to strain Earth’s capacity to sustain human life. Demands for water are draining supplies from aquifers (layers of permeable rock, sand, or gravel that serve as repositories of water) and other water sources. Demand for fish, a food staple in many areas of the world, is contributing to the depletion of fish stocks around the world. Human activities that cause pollution and encroach on natural habitats are responsible for the greatest extinction of plant and animal species since the dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago. Meanwhile, global warming (an increase in Earth’s surface temperature caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels) has begun to change Earth’s climate in ways not yet fully understood. In short the growth in human population and the scale of human activities appear to be redirecting the natural course of our planet.
reaction:
The population growth seems to be very alarming nowadays. Not only has that it rampantly increased the number of beings, but also the number of problems that it entails. We all know that bulging figures of our population would lead to a much greater demands for our basic needs as human beings. These would basically include food, shelter, clothing, and the like. In agricultural countries such as the Philippines, the startling part of such dilemma is that these greater demands mean greater scarcity with our resources. Instead of using our vacant lands for agriculture and living, we utilize it to accommodate our need for shelter which may probably include those squatter areas that don’t even contribute to the country’s income.
I also believe that with too much population in an area, unemployment could possibly occur. The number of people that needs work would outnumber the needed workers of production firms; thus, resulting to greater unemployment rate of the whole nation. With too many people with just a little number producing enough earnings, the country would not progress at all. It would not be able to provide enough facilities for its citizens and in the end, not only the individual families could be considered as poor but the whole state itself.
Yes, to sum it up, overpopulation is simply having too large number of people with too little resources and too small space for everyone. I believe there’s no other way to aid such predicament but for the government and the citizens themselves join hand in hand in controlling the rampant population growth rate. Many fast developing countries are disciplined in having their family planning control and we could also apply that within our realm. Laws on taxes, resources distribution, and government projects should be properly promulgated and implemented to achieve and maintain the development of the nation amidst of the rapid growth of population.
