Global warming and climate change are, and will continue to be for many decades, the two major problems of the 21st century. However, although the causes of these problems are linked to human activity and, especially, to the emission of greenhouse gases from the use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, there is an element that is in clear tune with this problem: global overpopulation.
Overpopulation entails a greater consumption of natural resources, which, in turn, also entails a greater degradation of the environment and ecosystems. In fact, if we do not manage to efficiently manage the worldwide overpopulation, its causes, consequences and solutionswe will face the destruction of life on earth as we know it today. If you want to deepen a little more on the subject, keep reading ecology and we tell you.
What is overpopulation
You may know the concept overpopulation roughlybut to understand its causes and its consequences we have to understand it more detail. We talk about overpopulation when the Population of a species passes in numbers the load capacity of his ecological niche.
It should be noted that overpopulation can occur both in animals and people and that it can have a great impact on the ecosystem. In addition, when this increase in individuals takes place the resources that exist to live are limited.
Causes of world overpopulation
Although the study of the population has come from ancient, it could be considered Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) As the first thinker who raised the problem of overpopulation.
Malthus himself has already established at his time that, because the available resources are limited, the Earth could only host a specific amount of human beings. Everything that went beyond those limits would entail shortage of natural resources and, consequently, social conflicts.
Natural resources available
In this way, the first indirect cause that is behind overpopulation would be the finitude of available natural resources, whether water, food, energy or simply space to live. If the resources were not limited, there would be no problem in which the population grew infinitely.
However, having a limited amount of resources, we can talk about overpopulation when the number of individuals is exceeded (In this case of human beings) who can meet their needs with the available resources without jeopardizing the resources of future generations and the cyclical recovery of said resources.
Population increase
Consequently, another cause of overpopulation would be the increase in population. Having more human beings, The resources consumed are more And therefore, this cause that you can talk about overpopulation by exceeding the consumption of resources that allow responsible consumption. Regarding the causes of this population increase, it would be necessary to talk about multicausal elements. That is, several causes.
Other causes of overpopulation
In this sense, other causes The causes of human world overpopulation are:
- Improvements in Health Quality: which entails an increase in life expectancy and a decrease in child death.
- Technological improvements: that allow an increase in the quantity and quality of food.
- Urban concentrations: More than 50% of humanity lives in cities.
Consequences of overpopulation
Now that we have already known the causes of overpopulation and what it is, we will discover 10 consequences of overpopulation.
Destruction of natural resources
The consequences of world overpopulation are several. First, it is worth mentioning the accelerated destruction of natural resources available and, above all, the consumption of resources that do not allow its cyclical recovery.
This is what we mean when we say that “we are consuming the natural resources of future generations.” That is, we consume more than the Earth can produce, and this entails the destruction of the natural means of resource production.
We leave you the following article so you know what is the importance of natural resources.
Destruction of ecosystems
Another of the direct consequences of world overpopulation, and that is in relation to this Overnsumo of natural resourcesis the destruction of ecosystems and means of production of these resources. By abusing available natural resources, we end up destroying them, which entails that they cannot be used again in the future.
A good example can be seen in the abusive use of water from aquifers. When performing excessive consumption of this water from aquifers, they get to dry and, consequently, they can no longer retain new water from rainfall.
Consequently, a natural resource such as the water of the aquifer in question, and that if it had been consumed in a responsible man Also future. This also happens with soils, with ecosystems, or with energy resources.
Other consequences of overpopulation
Now that you have known the two main consequences of human overpopulation, we will see others that are also important.
- Increased unemployment rate: areas that have a greater population number also have greater competitiveness. This translates to the chances of finding a job are considerably reduced.
- Greater energy consumption: Logically, how many more people are, the more resources we will use. Another example of this is the increase in electrical energy, a primary resource to have a dignified and basic standard of living.
- Decreased standard of living: It is a consequence that encompasses all other consequences of world overpopulation. Not having a job, people look more limited and cannot enjoy a standard standard of living.
- More expensive living: When we talk about overpopulation, we must also understand that, based on the fact that the resources are more limited and more exclusive, they are becoming more expensive.
- Decrease in population in rural areas: It is also a negative consequence for cities, which are the ones that host all these people fleeing the peoples. The quality of these areas also worsens because they stop using.
- Increase in crime: The increase in the human population causes more people to have no resources. As a result, some individuals do not see more solution than to commit vandalism since they cannot find jobs.
- Health risks: As a consequence of pollution, climate change and waters in poor condition, diseases that are increasingly transmitted will be more mortal.
- Technological development: The last of the 10 consequences of overpopulation is good, since how many more people meet, the more it is investigated to find solutions. With this, sustainable alternatives arrive as for examples the smart Cities.
Now that you have seen 10 consequences of overpopulation, we will see some solutions for her.
Overpopulation solutions
The solutions to world overpopulation can be focused from Three basic perspectivesthen we explain them to you.
Reduce the population
On the one hand, a simple solution can be provided by reducing the number of people who consume natural resources. This is the most complicated of all of them, since it requires the passage of time and that The natural generational jump occurs that can allow the reduction of the population globally.
This possible solution It seems uncomitableand all indicators claim that, in the coming decades, world overpopulation will continue to increase. However, a possible strategy inspired by this proposal, would go to give up having children and, in the case of having them, opt for adoption instead of reproduction.
In this way, the consumption of natural resources is reduced, since the population would not increase, but the existing population would be relocated, which would not increase demographic pressure on the planet.
Consume less natural resources
On the other hand, another basic perspectives to solve the problems of global overpopulation would go to reduce the consumption of natural resources. This is One of the most effective and easy solutions to perform in the short plane.
Actually, the limit of natural resources depends largely on the rhythm of consumption that is made. To get an idea, on average, an American or European citizen consumption thirty times what a citizen living in a country in Africa. This means that, for each western citizen, the planet could withstand thirty citizens of the African countries. As you can see, it is a very large difference.
Thus, changing our consumption habits, We can reduce the effects of world overpopulation. Something as simple as:
- I do without a vehicle in favor of the bicycle or public transport.
- Opt for a diet based on vegetables.
- Reduce the number of clothes we acquire.
All these options allow the planet to have a higher endurance range when managing world overpopulation.
More efficient production
Finally, the other basic perspective that has to be taken into account when providing solutions to world overpopulation goes through Improve the efficiency of human activities. Efficiency is the relationship between the resources or energy necessary to carry out a job, and the cost of said energy and resources that are necessary to carry out such work.
In other words, improving efficiency is get off. An example of efficiency can be found for example in hydronic crops. These crops do not require land to grow, since plants grow in water containers. This allows to release a large number of soils, as well as dispense with the use of pesticides, since hydroponic crops are developed in cultivated environments.
Thus, Natural resources needs are reduced To obtain the same results, which allows, at the same time, to also reduce the pressure exerted on the planet. However, to improve the efficiency of human activities, it is necessary to carry out R&D (research and development) processes, which are those that allow developing new technologies that will subsequently have applications in the different areas that influence the well -being of the planet.
It is a field that cannot go unnoticed when providing solutions to world overpopulation, although it requires more time than solutions that provide short -term consumption reduction.
In the following Ecology article, we talk about hydroponics, a more ecological and sustainable agriculture.
If you want to read more articles similar to World overpopulation: Causes, consequences and solutionswe recommend that you enter our globalization category.
