Overpopulation

by: Joshua Mendez

Humans are the most populated mammals ever in geological history.

Many people overlook the significance of overpopulation, but fail to realize that it’s one of the main contributors to major issues like pollution, climate change, and water shortages, just to name a few.

Currently there are 7.7 billion people on earth. Many scientists think Earth has a maximum of 10 billion people, which is the uppermost population limit where food sources become of concern.

According to new estimates from the UN, “The world is expected to add another billion people within the next 15 years, bringing the total global population from 7.3 billion in mid-2015 to 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion by 2100,” which is an unbearable amount of people for the planet to support.

Therefore, overpopulation is inevitable. By weighing out the cons of overpopulation, it better prepares us for the future and enables us to brainstorm solutions while we’re ahead to help the human race entirely.

Conserve Energy Future states, some issues that will occur due to overpopulation are:

It may create scarce resources. Resources start to become scarce with 10 billion people to feed, unless everyone agrees to stop eating meat.

There would be less overall space to utilize. Homes would need to become more compact. Rural areas would become urban areas.

Rise in unemployment. Higher population and a limited amount of job opportunities; many people will find themselves struggling to earn enough money to survive.

Degradation of Environment. The overuse of natural resources will negatively affect the climate and increase the progression rate of climate change entirely.

A North Attleboro senior, Kayla Lowe states, “overpopulation doesn’t concern me as of right now, because its not prevalent and not affecting anyone at the moment, but when it comes to that extent people should take initiative to come up with a solution to fix this issue.”

Overpopulation is one of the biggest obstacles faced by humanity that threatens both the economy and environment. People need to be enlightened about this issue and take initiative to create solutions.