Overpopulation presents a huge threat to the future of the planet, as the resources of the Earth seem to be at the breaking point because of their overexploitation caused by enormous rates of population increase (Chiras 480). The analysis of the phenomenon of overpopulation is of vital importance for understanding the possible solutions to this urgent problem.
A thorough understanding of the overpopulation of humans is essential to being a well-educated person in today’s society as this topic influences all spheres of the functioning of the global community. Every well-educated person should be aware of the most urgent issues that affect the future of our planet and humanity and participate in the process of finding solutions to them. Analyzing the causes, consequences, and possible ways of dealing with this problem and occupying a well-grounded social position on this topic should be considered one of the primary duties of every well-educated person of modern times.
The overpopulation of humans relates to numerous disciplines outside biology. Ecology is directly related to this topic, as global effects of overpopulation include collapsing ecologies that influence the environment in all parts of the world (Cafaro and Crist 3). Overpopulation is also related to medicine, as modern healthcare systems all over the world face negative consequences on the health of the population and have to search for medical methods of dealing with the problem. Besides, overpopulation is related to social studies, as increased rates of unemployment are caused by the enormous number of people living on the Earth. Social studies aim to find the premises for overpopulation in distinct regions and analyze the results of certain policies on regulating birth rates.
The social implications of overpopulation include unemployment, increased urbanization, and spreading poverty (McKinney, Schoch, and Yonavjak 50). Besides, armed conflicts can be considered a social implication of overpopulation, as an enormous population causes competition for resources. The majority of deaths in domestic wars occur in highly populated countries (McKinney, Schoch, and Yonavjak 50). Such social consequences lead to the creation of certain policies regulating birth rates in the countries facing severe overpopulation, e.g. China. Besides, the social implications of overpopulation shape the face of modern community structure and business, as the lack of employment opportunities for the youth caused by extensive birth rates heavily influence the jobs sector and people’s attitudes to employment. Ethical implications of overpopulation include the conflict between the right of every human to procreate and have children with the necessity to decrease birth rates. The ideas of some scientists about sterilization (Jargin 694) and Chinese experience in policies restricting the number of children appear to be effective in terms of decreasing birth rates but can be considered unethical and not humanistic. Therefore, modern society has to deal with the problem of contradiction between ethical values and the urgent necessity to decrease birth rates across the globe (Hayes 1044).
Science has the power to deal with the practical side of the process of decreasing birth rates by providing appropriate scientific data related to the development of certain methods of preventing further growth of population and organizing the existing knowledge in the form of explanations of the threats of overpopulation and potential solutions. However, science is unable to answer questions related to the ethical aspect of the ways of controlling birth rates and predict the reaction of the global community to the employment of certain methods.
Overpopulation is considered one of the biggest problems of modern times as it has negative effects throughout the world (Pimentel 151). The analysis of specifics of overpopulation of humans and its global effects helps to understand the significance of the problem and the urgency of finding effective solutions.
References
Cafaro, Philip, and Eileen Crist. Life on the Brink: Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation, Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2012. Print.
Chiras, Daniel. Human Biology. 7th ed. 2012. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones & Barlett Learning. Print.
Hayes, Pip. “Overpopulation is Main Driver.” British Medical Journal 342.7806 (2011): 1044. Print.
Jargin, Sergei. “Ethical Challenges in an Age of Overpopulation.” South-African Medical Journal 100.11 (2010): 694. Print.
McKinney, Michael, Robert Schoch, and Logan Yonavjak. Environmental Science. 5th ed. 2013. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Barlett Learning. Print.
Pimentel, David. “World Overpopulation.” Environment, Development, and Sustainability 14.2 (2012): 151-152. Print.