WHAT IS
OVERPOPULATION?
WHAT DOES
OVERPOPULATION MEAN FOR
US?
The grim reality of a world with too many people.
We see the strain the risk of
overpopulation has on our beautiful,
beautiful planet every day. And there is no
denying that our Earth is not beautiful – there
is no planet other than Earth that is known by
modern science that has this incredible
capacity for life. But this capacity is being
tested.
British economist Thomas Malthus in
1798 proposed the unsettling theory that
population growth would outrun the ability to
produce food. This, he said, would lead to
war, famine, disease, and other calamities.
Some of these calamities are unfortunately
coming into fruition – global warming, dying
species, deforestation, and other climatic
changes.
It is no help that developing countries
and even developed countries have incredibly
high fertility rates. The United States is
expected to grow 1.5x in size within the next
50 years and our birthrate stands at 2.1
children per woman – the highest of any
developed country! And currently we are
merely the third most population country,
after China and India.
Speaking of developed countries,
they are eating the planet’s resources. The
Earth’s natural resources are being severely
overwhelmed.
Let’s begin by considering some statistics:
THEN and NOW: Around 1850, the world
population reached one billion. By 1987, it was
at five billion and still rising rapidly. Today it is
over 6 billion, only 22 years later.
Third World nations are responsible for a great
deal of the population growth. In 1989, about
90% of the people being born were in developing
countries. The populations of Third World
countries are expected to continue to boom.
Today’s population stands at 6.8 billion and, if it
continues on course, will reach 8 billion in 2020
before leveling off at about 9 billion in 2050.
Formally, overpopulation by Merriam-Webster as “the
condition of having a population so dense as to cause
environmental deterioration, an impaired quality of life, Information collaborated and design by Jessica Tu ©
or a population crash” Bioethics Symposium Fall 2009. All rights reserved.
THE OVERPOPULATED WORLD
THE IMPACT ON WORLD ECONOMIES: Overpopulation has a definite effect on a country’s economy. First
of all, when countries are overpopulated, the hardly have enough food to support themselves, never mind the
hope of having a surplus to sell. This can contribute to a low GDP per Capita. This leads to high levels of debt in
countries. Furthermore, when a country is overpopulated, there is a high rate of unemployment because there
just aren’t enough jobs to support the population. This results in a high level of crime because the people will
need to steal things in order to survive.
THE IMPACT ON THE WORLD ENVIRONMENT: Every person on the planet takes up space, but space is
needed for farmland, and forests. People excrete wastes and pollution that flow into water systems, and animal
habitats, polluting water, and killing wildlife. Many people cannot bathe or brush their teeth because of the status
of the water in their land. Greed and overconsumption can destroy the quality of life we are accustomed to.
Forests are being torn down as more wood and land is needed to support our ever-growing population. The
loss of these forests leads to extinction of plants and animals.
51% of the fossil fuels on Earth are being used by USA and China alone, leaving less than half for the
remaining countries, including those in Africa. In fact, most of those remaining fossil fuels go to other developed
countries, leaving a dismal amount for Africans.
FOR WORLD POLITICS: Governing an overpopulated country presents problems. The economy is stretched
beyond belief, and civil wars break out left and right. There is utter anarchy Civil wars are fought over already
meagre resources. Important fossil fuels need to be traded away for pitiful amounts of cash used to no avail. The
government of an overpopulated country falls into constantly increasing debt.

WHAT WE CAN DO
TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
LONGTERM SOLUTIONS FOR A LONGTERM PROBLEM: WHAT CAN BE DONE TO STOP OVERPOPULATION AND ITS EVILS
The situation is urgent. Lester Brown, President of Worldwatch, stated in 1998,"The question is
not whether population growth will slow in the developing countries, but whether it will slow
because societies quickly shift to smaller families or because ecological collapse and social
disintegration cause death rates to rise."
The most important thing we as individuals can do is choose to have fewer children. While cutting
back on your personal consumption of resources is laudable and may reduce your environmental
footprint by 5%, 25%, or maybe even 50%, having a child will double your footprint, and having
two children will triple your footprint. It is virtually impossible to compensate for reproducing by
consuming less yourself.
Although most of the population growth over the next few decades will take place in Asia and
Africa, global overpopulation is as much a problem for “developed” countries as it is for third
world countries. Americans constitute only five percent of the world’s population, but consume
26% of the world’s energy. Because we consume so much more than most people around the
world, we can have the most impact when we choose to have fewer children or no children.
Internationally, the United Nations Population Fund works for gender equality, access to birth
control, and the education of women. According to the UNFPA, “Some 200 million women who
would like to use contraceptives lack access to them.” Women should be educated not only about
family planning, but also generally. World Watch has found, “In every society where data are
available, the more education women have the fewer children they bear.”
WHAT THE
OPPOSITION HAS TO
SAY
OPPOSITION #1: The world is overcrowded and
population growth is adding overwhelming numbers of
humans to a small planet.
In fact, people do live in crowded conditions, and
always have. We cluster together in cities and villages in
order to exchange goods and services with one another.
Most of the world is actually empty. It has been estimated
by Paul Ehrlich and others that human beings actually
occupy no more than 1 to 3 % of the Earth’s land surface.
OPPOSITION #2: Overpopulation is causing global
warming.
The message that is most likely to arouse the fervor of
young people is that overpopulation is destroying the environment
and the biosphere. While the consensus is that global warming is
man-made, there are still climatologists that believe that the globe
goes through cycles of warming and cooling.
OPPOSITION #3: The world's forests are disappearing
because of overpopulation.
Today we know that trees inhale carbon dioxide and
exhale oxygen, which means that they are a first line of defense
against air pollution and the specter of global warming. The world
forested area, estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the U.N. (FAO), currently covers 30 % of the land surface of the
earth. Few people realize this is the same figure as in the 1950s.
OPPOSITION #4: Many plants and animals are disappearing
because of the growth in human numbers.
There is absolutely no scientific data whatsoever to
support this claim. Some species, such as blue whales, spotted
owls and blackfooted ferrets, have been found to be more
numerous than was once thought. Claims of massive species
extinction appear doubtful.
OPPOSITION #5: Overpopulation is the chief cause of
poverty.
In reality, problems commonly blamed on
"overpopulation" are the result of bad economic policy.
OPPOSITION #6: Population control is the only way to solve
the ills of overpopulation.
The “solution” to overpopulation, as seen in China, leads
to human rights violations such as forced infanticide, abortion, and
sterilizations.
OPPOSITION #7: Overpopulation causes war and revolution.
The most war–torn continent on earth Africa is also one
of the least densely populated, with about half as many people per
square mile as in the world as a whole. Bad governments, propped
up by ineptly and unjustly managed foreign aid, are more probably
the root of strife.