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Corrie Phillips

Nate Hellmers

English 1201

27 April 2019

The Inconspicuous Threat

I remember the first time I became aware of this alarming and startling danger to the

environment and the human species. This danger did not happen overnight; although it brought

fear throughout the night. This danger did not intentionally happen to harm; although it would

inevitably terminate the world. This danger was not just one person’s doing, but a whole species.

This danger was and is overpopulation. It was English class senior year of high school, and Mrs.

Cameron, was educating her students on how conserving water is one of the most helpful ways

to save the planet. She explained, “It is estimated that water demand will exceed supply by 50

percent by the year 2030”. This frightened her students, but she wanted to make them more

aware and not just on water conservation, but on environmental issues throughout the world.

Like water conservation, what came of it? How did this become an issue? When did it become

imperative to conserve water? The answer is overpopulation. Well if overpopulation caused the

need for water conservation, then what caused overpopulation? There are many contributions,

but it is not about how many, it is about how they impact our world. The main factors

contributing to overpopulation throughout the world are the increase in technological

advancements, unavailability of resources, and absence of sexual education.

It has never been thought of as a problem in the past. Until recently, birth and death rates

were just about equal. People would have many children just like some developing countries do

nowadays, but they would not survive to be very old. The increase in technological
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advancements regarding the food production distribution, improvement in public health,

conquest of disease have all led an increasing speed in population growth. First, because of these

technological advancements, we were able to improve our food production distribution and make

fresh and plentiful foods. Carolyn Kinder, member of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute

explains in a detailed article why food production has such a huge impact on population growth.

She explains, “the technology has produced a broader variety of techniques: new kinds of seed,

chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and more sophisticated machinery. The use of technology has

made possible the rapid expansion of agriculture in the United States and other MDCs and

LDCs” (10). Kinder elaborates on the benefits of technological advancements, but also its

downside. Kinder also gives statistics on the swiftly growing population rate. She writes,

“During the past 10 years, the world's food production has increased by 24 per cent, outpacing

the rate of population growth” (13). With the improvement of different types of foods along

comes the improvement in quality of life for many people and a longer one. It is simple. People

who have food are happy and people who do not have food are not so happy. Thom Hartmann,

bestselling author of Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture alongside eighteen other books

writes a detailed explanation of the relationship between food and people. Hartmann writes, “The

result would be that within a short period (a generation or two) the population would outgrow the

food supply, and people would descend into a state of hunger, privation, and need… Within a

relatively short period, the food supply would catch up with the population size” (57). Hartmann

elaborates on the fact without food, humans are not at their best because their quality of life lacks

nutrients and fullness. When people are fed, they are happy. When they are happy, there is an

exponential period of population growth. Overall, the technological advancement in food

production have an imperative impact on the speed of the human population growth.
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Secondly, another factor contributing to the speed of the human population growth

includes the improvement in public health such as water and sanitation. Human health is very

important in determining the quality and duration of life. Carolyn Kinder explains the need for

public health and how some developing countries access to it differs from those developed. She

writes, “First, access to safe drinking water was related to the incidence of epidemic diseases

such as cholera and child survival. Less than 50% of the population had access to safe drinking

water before 1990. By 1990, access to safe drinking water had increased by 75 per cent… An

increasing number of countries both developed and developing are approaching the limits of

sustainable water use based on their own renewable resources” (15). Since unsafe drinking water

led to many diseases, safe water provided death rates to decrease. Lower death rates among the

prolonging of life indicated population growth to increase. In some areas throughout the world;

however, do not have access to the same resources developed countries may have. They may be

impoverished with malnutrition. Bill Marsh, graphics editor for the Sunday Review for The New

York Times, writes a captivating article informing his readers on the catastrophe regarding

overpopulation in many countries. He explains, “In many countries, the population of

desperately impoverished has grown to far exceed their total population as of 1970” (3).

Although in some countries access to safe water or adequate public health is not likely

obtainable, birth rates are still exceeding death rates in these countries and with the developed

countries who have better access, human lives are not only being created at rapid speeds, but

lasting longer than ever before.

Thirdly, regarding technological advancements, conquest of disease has had an impact on

the speed of population growth. Scientists now have many resources to aid diseases with than

they might have had many years ago. Carolyn Kinder develops an argument for the improved
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tools and medical education and their relationship with the human population. She reveals,

“Millions of people who would have died of disease a century ago are more likely to live to old

age. The most effective tools in the conquest of disease have been improved knowledge about

nutrition, vaccinations, better public health practices and the development of new medicines”

(17). Therefore, with better medicine practices, people are able to live longer now than ever

before. But how and why does it work? Kinder explains how research and technology have had a

huge impact on the world’s medicines. She writes, “As far back as 1800, scientists knew how to

use vaccines to protect people from infectious disease. Use of that knowledge has reduced the

rate of diseases like influenza, smallpox, polio and rubella… With the advent of new medicines,

disease was less of a problem in MDCs because medical science has invented a whole range of

new medicines with which to treat everything from infections to pneumonia” (20, 22). Moreover,

progress in medical practices have made a huge influence on the rate of population. With lower

death rates, birth rates have remained the same and this mixture causes the human population to

soar. There have been many great outcomes in regard to all of these technological advancements.

With the improvement of the food production distribution, the world access to healthier and

more food which means better nutrition. With the improvement of public health, the world has

eliminated unsanitary waters and poverty. And finally, with the improvement in medicines, so

many diseases have been able to be defeated and even prevented. All of these hold huge benefits,

technological advancements have improved the quality of life, but also increased the amount of

lives this world may be able to handle.

There are other factors contributing to the speed of population growth besides the

improvement of technological advancements. In some developing countries, women lack access

to readily available resources. Women do not have a choice when it comes to protecting their
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body. Peter Singer, professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, writes a well-detailed article

including reasons in which, lack of resources for women have impacted human population. He

argues, “Today we should be able to safely broach the potential problems of population growth

and ethical ways to respond to it… Equally important is providing women with access to

emergency contraception following unprotected sex and making safe abortion available to

women who need it” (2). Without access to these resources, women do not have a way to protect

themselves. Therefore; lack of resources increase birth rates in many parts of the world. Singer

also elaborates how having resources available for women can provide them with more

opportunities in life. He writes, “A central part of every discussion about population must be

educating girls and women and ensuring opportunities for their participation in work and

political life. Women need more options to take control of their fertility and lead fulfilling and

rewarding lives” (3). Women would have more opportunities and to make a life for themselves if

they had more options and choice regarding their fertility. However, instead women have a lack

of choice when it comes to their bodies. Women in these developing countries have many

children or have risky abortions. Thom Hartmann writes, “More than five million women a year

are either disabled or die from unsafe abortions… The report pointed out that in Nigeria the $19

million spent annually to care for victims of botched abortions is more than four times the $4.3

million it would have cost to simply provide all Nigerian women with access to birth control”

(110). With lack of resources, not only is this a huge danger for women, it affects the world.

Without proper contraceptives, women influence the rate of population by having many

unexpected children or risk their lives from risky abortions. Therefore, if resources were

available to women all over the world, unplanned pregnancies and higher birth rates would less

likely be a problem.
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Subsequently, sexual education has great importance when regarding the speed of

population growth because it is where lives stem from. It is the determining factor of an existing

life or not. Without sexual education, many people do not know the risks. “Population”, a sample

from The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, notates that

there is a stress of importance regarding sexual education. It writes, “A UN international

conference on population and development was attended by politicians from 150 countries. It

emphasized the importance of improving the position of women for effective birth control, and

of improving sex education and contraception, particularly in the less industrialized countries”

(2). There is a correlation between sexual education and population. But why is this such a

problem? Because lack of sexual education affects human population growth. Humans are

endangering themselves unknowingly by the outcomes of overpopulation. Dragoş Grigorescu,

author of this very specific article, describes the problem of overpopulation; what causes it and

how it affects humans. He explains, “We must morally abstain from making many children today

so that our children and next generation can also have one. To multiply us today as much as

possible means that the generations after us to multiply less or not at all… People are more

sensitive to the feelings they can awaken in the souls of their peers, and then, perhaps knowing

that bringing a child to the world in addition produces harm to others, they will think twice about

giving birth to a baby” (58). Therefore, overpopulation not only affects humans now, but also the

next generation. Without education, humans do not know the complications that can occur.

Grigorescu emphasizes on the major effects population will have on humans. He writes, “Highly

appreciated human qualities, such as compassion or empathy, mercy, care, morality diminish as

people are more crowded” (55). There is a need to better educate the people which is why we are

overpopulated. The world needs to focus on contraceptives and sexual education for its
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importance is not met. Grigorescu explains the dangers of overpopulation; that with over

crowdedness, people lack important human qualities.

Another important factor to consider when regarding the speed of population growth is

the climate. Climatic changes can directly have an impact on the human population. Andrea

Alfred, writes an interesting article sampling the World History Encyclopedia, explaining that

population growth considers both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The intrinsic factors relate to

humans as biological organisms; whereas, the extrinsic factors are the environments factors such

as climatic changes and events. She writes, “Climatic changes and events can influence

population growth directly through increasing mortality, but much more commonly the

environment provides clues that organisms, including humans, use to make their life-history

decisions: when to reproduce, how often to reproduce, and whether to migrate” (1). Whether or

not people live in a beneficial climate or not could determine if they are happy and reproduce.

Alfred further explains, “Beneficial climatic regimes will stimulate more people to reproduce

faster, whereas a worsening climate will result in lower birth rates. It can therefore be said that

the environment acts as the ultimate cause of population growth, whereas changes in human life-

history—increases in fertility and birth rate, reduction in mortality, and increases in lifespan—

have to be understood as the proximate causes” (1). This proves that may be why places

throughout the world with better climates have higher populations such as California, Texas, and

Florida. They have better weather; therefore, are more populated and have high birth rates.

Climatic changes in the world have an impact on overpopulation.

In developed countries, like The United States, we do not have as many of these issues

such as lack of sexual education and resources. We have readily available resources such as

contraceptives and sexual education is taught in most schools. So majority of people do not see
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overpopulation as an issue because they do not see the factors and consequences in their daily

lives. But unlike developed countries, developing ones struggle from the consequences of

overpopulation daily. They do not have access to the medicine, resources, and education

countries like The United States have. Carolyn Kinder shares her fear for the less developed

countries. She explains, “Population grows fastest in the world's poorest countries. High fertility

rates have historically been strongly correlated with poverty, and high childhood mortality rates”

(25). Less developed countries need the most attention when regarding their rate of population

growth, but it does not make more developed countries any less accountable. Therefore, since

population grows fast in less developed countries, it will still affect more developed countries

and harm the world in the end.

Most people see population growth as a positive thing. If we have more people this

means more minds and greater ideas that the world can benefit from. People believe with twice

as many people it means more opportunities and jobs. It could also mean with twice as many

people more of us could work less (about half of the hours). Yes it would be great to have more

ideas, inventions, medical practices, art, etc. It would be nice to have an extra day off throughout

the week, but it is unlikely. With more people, it can actually cause more harm than good.

Kinder expresses the dangers of twice as many people throughout her article. She writes, “The

world's current and projected population growth calls for an increase in efforts to meet the needs

for food, water, health care, technology and education. In the poorest countries, massive efforts

are needed to keep social and economic conditions from deteriorating further; any real advances

in well-being and the quality of life are negated by further population growth” (31). People

throughout the world would actually have to work twice as hard to make ends meet. Moreover,
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there are no beneficial aspects to overpopulation in the world and more people could actually be

dangerous to the world and society.

Figure 1 represents the relationship between the Earth and its population size. The image

shows population size is a risk with so many people occupying the planet that there is little room

for everyone.

There is a danger that is harmful to the world and that danger is people. More

specifically, the amount of people. It is a scary and hard thought to wrap one’s mind around that

life could bring the end of the world. It is not something that has happened instantly, for this is

why many people do not see this as a problem. But it is one that humans no longer can deny for

its impacts on society have already begun in some places throughout the world. The results of

overpopulation are quite severe. It can lead to depletion of resources such as water. Conflicts

over water can result in wars and put a strain on dependable resources. With more people comes

the need of more food and housing. The cost of living increases with overpopulated areas. It is
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very hard to support oneself and family with such high prices. Also, with the overuse of many

resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas brings dangerous impacts on the environment. Since

there are more people, vehicle industries have risen which have a terrible effect on the quality of

air humans breathe in every day. Another problem alongside overpopulation is global warming.

The rise in amount of CO2 emissions cause serious effects on the environment as well.

There are many consequences in result to overpopulation, but what is most important are

the causes of it. These causes can determine life and death because these causes could ultimately

be reversible if awareness about the issue is emphasized. Technological advancements such as

improvement in the food production distribution, public health such as water and sanitation, and

conquest of disease through better medical practices and vaccinations have had a major impact

on the speed of human population growth. Through technological advancements, people have

been able to improve human’s quality of life and decreased death rates. Along with technological

advancements, lack of resources especially in less developed countries have resulted in an

increase of birth rates because women have less options when it comes to their fertility. Thirdly,

lack of sexual education has resulted in an increase of birth rates as well because many people do

not understand the risks regarding sexual activity. Climate change also impacts the rate of

population. Better climates make people happier which results in reproduction. These impacts on

the speed of human population growth can be changed with better access to resources, sexual

education, and knowledge of family planning. Also, new policies related to tax exemptions might

curb overpopulation as well. People are driven towards money and if the government of certain

countries lowered rates of income tax for those who have less children (single or two), a positive

outcome may arise. There are many impacts on overpopulation, but with improvements, these
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impacts may no longer be an issue. If there is no longer an outbalance in the relationship between

birth and death rates throughout the world, humans would no longer be a threat.
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Works Cited

Agudo, Kenneth C. “4 Effects of Overpopulation and Their Possible Solutions.” Owlcation,

Owlcation, 6 May 2018, https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Human-Overpopulation-

Its-Causes-Effects-and-Solutions

Alfred, Andrea J. “The Causes of Population Growth.” Sinclair College Off-Campus

Authentication Form, World History Encyclopedia, 2011, https://search-credoreference-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/content/entry/abccliow/the_causes_of_population_growth/0.

Grigorescu, Dragoş. “Education, Ethology and the Problem of Overpopulation.” Jus et Civitas,

vol. 69, no. 2, Dec. 2018, pp. 53–58. EBSCOhost, https://web-b-ebscohost-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=441b6fe4-a6b2-4f41-

939b-7ae0274dd795%40pdc-v-sessmgr03.

Hartmann, Thom. Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture. The Penguin Group, 2009.

Kinder, Carolyn. “The Population Explosion: Causes and Consequences.” 98.07.02: The

Population Explosion: Causes and Consequences, 2018,

http://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/1998/7/98.07.02.x.html#c.

Marsh, Bill. “Overpopulated and Underfed: Countries Near a Breaking Point.” The New York

Times, The New York Times, 15 June 2017,

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/15/sunday-review/overpopulated-and-underfed-

countries-near-a-breaking-

point.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=50D484FD4036CD720681671D19585F71&

gwt=pay.
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"Population." The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, edited

by Helicon, 2018. Credo Reference, https://search-credoreference-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/content/entry/heliconhe/population/1?institutionId=6043.

Singer, Peter, et al. “Talking about Overpopulation Is Still Taboo. That Has to Change.” The

Washington Post, WP Company, 18 June 2018,

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/talking-about-overpopulation-is-still-taboo-that-has-

to-change/2018/06/18/ca7c1838-6e6f-11e8-afd5-

778aca903bbe_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5e4d4e6ed3cd.