Can the Earth Cope with the World’s Growing Population?
With the population of people living on planet Earth recently reaching 7 billion, people from all around the world were left celebrating over this remarkable landmark. It is certainly astounding to think that in the early 1900’s the population had only just surpassed the 1 billion mark and now just over a century later the population has multiplied itself approximately 7 times. As great as all of this is scientists, geographers etc… have warned the human race of the problems that we could potentially face if the population continues to rise at this rapid rate. They have looked into such things as we’ll we have enough resources to supply for everyone, e.g. will there be enough water for everyone to survive? Other things includes whether we will have a reliable source of energy after fossil fuels run out. Ultimately the question we are left with is ‘Can the Earth cope with the world’s growing population?’ In this essay I will be addressing this question and critically evaluating it looking at various articles from different sources and trying to present both sides to the argument.
There are obviously two answers to this question. The first being well yes we can cope with the world’s growing population and we will find a way to do so. The second being no we can’t cope with the world’s population if it continues to rise at this rate. I will also be looking at whether there is an optimum population we can reach and what number scientists think this optimum population level is.
Firstly if we look at the problems that could arise due to a rapidly increasing population. Already as the population stands there are 1/7 of the population that are deprived of enough food and drinking water. If the population continues to rise then this number will also rise. (1) If we can’t keep everyone out of poverty as it is surely increasing the population is a ridiculous idea. Another problem that is caused by the increasing population is the fact that global warming is already a real
There are obviously two answers to this question. The first being well yes we can cope with the world’s growing population and we will find a way to do so. The second being no we can’t cope with the world’s population if it continues to rise at this rate. I will also be looking at whether there is an optimum population we can reach and what number scientists think this optimum population level is.
Firstly if we look at the problems that could arise due to a rapidly increasing population. Already as the population stands there are 1/7 of the population that are deprived of enough food and drinking water. If the population continues to rise then this number will also rise. (1) If we can’t keep everyone out of poverty as it is surely increasing the population is a ridiculous idea. Another problem that is caused by the increasing population is the fact that global warming is already a real
Bibliography: 1) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/5155095/Can-the-world-cope-with-billions-more-people.html Phillip Johnson April 2009 2) http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2013/09/27/how-the-world-can-get-a-handle-on-population-growth Hannah Gais September 2013 3) http://www.howmany.org/big_picture.php Institute for population studies 2010 4) http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/14/population-explosion-seven-billion Leo Hickman January 2011