Over Population:
Effecting us right here in America!
The Current Status (JIR)
The United States Population Growth (JIR)
- The current population of the United States is 328,800,000
- The population of the United States represents 4.52 percent of the world´s total population
- Hypothetically speaking, one person in every 22 people on the planet is a resident of United States
Causes (GA)
Can we make it work?
The Human race is Turning resources into waste faster than waste can be turned back into resources puts us in global overshoot. The result is collapsing fisheries, diminishing forest cover, depletion of fresh water systems, and the buildup of carbon dioxide emissions, which creates problems like global climate change. These are just a few of the most noticeable effects of overshoot. If current population and consumption trends continue, by the 2030s, we will need the equivalent of two Earths to support us. And by the end of 2050s, we'll need equivalent of three Earths to support us. And of course, we only have one
Limited resources equals global overshoot
As you can tell by the graph, over population is a rise in developing countries and that makes sense. Most developing countries are already limited to resources and in some cases are already in a war zone over those resources but a lot of people are still giving birth to add on to what already is a problem and that together is why over population is a rise in developing countries as the graph shows.
dead death!
According to the graph, mortality rate has decline tremendously over the years and that is one reason for a problem such as over population. Diseases that were once incurable are now curable due to medical advancement. Death is bad but it is a good bad. Imagine if death didn't exist beginning of time. I can't even imagine what the world would be like so death is something necessary but it's lack of work over the years has put us in a danger of global overshoot.
Overpopulation: The More the Merrier?
The Effects of Over Population on Key Resources (JF)
Food
- more people require more food
- to produce more food we need enough land
- rural land is being utilized for homes and commercial purposes
Forests
- more people require more space
- trees provide a natural air filter
- national forests protect the trees
- deforestation is also occurring on national forests to provide space
Fuel
- more people require more fuel to warm houses, drive cars, make products, etc
- more production means more pollution
- more pollution means increased health effects
The Solution (JF)
Mandatory Extensive Youth Education
To serve as a preventative and informative, youth must take 2 health classes prior to graduation that go in depth on topics such as: intercourse, contraception,abstinence, STDs, parenting costs and challenges, etc. If teens are educated and aware of possible situations they can then be prepared to make mature decisions. The school system should stop simply glazing over these important topics, and actually go into detail.
Decreased Benefits and Tax Credits/Deductions
To keep adults from having an excessive number of children simply for the benefits, this mandate would cut the percentage of tax credit from 15% to 7.5% after the 3rd child. After the 4th child the tax credit would again decrease from 7.5% to 0%. Therefore the maximum number of children a family could have and still benefit in some way is with 4 children. The same decrease would be seen in the number of additional food stamps or WIC benefits a family would see after the 3rd and 4th child.
Two Part Solution
By utilizing a 2 part solution, this mandate for education and decreased benefits will target two groups of people who directly influence the issue of overpopulation. Although the mandate will not keep the population from growing, it will slow the rapid rate at which it is increasing. Once the public is aware that over population is indeed a growing issue here in America, then we can all come together to make positive reform.
[15SecCuts] Mean Girls: Health Class
Visualization of of an Overpopulated World (B.S)
Future of World Population
- Most of the growth of world Population is occurring in the underdeveloped countries, places like the middle east and Asia as well as South African countries.
- Overpopulation occurs in these countries because of gender inequality (male preferred over female child), child labor to provide for families, child trafficking.
- As a whole, the population is expected to hit 9 Billion by the year 2040 and will continue to grow as new advance in medicine and technology allow people to live longer lives.
Sexual Education and Contraceptives
- Here in the U.S we shy away from the overpopulation crisis and avoid it. We could fix the problem by enforcing education about parenthood, contraceptives and informing our teens about the consequences from decisions they make when it comes to sexual intercourse .
- We also have to make contraceptives and sexual education more available to underdeveloped countries, which accounted for 97% of population growth in 2012.
- Teen pregnancy is also a contributing factor to overpopulation because of the lack of intellect. Most teens don't go on to higher education and work minimum wage jobs and are unable to provide for their young. Families usually end up breaking apart, leaving the child affected emotionally and mentally. Young girls are more likely to show emotional effects and usually look for the love and affection that their fathers weren't there to provide.
Spread Ideas for Population Growth Limitation
- China One Child Policy- Couples were only able to have one child to decrease Chinas population. In the future, children who were the only child could have two kids. This policy steadily decreased the population compared to the 1970s when the average child births per women were 6.
- Indias "Sex Drive"- The sex drive influenced the second most populous country to come get sterilized for incentives such as money, cars, and many other rewards in order to reduce population growth.
- Abortion- Although there are factors such as religion and beliefs that disapprove of this method, abortion would be beneficial especially to unexpected pregnancy such as victims of rape.
Conclusion (BS)
Overpopulation is a huge problem we need to raise awareness on. The greater amount of people on our earth means the increase of land usage for homes, increase in food production and fuel consumption that goes into the air. Are resources are valuable and we are slowly using them up. The solution to this problem should be enforced in schools through health education and should also be enforced in Tax benefits in order to have some type of control for people who continue to repopulate and spread awareness. Ultimately, the overall growth of population occurs in developing countries due to the lack of education and socioeconomic standing. However, we as a whole should raise awareness for the future implications of our planet and educate our young adults about making smart decisions as well as spread ideas to our neighboring countries and work together to bring about change to this crisis.
Works Cited
Haub, Carl. "World Population Data Sheet 2012." Fact Sheet: World Population Trends 2012. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.
"Destruction of America's Last Wild Forests." Destruction of America's Last Wild Forests. N.p., 2003. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"Overpopulation:." Effects of Overpopulation on the Environment and Society. Institute for Population Studies, 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.