Overpopulation
By: Zakariye Hassan
What is Overpopulation?
Overpopulation. The official definition is a function of the number of individuals compared to the relevant resources, such as the water and essential nutrients they need to survive. It can result from an increase in births, a decline in morality rates, an increase in immigration, or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources".
Why is this a problem?
Overpopulation is the aggravating force of many issues facing the world today. For example: Global Warming, Environmental Pollution, Habitat Loss, and a Mass Extinction of many species. Overpopulation also causes the consumption of natural resources such as fresh water, agricultural land, and fossil fuels.
How it affects Water Quality
Last of the major health problems is loss of freshwater. 75% of the world is covered in water. 97.5% is ocean water and 2.5% is freshwater. 70% of the freshwater is icecaps and glaciers; so that leaves 30% of land surface water such as rivers, ponds, and lakes. Most of these resources are unreachable or polluted, which leaves 0.003% ready and accessible for direct human use. That causes dehydration and malnutrition for people all around the world.
How it affects Air Quality
Overpopulation also causes a lot of air pollution. Due to the need of electricity it causes more coal burning which causes more co2 and greenhouse emissions in the air. Air pollution also has a 80% cancer risk and causes 45,000 premature deaths each year. 88 million people still are living in areas where the air is not safe.
Health Problems for Overpopulation
- One of the major health problems is Malnutrition. With the lack of Natural Resources like water and crops people in Africa and other developing countries are going through extreme starvation and dehydration. Every 3.6 seconds a person dies from starvation. 75% are children.
- Another major health problem is disease. Overpopulation can also increase the spread of new or old diseases. Areas that have polluted water sources have a more chance of catching diseases. Which leads to more deaths.
- Last of the major health problems are war. War causes more casualties since ever with the world overpopulating. War starts with conflict and with more people more conflict. The U.S lost .002% of the population in the war on terror.
Balance of People to Resources
There are more people than resources on earth to support the population
Hunger Map
This is a map of the people going hungry around the globe
Freshwater Stress
This before and after shows the freshwater left in the world
Local Problem
NC's bee population is dropping rapidly. Bees pollinate 90% of the world's crops and if bees are dying in NC then there might be no food left for us. Every winter 30% of honeybees in north carolina die. They are dying because of a chemical they put in seeds called neonics.
Some companies like Home Depot and BJ's Wholesale Club are taking action by reducing the amount of plants treated with neonics. Also 100 other businesses have sent letters to obama to protect our bees from toxics and pesticides.
You can take action by urging the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to take action and protect the bees pollinating our crops. You can also take action by petitioning to agricultural companies to take the pesticides out.