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The global environment refers to the things that surround living organisms and their change causes an impact on them either negatively or positively. The components of the global environment include; water, air, soil, climate, plants, and animals. Living things greatly depend on this component of the environment in one way or another. Research studies have confirmed that the major determinant of environmental change is human beings. The day-to-day activities of human beings have got a great impact on the general appearance and importance of the global environment.
Population growth generally refers to the rate in which the number of people increases and is found by subtracting the death rate from the birthrate. The term birthrate refers to the ratio of the total number of live births to the total population in a region that is specified. On the other hand, the death rate refers to the ratio of the total number of deaths presently existing to that of the total population in a region that is specified. The death rate is also referred to as the mortality rate. The mathematical equation below is used to give the rate of population in a specified region in a given time;
Whereby:
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r – Is the rate of population increase in a specified region at a given period and is always (birth rate – death rates) expressed as a percentage.
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t – Is the given time interval
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N – Is the number of people that are found in the specified region at a given period.
Population growth is caused by factors such as; high level of illiteracy, high fertility rate, early marriage, and low living standards. High population growth leads to a drastic increase in the world’s population. An increase in the general population leads to over-dependence on the available resources. These resources include; water, food, soil, minerals, air, and other resources.
Over-dependence on the available resources caused by a high level of population growth leads to the following impacts on the environment;
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Depletion of minerals in mines.
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Exhaustion of the agricultural production farms.
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Pollution of water.
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Pollution of air.
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Extinction of some animals and plants used as human food.
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Urban congestion.
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Poverty.
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Social problems.
The effects can make the global environment unfavorable for the survival of human lives. Based on this reason, countries which are highly populated like China should encourage the application of different techniques that are aimed at reducing the rate of population growth. This is the only way that can be used to avoid the stated effects on the global environment.
Introduction
This essay is going to give a thorough description of the effects which a very high population can have on the global environment. The essay will start by giving a broader understanding of the phrase “population growth.” Secondly, the paper will give an exhaustive analysis regarding the different causes of population growth in the globe.
This part would look at causes such as; early marriage, high level of illiteracy, high life expectancy, low level of death rate and high birth rate, improved and more advanced healthcare facilities among other causes. Thirdly, the paper will give a brief description of the different components of the global environment which include; plants, animals, air, soil, water, and the atmospheric temperature among others.
The essay will then look at the impact that a very high population is likely to cause on the global environment; this will be a major section in the essay. This paper will also focus on the impact of a high population on the different components of the global environment. Lastly, the paper will then provide a conclusion which will be a summary of the important points covered in the essay. Based on the conclusion, a recommendation will be provided to countries with a large population on what ought to be done.
Population Growth
Population growth generally refers to the rate at which the number of people increases and is found by subtracting the death rate from the birthrate. Whereby, the term birthrate refers to the ratio of the total number of live births to the total population in a region that is specified (Satterthwaite; 2007). On the other hand, the death rate refers to the ratio of the total number of deaths presently existing to that of the total population in a region that is specified. The death rate is also referred to as the mortality rate.
Causes of Population Growth
Population growth is caused by many factors in which most of them are under human control. These factors include:
Food
Improved and advanced means used in agricultural production have led to a high level of production. Feeding children is a major reason for peoples’ fear to give birth to too many children but with a high level of agricultural production, people find it easy to feed large families. Therefore, high agricultural production encourages population growth as many people tend to give birth to too many children.
Improved Healthcare Facilities
Advancement in the medical field has supported inventions and innovation that have enabled researchers to find cures for deadly diseases that have been causing high death rates (Chamon; 2006). The diseases that used to kill a large number of people in a short period such as leprosy, cancers, polio, Tuberculosis, and others are now curable and this has greatly reduced the number of deaths caused by diseases. In addition to that, research and advancement in the medical field have led to the introduction of vaccinations and immunizations that are aimed at protecting people from dangerous diseases such as polio and others. Advancement in medical technology has been one of the major causes of population growth in the whole world.
Sanitation
Improved and better sanitation has also led to an increase in the general population of the region. This is because the major killer diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, and typhoid are caused by poor sanitation levels. These diseases contribute a lot toward population reduction (Chiras; 2004). Therefore, improved sanitation would mean that there will be fewer sanitation-related diseases or even no sanitation diseases.
High Illiteracy Level
High illiteracy level has been a major cause of population growth in most states. This is because illiterate people are not aware of the impact that a high population has on the environment and particularly on the available resources. In addition to that, uneducated people are barely busy and the first thing they think of in their lives is to have children instead of preparing a better future for their children like literate people would do.
Low level of Living standard
In most cases, people in low class do not strive to live a comfortable life. Striving for comfort in life has been the nature of people with a high standard of living because they wish to lead a comfortable life they are used to. Whereas people in the low class mainly think about taking care of their children and this may lead to having very many children sometimes ten children per family (Okamoto; 2001). It has been proven that regions with people living a low standard life have very high population growth compared to regions with people living a high standard life. Therefore, the level of the living standard also contributes significantly to population growth.
High Level of Fertility
Fertility refers to the number of women out of one thousand that can give birth in the birth age bracket in a given region. Advancement in the medication field has led to the introduction of injections and vaccines that aim at improving the fertility rate of people. In addition to the improved medication, it was discovered by researchers that there are food types that contribute to a high fertility level. These include foods such as yams, potatoes, cassava, and other root tuber crops.
Components of the Global Environment
Water
The largest part of the universe constitutes water which according to researchers occupy above 90% of the whole universe. This means that the landmass on which human being inhabits occupy less than 10%. Therefore, the landmass is surrounded by the water mass which is in different places. Water on the earth is in three main groups i.e.
Surface water
Surface water refers to water found on the surface of the universe. This water includes; ocean water, water in the river, lake water, water in ponds, wells, spring water, oasis water, stream water, and water in tributaries. Surface water is very important as it is used for domestic purposes, farming purposes, transportation purposes, and industrial purposes and also for wildlife use.
Underground water
Underground water refers to water that is stationary or mobile under the earth’s crust. This includes water that is extracted through deep drilling of pore holes. This water is as a result of water infiltration into the earth’s crust. Therefore, surface water and rainwater infiltrates into the soil through the earth’s crust to form underground water (Farrell; 2011).
Rainwater
Rainwater refers to the condensed water vapor and moisture that fall on the earth’s surface as pellets of water. Surface water and underground water is heated by the sun to evaporate and rise due to the low density. When it rises beyond the condensation layer, it condenses into water pellets. When the water pellets become heavier, they fall on the earth’s surface as rain forming rainwater. This water is useful as it is used for domestic purposes and industrial purposes.
Air
Air is the major component of the earth’s atmosphere. It constitutes gases such as;
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Nitrogen – This gas constitutes 78% of the whole atmospheric air. It is useful in plant production.
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Oxygen – used by human beings, animals, and plants for the energy production process referred to as respiration.
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Carbon (iv) oxide –occupies a small part of the atmospheric air but is very important in plants as it is used during photosynthesis.
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Other gases include xenon, krypton, argon, and others and each of them is useful in one way or another in human life.
Soil
Soil is the environmental component that is made up of small particles broken from the rocks and forms the upper layer of the earth’s crust. This is the part of the environment that supports plants’ life.
Other components of the global environment include;
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Plants;
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Animas;
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Climate.
The impact of the very high population on the global environment
An extremely high population refers to a population that has grown immensely and can hardly be managed using basic resources. Such a population is caused by a high rate of population growth without the application of population control measures. A very high population can have the following negative impact on the global environment;
Poverty
Poverty refers to a state where a person, family, or community is unable to gather enough resources for its entire population’s needs and enable them to lead a comfortable life. A high population is the major cause of poverty in the world (Anon; 1999). This is because; a high population would mean that the number of unemployed people would be high in society. Unemployment would mean that many unemployed people would have to fully depend on the small number of working-class people.
Secondly, a high population is caused by a high level of population growth rate, and therefore, the largest part of this population might constitute of older or very young people. A population constituting mainly of people under the age of 18 years and older than 65 years which are grouped under the dependent age can be stressful to the working class (Goklany; 2007). This type of population hurts the nation’s economic growth and the improvement of people’s living standards.
The state of poverty makes the lives of both working and dependant individuals very uncomfortable. This is because the working class people sometimes feel like they are being over-burdened by the dependant age people and this denies them a chance to have a comfortable life. On the other hand, the dependant age people particularly older people feel like they are overburdening the people in the working class. This is a globally unwanted situation.
Depletion of the fertile and agriculturally productive land
A very high population would mean that there will be a need for more food to feed the highly growing population (Anon; 1997). Over-dependence on agricultural production for food can lead to depletion in the productiveness of the available agricultural farms. This implies that the future generation would have to look for another way of survival other than depending on agricultural food. This will be a very hard situation but the world would have to adapt which is likely to be impossible because all animals and plants that human beings depend on for their daily survival would deplete.
Depletion of Minerals in Mines
People highly depend on minerals of different types for their daily survival in different ways. The over-dependence of people on minerals is likely to lead to the depletion of this mineral. If the population rises uncontrollably and over-rely on the available mineral until they are all depleted, many industries would stop functioning. This is because over 75% of the industries in the World depend on the mineral. This means that the depletion of all the available or part of the minerals would cause three-quarters of the industries to stop their operations (Newbold; 2007). This act would cause the world to be a very uncomfortable place for people’s survival.
Pollution of Air
Air is the major component of the earth’s atmosphere and it is a very important component of the global environment. A globally high population has a very great negative impact on the air through pollution. A pollution is an act through which a component of the environment is made unfit and unsafe for living things’ consumption. The high population would mean that there are many machines such as cars, milling machines, planes, trains and other machines being used and therefore, the air pollutant gases such as carbon (ii) oxide, sulfur, and nitric acid gases will be emitted into the atmosphere thus polluting the atmospheric air (Luifyson; 2011).
Polluted air is unsafe for human, plant, and animal consumption since they are likely to poison the living things in one way or another. At the same time, polluted air might also combine with water vapor and condense at the condensation layer causing acidic rain which hurts plants, animals, and aquatic lives. Therefore, this type of pollution makes the earth a harmful place to live in (Jim, 2003).
Urban Congestion
The likely result of the very high population is to cause urban congestion. Urban congestion means that many people migrate to town centers and cities where they settle (Gilbert; 2005). Urban centers that are congested are very busy and have a high level of carbon (iv) oxide being emitted from moving cars and small sub-industries through which people strive to earn a living. Such places emit a lot of carbon in the atmosphere and this gas ends up weakening the ozone layer. The ozone layer acts as a protective blanket that protects living things on the earth’s surface from the hush and harmful ultraviolet (UV) ray (Eager; 2004).
Social problems
A large population would mean that very many people would be unemployed and as a result, there will be a high rate of drug cases, robbery, and sexual abuse-related cases. This is because idle minds will always be the devil’s workshop and therefore, they would only be thinking about negative things. These large populations have to eat, dress, and survive despite their circumstances. Therefore, even if they are not unemployed, they will come up with false ways of getting food, shelter, clothing, and other basic needs (Carl; 2002).
Thus this makes them engage in unlawful ways of acquiring properties. Also, very many idle people would be forced by their circumstances to engage in prohibited activities such as alcohol abuse and taking drugs. Such behaviors make people engage in arguments and quarrels leading to the community, tribal, and national violence. Such situations make the global environment a very unfavorable place for people to live peacefully (Bacci; 2001).
Water pollution
A large population would mean that there are available facilities such as toilets, and waste disposal sites would be less thus causing people to dispose of wastes into water sources. This would contaminate water sources making water harmful for human, animal, and plant consumption. This would pose a great threat to living things in general. This is because all living things depend on water for their survival.
Another way through which a high population can lead to water pollution is through poor farming methods. As the population increases, people will always use simple methods of farming without considering academic knowledge about safe farming techniques (Ashford; 2002). As a result, they will end up using such means as slope cultivation, and unsafe means of disease control that would eventually lead to the pollution of water sources nearby. When contaminated water is used by human beings for their domestic or farming purposes, it can cause detrimental effects. In addition to that, the polluted water would also be unsafe for wild animals, plants, and aquatic lives. Therefore, this pollution makes water which constitutes a large part of the global environment unsafe for any living thing (Buckley; 2005).
Recommendation
Based on this essay’s analysis, it can be seen that a high level of population growth rate is likely to cause negative impacts on the global environment. Therefore, countries that are highly populated such as China should encourage the application of different means that help reduce the rate of population growth. This is the only way that can be used to avoid the discussed effects on the global environment.
References
Ashford, B. (2002). Women of Our World. New York, NY: DC: PRB.
Bacci, M. (2001). A concise history of world population. New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell.
Buckley, R. (2005). World population: still the biggest problem? New York, NY: Understanding Global Issues.
Chiras, D. (2004). Environmental Science: Creating a Sustainable Future. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Chamon, M. (2006). Economic Transformation, Population Growth, and the Long-Run World Income Distribution. New York, NY: International Monetary Fund.
Carl, V. (2002) World Population Data Sheet. New York, NY: Justine Sass and Lori.
Eager, P. (2004). Global population policy: from population control to reproductive right. New York, NY: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Farrell, C. (2011). World Population. New York, NY: Abdo Group.
Gilbert, G. (2005). World population: a reference handbook. New York, NY: ABC-CLIO.
Goklany, I. (2007). The improving state of the world: why we’re living longer, healthier, more comfortable lives on a cleaner planet. New York, NY: Cato Institute.
Jim, J. (2003). Rapid Population Growth Fuels Conflict, Says New Report, New York, NY: OneWorld.net.
Luifyson, N. (2011). World Population. New York, NY: Watts.
Newbold, B. (2007). Six billion plus: world population in the twenty-first century. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
Okamoto, K. (2001). Global Environment Remote Sensing, Wave Summit Course Wave Summit Course: Global Environment Remote Sensing, Kenʼichi Okamoto Global Environment Remote Sensing, Kenichi Okamoto. New York, NY: IOS Press.
Satterthwaite, D. (2007). The Transition to a Predominantly Urban World and its Underpinnings. New York, NY: PublisherIIED.
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