Savhannah Carpenter

Position Synthesis
April 12th, 2016
ENG 1010
In a day and age where it seems just about everything is a looming environmental issue, it
is hard to pinpoint exactly what our biggest ecological threat today truly is. The truth is, most to
all environmental issues currently impacting the planet directly stem from one preventable, yet
totally threatening problem; the issue of human overpopulation. Human overpopulation is the
major catalyst behind ecological threats like water and food scarcity, global warming, mass
extinction, depletion of the ozone layer, and depletion of natural resources. Overpopulation of
the homosphere is the major catalyst behind all environmental issues the planet faces today and
raising awareness is crucial to the well being of the planet. By spreading awareness about
overpopulation and its effects, these looming environmental issues may actually stand a chance
of being solved. This is a tough issue for humanity to face, as we all feel entitled to reproduce
with liberties, but a balance must be found. Should this issue go unresolved and continue to be
unmentioned in day to day life, the future that the Earths community will face will be bleak.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, "The largest single threat to the ecology
and biodiversity of the planet in the decades to come will be global climate disruption due to the
buildup of human-generated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. People around the world are
beginning to address the problem by reducing their carbon footprint through less consumption
and better technology. But unsustainable human population growth can overwhelm those efforts,
leading us to conclude that we not only need smaller footprints, but fewer feet. (Center For
Biological Diversity, 2016) . The human-generated greenhouse gas rates are growing every year
as population rates skyrocket to unprecedented numbers. Man made, or anthropogenic,
greenhouse gases are currently significantly higher than they have been at any point in the last

750,000 years, as reported by the Center For Biological Diversity. Agricultural techniques, such
as livestock digestion, manure use, land use and wetland changes, pipeline losses, and vented
subsurface landfill emissions all lead to an increase in methane throughout atmospheric
concentrations. The depletion of the ozone layer, which is caused by emissions of greenhouse
gases, will therefore not be solved without a reduction in the current population growth rate.
Another issue we as a planet face is a lack of food and water. Although we do not see the
effects of these issues in our daily lives because of our sheer affluence, these issues are
terrifyingly real. According to UN-Water, 75% of planet Earth is covered in water. 97.5% of
that is ocean water and 2.5% is freshwater. 70% of freshwater is locked into glaciers and ice caps
and the remaining 30% into land surface water, such as rivers, lakes and groundwater. Most
freshwater resources are either unreachable to humans or are simply too polluted for us to even
filtrate and consume, leaving a staggeringly low .003% of all water on Earth actually available
for direct human use. It is predicted that by the year 2025 more than half of the planets
population will be facing water scarcity, which means drastic changes in the day to day lives of
all humans. Drinking water, bathing water and other necessary sources of hydration will all be
dramatically more difficult to come by.
Water supply isnt the only thing overpopulation has threatened. The amount of food our
planet has the ability to produce will soon not be able to keep up with the amount of humans
being brought into existence. A famous essay written by the Reverend Thomas Malthus in the
1700s proposed that human population would grow more rapidly than our ability to grow food,
and that eventually there would not be enough to feed everyone in existence. As time has gone
by, this prediction seems to com closer and closer to fruition. As reported by National
Geographic in the recent article As World Population Booms, Will Resources Be Enough For

Us?, written in 2010 by Dennis Dimick, he asserted that The population would grow
geometrically1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32and that food production would increase only arithmetically
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. So food production would not keep up with our expanding appetites. (Dimick
2010) This just goes to show how relevant this issue is to the human population-despite the
current supply of water available to citizens of most developed nations.
Furthermore, according to a recent report from the U.N on food shortages, The world is
running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a
rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to 3 billion people into poverty. (United
Nations 2016) . I feel that is a powerful statement coming from the U.N because instead of
simply acknowledging it is a problem, a specific time limit is identified. The U.N also recently
stated in a separate report that demand for food is projected to rise by 70% by 2050. What we
can not guarantee is that the planet will be able to physically yield enough crops to keep up with
that quickly growing number. Should we continue to ignore the growing problem of
overpopulation within the homosphere, the global starvation issues we currently face are
certainly bound to increase exponentially.
Another issue largely caused by the overpopulation of the homosphere is the mass
extinction being caused by human beings. According to DoSomething.org, human beings are
currently causing the largest mass extinction of species since the existence of the dinosaurs 65
million years ago. 99% of the plant and animal species alive today that are currently on the brink
of extinction are in the dire situation they are in because of human activities and the effects of
those activities. Causes include global warming, human past times like hunting and poaching,
and industrial tactics including logging and deforestation. The result of these human actions is a
dramatic decrease in biodiversity. Should society continue to travel the current population path

they are on now, the future of the planet may not include many of the plants and animals that are
held so dear. The same animals we take our children to the zoo to visit will be a thing of the past;
with nothing more than photos to show up and coming generations. The plants that grow food,
that provide clean air, that create an aesthetically appealing environment will all be a rarity few
and far between. These consequences arent even a far off problem for the planet--within the next
few decades a dramatic decrease in speciation will be occurring.
Finally, the issue of overpopulation is also the major cause of the current depletion of
natural resources occurring. Because of the sheer amount of humans living off of the globes
natural resources, it is no surprise that most of those resources are at dangerously low levels.
Fossil fuels, which humans are dependent on for travel and use of automobiles, are set to run out
around 2080. This does seem like a long time away for those living in 2016, this only gives the
current supply of fossil fuels roughly 60 more years. As the world population increases, the
number of years left in that equation decreases. Arable land is another resource human
overpopulation has depleted dramatically. Most soil needs time between crop harvests to regain
its fertility and at the rate at which agriculture is currently progressing, fertile and plant ready
land has become more and more scarce a resource.
One may wonder what can be done about the growing issue of human overpopulation.
Whether or not allowing a limit on reproduction is an ethical solution or not is a global debate
that has been going on for some time. While it is absolutely a basic human right to be able to
mate and produce heirs, one can also argue that ones rights end where they begin to interfere
with another persons rights. We all have a right to breathable air, access to natural resources, and
adequate food or water supply just as much as people have a right to reproduce, in my opinion.
In essence, a liberal limit on reproduction must be considered or awareness of the issue of

overpopulation must be spread throughout the general public if we wish to continue living the
lifestyle we lead on this planet. As written by David Pimental, of the College of Agricultural and
Life Sciences at Cornell University, Achieving future sustainability not only depends on the
land, water, energy, and biological resources that support human life, but also on the number of
humans who have to share these vital resources. The world population is projected to double its
current number of 6.5 billion in about 58 years, based on the current growth rate of 1.2% per
year (Population Reference Bureau 2005). Even if a worldwide policy of two children per
couple, instead of the current 2.8 children, was agreed upon tomorrow, the world population will
continue to expand for about 70 years, before stabilizing at about 13 billion people. Population
momentum, which depends on the age structure of the current world population, will influence
this growth. For example, even China, with a policy of one child per couple, will add about 8
million to its population this year because of its young age structure (Pimental 2006.) I am
inclined to agree with Pimental, and I feel he does a great job of explaining a potentially
offensive idea such as reproductive limitations with scientific facts and statistics, making it that
much easier for the common man to palate it.
While I do not feel a two child limit is an ethical solution to this problem, we as a nation
could probably agree on a 6 or 7 child limit. Scientifically speaking, we as a globe simply cant
support families with any more than that. Its not a matter or removing others rights, its a matter
of protecting others rights. Reproductive limitations aside, awareness on this threatening issue
must be spread if we wish to prevent any of the impending environmental disasters ahead.

Work Cited
Dimick, D. (2014, September 21). As World Population Booms, Will Its Resources Be Enough
for Us? National Geographic. Retrieved April 08, 2016, from
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140920-population-11billion-demographicsanthropocene/
Effects of Human Overpopulation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 08, 2016, from
http://www.everythingconnects.org/overpopulation-effects.html
Pimentel, D., Cincotta, R. P., Longman, P., Oglethorpe, J., Gelman, N., Lutz, W., & Bilsborrow,
R. E.. (2006). Overpopulation and Sustainability. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment,
4(3), 155161. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.libprox1.slcc.edu/stable/3868686
(n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2016, from
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/extinction/

Global Issues at the United Nations. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from
http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/population/