1. Discuss on the impact of human
population explosion on the environment and the world
food problem as a biological and social issues.
It is believed that if the growth of human population is allowed to continue without restriction, the population density might exceed the carrying capacity of the Earth. Natural resources, such as food, water and land will become exhausted. As a result, a large number of people would die or suffer until the population density is reduced to a certain level.
The term “population explosion” refers to the situation that the human
population grows so fast that it exceeds the carrying capacity of the
environment such that human lives are threatened. It is evident that some areas
on the Earth are already so over-populated that a single disturbance, such as
flood, drought or crop failure, will result in the deaths of thousands or even
millions of people.
One of the major problems of population explosion is food supply. Food
is known as a major factor for organisms.
The overall production of food in the world should still be enough to
feed the present population. There is a surplus of food in developed countries
while starvation and famine occur in some developing countries. It is estimated
that one-third of the world’s population is consuming over one-half of the
world’s food supply. The present problem is mainly an unbalanced food supply
due to the following reasons:
1. In order to earn more money in the export market,
farmers in many developing countries grow cash crops (e.g. coffee, tea, cotton
and tobacco). Therefore, less land is available for growing food crops.
2. In some countries, the pastures are overgrazed, i.e.
people allow too many cattle and sheep to feed on the pastures. The vegetation
is eaten away at a rate much faster than it grows. Consequently, the fertile
topsoil is stripped off, resulting in the transformation of pastures into
deserts.
3. Deforestation is another reason for turning fertile
soils into deserts in some countries. As trees have been cut down, the soil can
no longer retain water. Thus the exposed topsoil is subjected to soil erosion.
4. Large quantities of food are being wasted in developed
countries due to the wasteful eating habits of the people.
5. Modification of the environment by human activities
has resulted in increased chances of having natural disasters such as droughts,
floods and pests in many parts of the world. Thos would lead to the slow-down
of food production.
6. Frequent warfare in some developing countries
seriously disturbs the production of food.
Apart from a sufficient quantity of food, people also need a wide
variety of food for health and growth. The obtaining of the right amounts and
types of nutrients is not easy to most people in developing countries.
The living of human beings depends upon a large variety of natural
resources including food, energy, water and land. They also depend on various
materials for medicinal, recreational and many other purposes. As the
population continues to grow, there is an increasing rate of consumption of
resources in the environment. Thus the natural resources that support human
population are being exhausted at a faster and faster rate. At the same time,
utilization of natural resources results in production of waste of product,
which continuously pollute the environment. The
impacts caused by the depletion of natural resources and the pollution problems
are becoming more severe as the human population grows.
Social problems arisen from
population explosion
An over-populated society always faces the problems in job
opportunities, education, housing, health, crimes and social services. Parents
having too many children may find themselves short of time to take care of
their children and difficult to support the family financially.