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Overpopulation Effects - Everything Connects

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Effects of Overpopulation

Loss of Lower in the Fastest Growing Countries According to UN-Water, 75% of planet Earth is Human beings are currently covered in water. 97.5% of that is and causing the greatest mass According to a Harvard 2.5% is freshwater. 70% of freshwater is divided extinction of species since study, "Over the next forty into and ice caps and the remaining the extinction of the years, nearly all (97%) of the 30% into surface water, such as rivers, dinosaurs 65 million years 2.3 billion projected lakes, ponds and groundwater. Most of the ago at rates 1000 to 10,000 increase will be in the less freshwater resources are either unreachable or times faster than normal. The developed regions, with too polluted, leaving less than 1% of the world's 2012 update of the IUCN Red nearly half (49%) in ." freshwater, or about 0.003% of all water on List of Threatened Species Already strained with Earth, readily accessible for direct human use. shows that of the 63,837 relentless According to the Global Outlook for Water species examined worldwide, explosion, many developing Resources to the Year 2025, it is estimated that 19,817 are threatened with countries, such as in Sub by 2025, more than half of the extinction - nearly a third of Saharan Africa and will be facing water-based vulnerability and the total. If present trends Southern Asia, will human demand for water will account for 70% continue, scientists warn that experience a degradation of of all available freshwater. Furthermore, a report within a few decades, at least their quality and length of in November 2009 by the 2030 Water Resources half of all plant and animal life as they face increasing Group suggests that by 2030, in some species on Earth will be difficulties to supply water, developing regions in the world, water demand extinct, as a result of climate food, energy and housing will exceed supply by 50% and a report jointly change, loss, to their growing produced by more than two dozen U.N. , acidifying , , which will have bodies states that, "By 2030, nearly half of the , over- major repercussions for world's people will be living in areas of acute exploitation of natural public , security water shortage." The planet is in the midst of resources, , measures and economic what the is calling a "Global poaching and human growth. These situations are Water Crisis." Freshwater is the most overpopulation. Human especially dire for fundamental finite with no substitutes overpopulation has been populations in Uganda, for most uses, yet we are consuming fresh water dominating planetary Nigeria, and Bangladesh, at least 10 times faster than it is being physical, chemical, and which will double and, in replenished in regions of northern Africa, the biological conditions and some cases, even triple over Middle East, India, Pakistan, , and the U.S.. limits, with an annual the next 40 years. Learn According to the World Resources Institute, absorption of 42% of the more. "Freshwater – the diverse Earth’s terrestrial net primary communities found in lakes, rivers, and , 30% of its wetlands – may be the most endangered of all. marine net primary Some 34 percent of species, mostly from productivity, 50% of its fresh fresh water, are threatened with extinction, water, 40% of its land according to the latest tally of the World devoted to human food Conservation Union (IUCN), which tracks threats production, up from 7% in to the world’s . Freshwater 1700, 50% of its land mass ecosystems have lost a greater proportion of being transformed for human their species and habitat than ecosystems on use and atmospheric land or in the oceans; in addition, they are nitrogen being fixated by probably in greater danger of further losses than all other natural from dams, pollution, overfishing, and other processes combined. threats. In extent, freshwater ecosystems are Compared to the natural A child suffering extreme quite limited, covering only about 1 percent of background rate of one in India, 1972. the Earth’s surface. Yet, they are highly diverse extinction per million species Credit: CDC Public Health and contain a disproportionately large number per year, we are now losing Image Library/ Don Eddins | of the world’s species." As human populations 30,000 species per year, or Click for source grow, so will the problem of clean freshwater three species per hour, which availability. Finite Earth: Fresh Water is faster than new species can

evolve. The chart below Increased of further exemplifies the New Epidemics and correlation between human population and species extinction. Learn more. A WHO report shows that environmental degradation, combined with the growth in world population, is a major cause of the rapid increase in human diseases, Source: UNEP | Click to enlarge which contributes to the malnutrition of 3.7 billion “We never know the worth of water till the people worldwide, making well is dry.” ~Thomas Fuller Source: Center for Biological them more susceptible to Diversity | Click for source disease. According to the

World Health Organization, Less Freedom, More Restrictions "Every three seconds a Depletion of Natural As population densities increase, laws, which young child dies - in most Resources serve as a primary social mediator of relations cases from an infectious disease. In some countries, between people, will more frequently regulate As the human population one in five children die interactions between humans and develop a continues to explode, finite before their fifth birthday. need for more rules and restrictions to regulate natural resources, such as Every day 3 000 people die these interactions. Aldous Huxley predicted in fossil fuels, fresh water, from malaria - three out of 1958 that democracy is threatened due to , reefs and four of them children. Every overpopulation and could give rise to frontier forests, continue to year 1.5 million people die totalitarian style governments and it turns out plummet, which is placing from tuberculosis and he was right. Rules and restrictions can be good competitive stress on the ideas, but only because they are necessary in another eight million are order to accommodate the growing populations basic life sustaining resources newly infected." that are encouraging such policies. Without and leading to a diminished Overpopulation exacerbates these policies, the global , and quality of life. (see also) A many social and the societal and economic issues that ensue, study by the UNEP Global environmental factors, would be worse than they are today. Examples Environment Outlook, which including overcrowded of such restrictions would be putting limits on involves 1,400 scientists and living conditions, pollution, water consumption, on driving and on what five years worth of work to malnutrition and people can do on their land. Some are good prepare, found that "Human inadequate or non-existent ideas while others may be too invasive, but all consumption had far health care, which wreak are exacerbated by overpopulation. Learn more. outstripped available havoc on the poor and resources. Each person on increase their likelihood of Earth now requires a third being exposed to more land to supply his or diseases. Learn more. her needs than the planet can supply." Furthermore, the Millennium Assessment, which is a four- year research effort by 1,360 of the world's leading scientists commissioned to measure the actual value of Source: United Nations Click to enlarge natural resources to humans World Food Programme | and the world, concluded Click to enlarge that, "The structure of the Increased Global Warming and world's ecosystems changed more rapidly in the second Increased Habitat Loss According to the Center for Biological Diversity, half of the twentieth century "The largest single threat to the and than at any time in recorded is a biodiversity of the planet in the decades to human history, and virtually major driving force behind come will be global climate disruption due to all of Earth's ecosystems have the loss of ecosystems, such the buildup of human-generated greenhouse now been significantly as rainforests, coral reefs, gases in the atmosphere. People around the transformed through human wetlands and Arctic ice. world are beginning to address the problem by actions." Explore 'Finite Earth' Rainforests once covered reducing their through less 14% of the Earth's and better technology. But surface, now they cover a unsustainable human can bare 6% and experts overwhelm those efforts, leading us to conclude estimate that the last that we not only need smaller footprints, but remaining rainforests could fewer feet." Every national academy of be consumed in less than of every major country in the world agrees. 40 years and certainly by Every professional scientific society in every field Source: World population the end of the century at related to the field of climate endorses it. 97-98 from US Census Bureau, the current rate of percent of all scientists that are most active in overlaid with fossil fuel use . Due mainly publishing in the field of climate science agree (red) by from to warming temperatures, with it. The consensus is unequivocal: human Energy Transitions: History, acidifying oceans and activities are causing climate change. The effects Requirements, Prospects. pollution, close to 30% of of climate change are profound and far- Click to enlarge the ocean’s reefs have reaching. Learning the hard way that we can't already vanished since separate the from the ecological 1980, including half of the More systems that support it, climate change, perhaps reefs in the Caribbean and Practices the greatest challenge and threat humanity has 90% of the Philippines’ coral ever faced, has been left largely unchecked by Intensive farming practices reefs, and scientists world leaders to continue unabated threatening produce more and cheaper forecast that ’s the basis of itself. Learn More. food per acre and animal, may be which has helped feed a dead by the year 2050 and booming human population all coral reefs could be gone and may prevent surrounding by the end of the century. land from being converted Furthermore, the area of into agricultural land, but has permanent ice cover is now grown to become the biggest declining at a rate of 11.5% threat to the global per decade, relative to the environment through the loss 1979 to 2000 average. If this of ecosystem services and trend continues, summers in global warming, has led to the Arctic could become the emergence of new ice-free in as few as 4 years Chart: Center for Biological Diversity. Data parasites and re-emergence or in the next 30 years. Source: EIA | Click to enlarge of parasites previously Wetlands are increasingly considered to be 'under under threat in the United control' by creating the States, but also all over the conditions for parasite world. In the U.S., less than growth and is responsible for half of original wetlands 80% of tropical deforestation remain with 53% being lost, (see also). Furthermore, which is about 104 million intensive farming kills acres. In Europe, between beneficial and plants, 60% and 70% of wetlands degrades and depletes the have been completely very soil it depends on, destroyed. As human creates polluted runoff and populations continue to clogged water systems, grow, so will our footprint increases susceptibility to on the interconnected, flooding, causes the genetic ecological infrastructures of of crops and life. Learn more. species around the world, decreases biodiversity, and destroys natural . Learn more.

Scenarios for the reduction Elevated Crime Rate and fragmentation of Great Ape Habitat in Central As human overpopulation Africa 2002-2032. Newton. drives resources and basic Great Apes - the Road necessities, such as food and Ahead. 2002. UNEP. water, to become scarcer, Cartography by Hugo there will be increased Ahlenius, UNEP/GRID- competitiveness for these resources which leads to Arendal, graphic donated to elevated crime rates due to the public domain | Click for drug cartels and theft by source people in order to survive. As Aisha Tariq of the Pakistan IAP (Global Network of Times states, "It has been Science Academies) observed that the countries Statement on Population which have balanced and Consumption population, crime rate is very low in such regions. When people are not provided with the basic necessities, it elevates crime rate."

*Note: The effects listed on this page are just some of the main problems associated with or exacerbated by human overpopulation. A comprehensive list of the effects of human overpopulation are beyond compiling and perhaps, comprehension. They extend far and wide and across social, political, economic and environmental divides. Everything is affected.

"For several years population has been increasing faster than many vital non-renewable and renewable resources. This means the amount of these resources per person is declining, in spite of modern technology. Other massive social and environmental problems ... political instability, loss of freedoms, vanishing species, rain forest destruction, , garbage, , water shortages, traffic jams, toxic , oil spills, air and , increasing violence and crime ... continue to worsen as our numbers increase by more than 70 million more people every year. Solving these problems will be much less difficult when we stop increasing the number of people affected by them. Two billion people live in , more than the population of the entire planet less than 100 years ago. Today there are more people suffering in misery and in the world than ever before in history." ~World Population Balance

Last Revised: 11/20/13 overpopulation solutions Commenting Rules