How Is Population Growth Harmful to the Environment?
More people on Earth means more consumption and more waste. And that consumption and waste can be harmful to the environment; population affects the land, water and air.
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Earth's Human Population
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Every ecosystem must remain in balance in order to remain healthy. In the scope of human history, the planet population did not reach the 1 billion mark until the early 1800s. In the past 200 years, that number has increased to over 6 billion, with the greatest population explosion occurring since 1950.
Impact on Food and Water
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The increasing human population needs to eat. Food production creates a strain on habitat and energy use. Whether plants or animals are being raised for consumption, there's a need for space. And there's a need for energy to harvest the crops and transport food to users. According to the United Nations Population Fund, half of the world's population lives in poverty and depends on the land for income and sustenance.
Water is even more critical for human survival. The Sierra Club states that more than 1 billion people do not have access to clean water. Additionally, nearly all human waste (90 percent to 95 percent) and most industrial waste (70 percent) is untreated and dumped into water supplies. -
Energy Consumption and Waste
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Growing populations create growing consumption on every level. In addition to food and water, humans consume energy. We need energy to heat and cool our homes and buildings and to run cars and equipment. Industrialized nations are the biggest consumers of energy, despite having the lowest populations. It's estimated that the United States has 5 percent of the world's population but consumes 25 percent of the world's resources. Consumption then leads to waste. Waste takes on many forms from sewage to trash. It must all be treated or put somewhere. Some waste is spewed into the atmosphere or into waterways. Air and water pollution are the result.
Human Population and Global Warming
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While industrialized nations have led the way in consumption and waste, rapidly growing countries such as India, China and Brazil are now contributing to emissions and waste as well. Logic leads one to believe that more people means more waste and greater effects on global warming. However, not all scientists believe that global warming is a man-made event. Many believe that it's a naturally occurring phenomenon with no bearing on human activity or population growth.
Is the Population Growing?
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With advances in medicine and other factors, a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is needed to sustain the current population level. In a 2002 report, the U.N. Population Division lowered its projected growth rate. It noted that many areas of the world had dropped below a 2.1 fertility rate with no indications that the rate would rebound to higher levels. Additionally, many nations with fertility rates of 2.1 to 5.0 were dropping faster than anticipated.
Conservation
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Regardless of whether the population is continuing exponential growth and whether or not human activity affects global warming, there are more people on Earth than ever before. The key to maintaining a healthful environment and ecosystem is conservation. Consuming only that which is absolutely necessary and finding ways to sustain and balance the environment is critical.
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