Environmental Impacts of Overpopulation
Overpopulation is one of the main sustainability issues with significant global impacts.
Overpopulation arises when the environment’s capacity gets exceeded. Overpopulation impacts on different environmental conditions in various ways. Human overpopulation is a great pressing environmental menace Clay, 2013, p. 100). The main environmental elements of overpopulation are as discussed below:
First and foremost, overpopulation impacts on the increased rates of environmental degradation which is evidenced by an increase in the number of vehicles and industries which cause the greenhouse effect. The rise of the population leads to overuse of natural gas, coal, and oil which poses adverse effects to the environment. Increased population has a direct relationship with the number of vehicles purchased by people; these vehicles emit harmful carbon monoxide gasses to the environment hence global warming effect (Dahl, 2012, p. 15). The change of climatic patterns harms human health, and this remains to be one of the major consequence of pollution in the environment as a result of overpopulation.
Second, overpopulation impacts natural resources depletion, desertification, deforestation, soil erosion, food scarcity, and water shortages. Overpopulation poses severe consequences to the human and social life. The earth productivity is limited to a given capacity that cannot get exceeded. With overpopulation, the current needs are not met sufficiently (Fox, 2012, p. 22). As a result, people cut down trees (deforestation), recklessly hunt wildlife and hence bringing in pollution with poses adverse problems. Due to intense competition for resources, people get engaged to wars and violence acts. Further, soil erosion persists as food and water security become a big problem for people in a given social setting.
Unsustainable growth in population overwhelms the generation of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. Overpopulation poses a significant threat to the biodiversity and ecology of the earth leading to global climate disruption hence greenhouse effect. High consumption of carbon footprint which is considered as a cheaper source of energy by many people impacts negatively on the ozone layer (Keller, 2010, p. 100). Nearly every country whether developed or developing has been unable to control the use of carbon footprint event in the industries where energy is intensively used in production and manufacture of commodities. Global climate disruption harms the ecology and environmental surrounding of people.
Overpopulation impacts on the growth of contamination in the environment either water, land, or the air. The increase of population results to increased human activities such as traveling, disposal of waste materials, and emission of harmful gasses to the air. Pollution is harmful to human health whose backbone is overpopulation (Lanrewaju, 2012, p. 425). Air pollution leads to heart chest problems and breathing difficulties. Land pollution contributes to poor soil productivity and hence causing poverty indirectly to the people. Further, water pollution makes the water unfit for human consumption and also affects marine lives in a big extend.
Increased Rates of Environmental Degradation
Thirdly, overpopulation impacts on increased rates of unemployment since there are fewer jobs as compared to a large number of the population seeking for the job. The constant growth of overpopulation leads to high unemployment rates whose effects to the social environment is very adverse. Unemployment brings about a rise in crime rates making it hostile for people to interact and socialize freely in the environment (Lee, 2014, p. 233). People engage themselves in theft activities in an attempt to feed their families and offer the most basic life amenities. The rise in unemployment results from stiff competition for jobs as the jobs are limited and the people seeking for the jobs are more than required capacity.
Further, overpopulation impacts on the increased rates of crimes, conflicts, and wars due to poverty where people exercise robbery with violence to earn a living. Overpopulation contributes to the expansion of differences between demand and supply for commodities. As a result, the cost of living raises such that some people cannot afford either can they bear its impact (Moorthy, 2012, p. 425). There have been increased starvation rates facing the world due to overpopulation. Poverty is the biggest hallmark for overpopulation, and this leads to the creation of conflicts and wars in the society. The third world countries have been faced with this problem and hence increased rates of crimes and hence insecurity. The food insecurity has been a menace that creates violence in the environment.
High population density in countries is prone to adverse health problems. The Dense population of people increases the proximity between people in their residential places thus raising the chances of spreading infections. The spread of diseases has been aided by the rise in population, and this is more problematic in the cases of epidemics (Lee, 2014, p. 230). The dirty and unhygienic surroundings in most localities create social issues in the community. The rise in health problems is costly to most governments when it comes to the provision of health amenities such as health services. The long-term sustainability of the world’s climate for human survival has been significantly threatened by overpopulation which is hard to control.
The major economic impacts of overpopulation in the global sustainability attempts include:
The most overpopulated world’s countries hardly have less food to support themselves. The government’s inability to curb population growth leads to excess consumption and hence having less surplus. Overpopulation directly contributes to the rise of low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita on a country’s economy (Rosa and Dietz, 2012, p. 585). Starvation in a country forces most governments to rely on foreign debts in an attempt to harmonize the economy. Virtually all countries where there is overpopulation experience shortage of primary commodities and supplies.
Natural Resources Depletion, Desertification, Deforestation, Soil Erosion, Food Scarcity, and Water Shortages
Overpopulation impacts on the quality of education offered by both parents and the government to the student and this is an economic challenge. Families with many children find themselves economically unstable and unable to educate the children. The same burden is transferred to the government where the problem of unpredictable exchange rates patterns and nation’s wealth exists (Santos, 2012, p. 350). High birth rates lead to insufficient funds available to the government to pay teachers and to cater for free education expenditures for the people. With little population, this economic problem is alleviated.
There is an indirect impact of overpopulation on inflation for essential goods and services globally. Overpopulation leads to depletion of resources, and this lowers a country’s productivity. Demand for basic commodities increases while the supply is low due to lack of sufficient products to distribute by government suppliers (Sengupta, 2013, p. 99). The government ends up importing products from foreign countries at a higher cost and thus increasing the price for essential products. This results in inflation in the world’s economy whose impacts are deadly environmentally, socially, and economically.
The two primary ethical issues connected to global overpopulation with respect to applied ethics and sustainability include:
- Is it ethically correct for the government to influence a couple’s decision about the size of their family?
- Is it ethical for a family to have more than two children?
The ethical implications of overpopulation are highly complicated. The above two ethical issues are discussed below drawing on the relevant ethical theories.
Egoism ethical theories take effect on the ones self-needs when making decisions on what to do (Broad, 2014, p. 8). The character of a person as explained in the virtue ethics theory establishes an ethical dilemma when the government takes charge to educate the people of family planning mechanisms. Some people think that it is ethically incorrect to exercise family planning and hence to end up giving birth to many children. The government remains in the intense dilemma of what perspective to take about curbing the rise in population in their countries. On the other hand, the egoist people are outshined by the care ethics on their relationship with others, empathy, and vulnerability to adverse effects. However, the egoist citizens feel that their decisions are more ethically correct and thus should not be influenced by community outlook of facts (Broad, 2014, p 10).
Human rights have been given priority by the government when making crucial decisions. There is a significant ethical dilemma on whether it is ethically right for government intervention on the size of families. While smaller population utilizes fewer resources, most people still end up having many children. In ethical theories based on human rights are given the highest priority as established by the society. In rule utilitarianism, there arise conflicting rules between society values and governments budget (Geoff, 2014, p. 21). As per the utilitarianism theory of ethics, people freely use their life experiences to predict future outcomes of their decisions. Most people value act utilitarianism for they aspire to reach their maximum good. As a result, no person wants the government or any other external influence when forming decisions on the number of children to give birth.
Unsustainable Growth in Population and Greenhouse Gases
There is an ethical problem based on a single family’s contribution to growth in population. If an individual feels compelled to give birth to more children than the other people, issues of the personal right are always weighed against the common interest in the society. The deontological class of theories has won in this arena (Geoff, 2014, p. 28). Democratically, people have adhered to their obligations when engaged to making birth decisions as far as ethics are in play. In most countries, people express freedom of birth provided that they understand their upbringing duty in an ethically correct manner.
Again, as per the utilitarianism ethical theories, couple’s predict the consequences of giving birth to a given number of children. Utilitarians believe that a family’s choice to give birth to a given number of children depends on their choice as per what benefit their decision will yield to them provided it is ethically correct (Griseri and Seppala, 2010, p. 88). However, an ethical dilemma exists where the government comes into place in the provision of essential amenities to its population. The government follows act utilitarianism and recommends that couples perform birth decisions that would benefit the most people. Rule utilitarianism that considers fairness in the provision of essential services creates a dilemma to the government on whether to dictate to the citizens on the limit of children families should have or not.
Zhang, et al., (2014, p. 580), argues that being a global sustainability issue, overpopulation presents both significant threats and opportunities for business and these include:
Unpredictable global economic downturns are leading to inflation. Overpopulation poses a threat to businesses since they cannot accurately predict demand for products in the market.
The threat of loss due to increased theft and crime rates. Overpopulation creates poverty whereby people go stealing from the businesses and hence causing market insecurity.
Limited access to natural resources. Overpopulation leads to depletion of resources such as water. Water shortages is a threat to business operations.
The increase in the market for business products. Overpopulation creates more markets for companies to offer their products and this creates profitability growth opportunities.
Opportunity for government subsidies and exemptions. The government provides the businesses with tax incentives and grants to motivate them to offer the population with cheap products.
Increased cheap labor supply in the business. Overpopulation offers business with an opportunity to enjoy cheap labor since many people are jobless and are hungry for jobs.
Contamination in the Environment
Overpopulation is caused by depletion of resources, advancement in technology, reduced death rates, high birth rates, and provision of better health amenities. However, the government can adopt sustainable strategies to address the impacts of overpopulation socially, environmentally, and economically (Gray, 2010, p. 1800). The government should educate people on family planning techniques and implement social change policies. Informing people the effects of overpopulation through the provision of better education helps them have the ethical empathy of considering to have not more than two children voluntarily.
Overpopulation is also caused by the poor adoption of modern technology such not using contraceptives and illiteracy. In addressing the ethical dilemmas of the number of children to have and whether the government has a moral right to intervene on one’s decision to procreate, these approaches should be taken. People should avoid egoism and always act for the common good of the society considering the future consequences of bringing to live many children in a family (Blewitt, 2014, p. 56). Again, the government should exercise democratic will and allow people to give birth as far as they consider their acts ethically correct as described by their social principles. Since most people are inclined to a quality life and living better lives, the ethical dilemmas existing in overpopulation and sustainability will get alienated out of free will and utilitarianism by the concerned citizens.
List of References
Blewitt, J., 2014. Understanding sustainable development. Routledge.
Broad, C.D., 2014. Five types of ethical theory (Vol. 2). Routledge.
Clay, J., 2013. World agriculture and the environment: a commodity-by-commodity guide to impacts and practices. Island Press.
Dahl, A.L., 2012. Achievements and gaps in indicators for sustainability. Ecological Indicators, 17, pp.14-19.
Fox, W. ed., 2012. Ethics and the built environment. Routledge.
Geoff, L., 2014. Applied Ethics and Sustainability. Southern Cross University. 7th Edition
Gray, M., 2010. Moral sources and emergent ethical theories in social work. British Journal of Social Work, 40(6), pp.1794-1811.
Griseri, P. and Seppala, N., 2010. Business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Cengage Learning.
Keller, D.R., 2010. Environmental Ethics: The big questions. John Wiley & Sons.
Lanrewaju, A.F., 2012. Urbanization, housing quality and environmental degeneration in Nigeria. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, 5(16), pp.422-429.
Lee, H.F., 2014. Climate-induced agricultural shrinkage and overpopulation in late imperial China. Climate Research, 59(3), pp.229-242.
Moorthy, R., 2012. Ethics and sustainability. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(1), pp.24-31.
Rosa, E.A., and Dietz, T., 2012. Human drivers of national greenhouse-gas emissions. Nature Climate Change, 2(8), pp.581-586.
Santos, F.M., 2012. A positive theory of social entrepreneurship. Journal of business ethics, 111(3), pp.335-351.
Sengupta, R., 2013. Ecological limits and economic development: creating space. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press.
Zhang, Y.J., Liu, Z., Zhang, H. and Tan, T.D., 2014. The impact of economic growth, industrial structure, and urbanization on carbon emission intensity in China. Natural Hazards, 73(2), pp.579-595.
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