TRINITY UNIVERSITY OF ASIA

Cathedral Heights, Quezon City

Overpopulation: What would happen if the demand for resources

is greater than the supply?

A Term Paper
Presented to
Mr. Jose Delgado
Trinity University of Asia

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

English Two
School Year 2011-2012

By
Melissa Joy N. Baltar

Abstract

Overpopulation has impacted the life of common man and has proved to be one of the gravest
difficulties that have to be fought. Overpopulation implies scarcity of resources and economic
inflation; these are the monsters which can make life miserable. Living through the negative
effects of overpopulation has made us realize serious problems associated with it. It is time we
wake up and know the effects of overpopulation and work on them.

Overpopulation: What would happen if the demand for resources

is greater than the supply?
Throughout history, populations have grown slowly despite high birth rates, due to the
population-reducing effects of war, plagues and high infant mortality. During the 750 years
before the Industrial Revolution, the world's population increased very slowly, remaining under
250 million. By the beginning of the 19th century, the world population had grown to a billion
individuals, and intellectuals such as Thomas Malthus and physiocratic economists predicted that
mankind would outgrow its available resources, since a finite amount of land was incapable of
supporting an endlessly increasing population.
As of February 13, 2012 the world human population is estimated to be 6.994 billion by
the United States Census Bureau, and over 7 billion by the United Nations. Most estimates for
the carrying capacity of the Earth are between 4 billion and 16 billion. Depending on which
estimate is used, human overpopulation may or may not have already occurred. Nevertheless, the
rapid recent increase in human population is causing some concern.
Overpopulation is generally defined as an inability of the environment to support the existing
population of humans or other living things. The term often refers to the relationship between
the human population and its environment, the Earth, or smaller geographical areas such as
countries. Overpopulation can result from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates, an
increase in immigration, or lack of education.
Decline in the Death Rate: The fall in death rates that is decline in mortality rate is one
fundamental causes of overpopulation. Owing to the advancements in medicine, man has found
cures to the previously fatal diseases. The new inventions in medicine have brought in treatments
for most of the dreadful diseases. This has resulted in an increase in the life expectancy of

individuals. Mortality rate has declined leading to an increase in population. Owing to modern
medications and improved treatments to various illnesses, the overall death rate has gone down.
The brighter side of it is that we have been able to fight many diseases and prevent deaths. On
the other hand, the medical boon has brought with it, the curse of overpopulation.

Rise in the Birth Rate: Thanks to the new discoveries in nutritional science, we have been able to
bring in increase in the fertility rates of human beings. Medicines of today can boost the
reproductive rate in human beings. There are medicines and treatments, which can help in
conception. Thus, science has led to an increase in birth rate. This is certainly a reason to be
proud and happy but advances in medicine have also become a cause of overpopulation.

Migration: Immigration is a problem in some parts of the world. If the inhabitants of various
countries migrate to a particular part of the world and settle over there, the area is bound to suffer
from the ill effects of overpopulation. If the rates of emigration from a certain nation do not
match the rates of immigration to that country, overpopulation makes its way. The country
becomes overly populated. Crowding of immigrants in certain parts of the world, results in an
imbalance

in

the

density

of

population.

Lack of Education: Illiteracy is another important cause of overpopulation. Those lacking

education fail to understand the need to prevent excessive growth of population. They are unable
to understand the harmful effects that overpopulation has. They are unaware of the ways to
control population. Lack of family planning is commonly seen in the illiterate lot of the world.
This is one of the major factors leading to overpopulation. Due to ignorance, they do not take to
family planning measures, thus contributing to a rise in population.

Problems associated with overpopulation include the increased demand for resources such as
fresh water and food, starvation and malnutrition, consumption of natural resources faster than
the rate of regeneration (such as fossil fuels), and a decrease in living conditions.
Overpopulation does not depend only on the size or density of the population, but on the ratio of
population to available sustainable resources. It also depends on the way resources are used and
distributed throughout the population.
Viewing the issue of increasing population optimistically, one may say that overpopulation
means the increase in human resources. The increase in the number of people is the increase in
the number of productive hands and creative minds. But we cannot ignore the fact that the
increase in the number producers implies an increase in the number of consumers. Greater
number

of

people

requires

greater

number

of

resources.

Not every nation is capable of providing its people with the adequate amount of resources. The
ever-increasing population will eventually leave no nation capable of providing its people with
the resources they need to thrive. When the environment fails to accommodate the living beings
that inhabit it, overpopulation becomes a disaster. As the result of having so many people who
do not understand our reality and its behavioral demands, we have created an interrelated web of
global environmental problems. We are depleting our natural resources: our forests, fisheries,
range lands, croplands, and plant and animal species.
Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, has stated that "With the imbalance growing between
population numbers and vital life sustaining resources, humans must actively conserve cropland,
freshwater, energy, and biological resources. There is a need to develop renewable energy
resources. Humans everywhere must understand that rapid population growth damages the
Earth's resources and diminishes human well-being."

There are various degrees of overpopulation. Absolute overpopulation means that the living
things have exceeded their ability to sustain their existence. As a result, the population typically
destroys its environment and starves to death. An example is the Irish potato famine or the
contemporary famine in east Africa. People have been dying in huge numbers because the
environment has been unable to sustain the large populations. By contrast, relative
overpopulation is a situation when resources become scarce. As a result, each individual has less
living space, or fewer available resources, or reduced quality of life. This definition is not always
applicable to a given situation, and the word overcrowding might be a better label. For example,
during the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the population of Rome doubled, and the city was closed
to prevent more people coming in. This was a classical case of overcrowding; many people
wanted to be at one place at the same time. Although this type of temporary overcrowding can
happen even at low population, permanent overcrowding is usually caused by high population
density, when too many people live in a limited area.
The area may exhibit just a few symptoms of overpopulation, but may be doing well in other
ways. All metropolises seem to have problems with automobile traffic and pollution, but may
still have space to add new housing units and may have no shortage of natural resources. Even
some countries fit this concept. Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan have many people, but these
countries are able to import food and most raw materials from abroad. However, Taiwan suffers
from shortage of water for its industry; South Korea is no longer able to find enough sea food in
its territorial waters, and Japan has serious problems with affordable housing. All three countries
show some symptoms of overpopulation, but are able to function because they can import food
and raw materials from other parts of the world.

Many people have more children than is needed for simple replacement. Adult children from
such families often reminisce how wonderful it was growing up in a big family with many
siblings. The adult children have no clue what the consequences of their wonderful childhood
lead to. Statistics show that the global human population grows as follows:
Population
1.5 Billion
3 Billion
4 Billion
5 Billion
6 Billion
7 Billion

Year
1900
1960
1974
1987
1999
2011 ( In 1999, the projected year for 7

9 Billion

billion was 2015)

2043 (Projected data from 1999.)

The numbers mean that the human population quadrupled in one century. In 2004, the global
population reached 6.350 billion people, and the USA had 292 million people (4.6% of the total).
In 1900, the USA only had 80 million people, which represented 4.2% of the global population.
Although the global population growth is expected to slow down over the next decade, the earth
will have 7 billion people by the year 2015. And that is a lot of souls to hold, feed, and satisfy.
Surprisingly, despite the great problems overpopulation has caused, many people are still asking:
"What are that signs of human overpopulation?" or "What would happen if the earth became
overpopulated?" or "When will my country become overpopulated?" It is truly remarkable that
something that conspicuous has not been noticed and acknowledged by the majority of the
citizens of the planet earth. For those who are still unsure whether overpopulation is happening
or

not,

here

are

few

consequences:

Prices of gasoline are high because the demand has exceeded the natural resources.

Prices of fish are high because 90% of the big fish are gone.

The earth is polluted with plastics, in part because of shortage of natural materials.

Rivers and bays are polluted because of high level of population and industrialization.

Wild animals are disappearing because of over-hunting and environmental destruction.

Predators have disappeared because of insufficient wilderness and clashes with too many
people.

Natural flora is being wiped out to make place for cash crops to feed the hungry humans.

Property taxes have increased dramatically because of a lack of suitable land.

Cost of living is very high because of short supply of food, energy, and shelter.

Even the most pristine parts of the world have man-polluted air, soil, and water.

Automobile traffic is slow and causes air pollution because of too many cars and people.

Because of overpopulation, politicians have begun talking about "controlled growth" and
"family planning."

Because of human overpopulation, the world is changing. Populous countries have already used
up their resources and are forced to import raw materials from other lands. Japan is a typical
example. It may not be obvious that the needs of the Japanese population affect the Brazilian rain
forest or the fish stock at Iceland. Similarly, an American may not understand how the U.S.
population affects the production of oil in Venezuela, Nigeria, or the Middle East. Nowadays,
new economic powers, China and India among others, are hungry for natural resources and
import them from distant places. In addition, China has arranged for long-term leases of land in
Africa and Latin America to grow traditional Chinese crops because the overpopulated homeland

needs more food. Global trade, mining, harvesting, and transportation put stress even on the
remotest and the least populated stretches of the earth.
Man has become so prevalent and so influential that he has altered the flora, fauna, and
landscape of the world. In parallel with human impact on nature, a new phenomenon has evolved
over the last 200 years: loss of natural reserves. Every reasonably livable place on earth is
populated today. The existing natural resources are still sufficient to provide humans with
materials and food to support our huge numbers, but there is no backup. If for some reason the
crop failed just for one year, billions of people could be in danger of starvation. Unlike in the
distant past, contemporary humans cannot go to the forest, jungle, or sea to find enough food
during a calamity, because these resources have been largely depleted. In desperation, people
would harvest the few remaining resources to survive, and thus finish off the still existing plants
and wild animals. The next year, there would be nothing to eat because of human overpopulation
and environmental destruction. The same problem can arise even with man-cultivated crops. If
the harvest is bad and people become desperate, they may eat even the portion of the crop that is
supposed to be planted the next season. With nothing to plant the next spring, deadly famine and
wars for survival may become the only options.
The environment will further deteriorate in the future. Deforestation will cause imbalance
between gases in the atmosphere, and global warming will add to the consequences. Production
of crops will suffer because of heavy flooding or drought. The Philippines, Indonesia, Central
America, and other deforested countries of rainy regions will go hungry. Transfer of species from
one habitat to another will wipe out local species and cause economic hardship and
environmental disasters, such as algae overgrowth, rodent and insect overpopulation, and
diseases.

The impact of the human animal on other life forms is doubly dangerous. In the wild, the fittest
survive. The weak and sick animals are killed by predators, illness, or environmental challenges.
Man does the opposite. He chooses the very best of the best animals and kills them for food, or
profit. The surviving animals are degraded; the whole gene pool is compromised. Decline of the
species

becomes

inevitable.

Despite the current ecological problems, things will get much worse in the near future. Concrete
and asphalt will permanently cover wetlands, watersheds, valleys, and hills. Natural environment
will be transformed, and native species will disappear. Cities, skyscrapers, noxious fumes, and
industrial noises will replace nature. Quality of life will suffer; psychological stress will grow;
human health will deteriorate, and wild animals will scavenge on human garbage. Human food
will be manufactured in animal factories; garbage will be fed to poultry, farm fish, and cows, and
then the human animal will eat the garbage-raised meat.
All of the above environmental issues clearly indicate that the natural assets that humans take for
granted are in grave danger. Most of the damage on the environment caused by human expansion
is long-lasting and in some cases permanent. There is no doubt that the human population will
continue increasing and the condition of the environment will aggravate. Therefore, only a
sustainable approach toward conserving what currently exists as natural resources could
counteract the harmful effects of overpopulation on the natural world.
References:
Causes and Consequences of Overpopulation.( January 24, 2012). Retrieved February 18, 2012
from: <http://www.lucidpages.com/doom.html>
Oak, Manali.(n.d.).Causes of Overpopulation.Retrieved February 18, 2012 from:
<http://www.buzzle.com/articles/causes-of-overpopulation.html>

Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.(February 8, 2012).Overpopulation.Retrieved February

18,2012 from: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overpopulation>
Derek & Ryan.(n.d.). Effects of Overpopulation.Retrived February 18, 2012 from:
<http://geojoedr.tripod.com/id3.html>