Population Growth and the Environment
From
HealthNewsDigest.com
Environment
Dec 29, 2007
The global rate of human
population growth peaked around 1963, but the number of people
living on Earth—and sharing finite resources like water and
food—has grown by more than two-thirds since then, topping out
at over 6.6 billion today. Human population is expected to
exceed nine billion by 2050. Environmentalists don’t dispute
that many if not all of the environmental problems—from climate
change to species loss to overzealous resource extraction—are
either caused or exacerbated by population growth.
“Trends such as the loss of half of the planet’s forests, the
depletion of most of its major fisheries, and the alteration of
its atmosphere and climate are closely related to the fact that
human population expanded from mere millions in prehistoric
times to over six billion today,” says Robert Engelman of
Population Action International.
According to Population Connection, population growth since 1950
is behind the clearing of 80 percent of rainforests, the loss of
tens of thousands of plant and wildlife species, an increase in
greenhouse gas emissions by some 400 percent and the development
or commercialization of as much as half of the Earth’s surface
land. The group expects that half of the world’s population will
be exposed to “water-stress” or “water-scarce” conditions feared
to “intensify difficulties in meeting…consumption levels, and
wreak devastating effects on our delicately balanced ecosystems”
in the coming decades.
In less developed countries, lack of access to birth control, as
well as cultural traditions that encourage women to stay home
and have babies, lead to rapid population growth. The result is
ever increasing numbers of poor people across Africa, the Middle
East, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere suffering from
malnourishment, lack of clean water, overcrowding and inadequate
shelter, and AIDS and other diseases.
And while population numbers in most developed nations are
leveling off or diminishing today, high levels of consumption
make for a huge drain on resources. Americans, who represent
only four percent of world population, consume 25 percent of all
resources. Industrialized countries also contribute far more to
climate change, ozone depletion and over fishing than
developing countries. And as more and more residents of
developing countries get access to Western media, or immigrate
to the U.S., they want to emulate the consumption-heavy
lifestyles they see on their televisions and read about on the
Internet.
Given the overlap of population growth and environmental
problems, many would like to see a change in U.S. policy on
global family planning. In 2001, George W. Bush instituted what
some call the “global gag rule,” whereby foreign organizations
that provide or endorse abortions are denied funding support.
Environmentalists consider that stance to be shortsighted, that
support for family planning is the most effective way to check
population growth and relieve pressure on the planet’s
environment accordingly.
CONTACTS: Population Action International,
www.populationaction.org; Population Connection,
www.populationconnection.org.
`
www.HealthNewsDigest.com
© Copyright by HealthNewsDigest.com
