Over-population and under-population
Definitions
Over-population: A condition in which the total population of a given place exceeds its carrying capacity.Under-population: A condition in which the total population of a given place is too small to make use of all its resources.
Optimum population: Optimum population has been defined as that size of population enabling per capita output of the maximum orders accompanied by the highest possible standards of living under a given set of economic and technological conditions. Therefore, optimum population lies between two extremes, i.e., overpopulation and under-population, although the size of optimum population is not sacrosanct.
Source: http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/overpopulation-under-population-optimum-population/42528/
Carrying capacity: Theoretical limit to the capacity of a natural ecosystem to support continued increase in consumption of its resources and in generation of pollution without being overwhelmed. It depends on factors such as population size and density, and rate of renewability of its resources.
Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/carrying-capacity.html#ixzz489wf5pPy
Over-population (from Conserve Energy Future)
Causes
Decline in the Death Rate: At the root of overpopulation is the difference between the overall birth rate and death rate in populations. If the number of children born each year equals the number of adults that die, then the population will stabilize. Talking about overpopulation shows that while there are many factors that can increase the death rate for short periods of time, the ones that increase the birth rate do so over a long period of time. The discovery of agriculture by our ancestors was one factor that provided them with the ability to sustain their nutrition without hunting. This created the first imbalance between the two rates.
Better Medical Facilities: Following this came the industrial revolution. Technological advancement was perhaps the biggest reason why the balance has been permanently disturbed. Science was able to produce better means of producing food, which allowed families to feed more mouths. Medical science made many discoveries thanks to which they were able to defeat a whole range of diseases. Illnesses that had claimed thousands of lives till now were cured because of the invention of vaccines. Combining the increase in food supply with fewer means of mortality tipped the balance and became the starting point of overpopulation.
More Hands to Overcome Poverty: However, when talking about overpopulation we should understand that there is a psychological component as well. For thousands of years, a very small part of the population had enough money to live in comfort. The rest faced poverty and would give birth to large families to make up for the high infant mortality rate. Families that have been through poverty, natural disasters or are simply in need of more hands to work are a major factor for overpopulation. As compared to earlier times, most of these extra children survive and consume resources that are not sufficient in nature.
Technological Advancement in Fertility Treatment: With latest technological advancement and more discoveries in medical science, it has become possible for couple who are unable to conceive to undergo fertility treatment methods and have their own babies. Today there are effective medicines which can increases the chance of conception and lead to rise in birth rate. Moreover, due to modern techniques pregnancies today are far more safer.
Immigration: Many people prefer to move to developed countries like US, UK, Canada and Australia where best facilities are available in terms of medical, education, security and employment. The end result is that those people settle over there and those places become overcrowded. Difference between the number of people who are leaving the country and the number of people who enter narrows down which leads to more demand for food, clothes, energy and homes. This gives rise to shortage of resources. Though the overall population remains the same, it just affects the density of population making that place simply overcrowded.
Lack of Family Planning: Most developing nations have large number of people who are illiterate, live below the poverty line and have little or no knowledge about family planning. Getting their children married at an early age increase the chances of producing more kids. Those people are unable to understand the harmful effects of overpopulation and lack of ignorance prompts them to avoid family planning measures.
Effects
Depletion of Natural Resources: The effects of overpopulation are quite severe. The first of these is the depletion of resources. The Earth can only produce a limited amount of water and food, which is falling short of the current needs. Most of the environmental damage being seen in the last fifty odd years is because of the growing number of people on the planet. They are cutting down forests, hunting wildlife in a reckless manner, causing pollution and creating a host of problems. Those engaged in talking about overpopulation have noticed that acts of violence and aggression outside of a war zone have increased tremendously while competing for resources.
Degradation of Environment: With the overuse of coal, oil and natural gas, it has started producing some serious effects on our environment. Rise in the number of vehicles and industries have badly affected the quality of air. Rise in amount of CO2 emissions leads to global warming. Melting of polar ice caps, changing climate patterns, rise in sea level are few of the consequences that we might we have to face due to environment pollution.
Conflicts and Wars: Overpopulation in developing countries puts a major strain on the resources it should be utilizing for development. Conflicts over water are becoming a source of tension between countries, which could result in wars. It causes more diseases to spread and makes them harder to control. Starvation is a huge issue facing the world and the mortality rate for children is being fuelled by it. Poverty is the biggest hallmark we see when talking about overpopulation. All of this will only become worse if solutions are not sought out for the factors affecting our population. We can no longer prevent it, but there are ways to control it.
Rise in Unemployment: When a country becomes overpopulated, it gives rise to unemployment as there fewer jobs to support large number of people. Rise in unemployment gives rise to crime as people will steal various items to feed their family and provide them basic amenities of life.
High Cost of Living: As difference between demand and supply continues to expand due to overpopulation, it raises the prices of various commodities including food, shelter and healthcare. This means that people have to pay more to survive and feed their families.
Source: http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-overpopulation.php
Under-population (from academic de-stressor)
Causes
Sub – fertility rate (total fertility rate): The fertility rate in many developed and developing countries has dropped to about two children per women due to factors like literacy, economic development or urbanization (increasing the cost or standard of living) making the idea of having big families impractical. Changed attitudes toward contraception and an improvement in the social role of females has also affected this demographic attribute.
Emigration: Emigration is the movement of individuals from one country to another with the intention of permanently settling in their destination. Many factors contribute to this type of movement. They can be divided into ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. ‘Push’ factors would be the detrimental elements associated with the current region or nation the individuals reside in like lack of employment, oppressive political conditions, poor economies etc. Whereas ‘pull’ factors would be the favourable characteristics of the country the individuals want to move to (like better employment opportunities, political freedom and economic stability etc.) Either way this movement always has a negative effect on the population of the current host.
Disease: Disease and illness has always caused a decline in the population. The emergence of new diseases like HIV/AIDS which has decreased the population globally.
Famine:
Famine is the scarcity of food caused due to factors like crop failure and disproportionate population. Being a ‘push’ factor, it has an adverse effect on the population of a region or country.
War and conflicts: People have waged wars since the middle ages and continue to do so. Advanced technology has made modern warfare a huge factor or element in the decline of population. Individuals fighting over resources and space end up killing each other on a massive scale due to the introduction of nuclear and chemical warfare which has a negative effect on the overall population of an area or region.
Effects
Unstable Economy: Under – population has an adverse effect on the economy causing deflation (decrease in the overall price levels of goods and services). A decline in the population leads to lack of demand.
Decrease in pollution and environmental problems: The pressure on natural resources and the basic infrastructure of an area decreases. Levels of pollution are cut down too.
Population ageing: Due to decreased rates of procreation, there is an increase in the social and economic pressure on the youth who have to expand the per capita output in order to support the economy. This also leads to a poor quality of life for the youth.
Labor shortage: Declining populations could create labor shortages which could have both positive and negative effects. Labor – intensive sectors of the economy would be adversely affected by such conditions. However a shortage would inevitably increase the demand for labor and potentially reduce unemployment.
Source: http://www.academicde-stressor.com/causes-and-consequences-of-over-population-and-under-population-2/
No comments:
Post a Comment