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Kathleen C. Brady
Webber
UWRT 1102
31 March 2017
Inquiry Paper

One of the biggest ecological issues the earth faces today is overpopulation and how it

effects the environment around us. At lot of people dont even think about to and some it never

crosses their minds. The purpose of this paper is to argue why people should care, by how its

affecting the environment has hard evidence from a scholarly article and its relevance, and

finally, what can we do to help prevent environment disaster.

This is an immense issue for me, going into Civil Engineering, one must know how to

manipulate the space or environment around the to create a larger, more efficient space for

human use. Rather if it comes to new buildings or apartment complexes, there is always

something new to design and build. My concern is that when it comes to my time of designing

and using that space around me, I wonder if there will be any space left to use. The human

population is growing larger by the second, and new medicines are being developed to make

people live longer and the continuous population is becoming more and more dire by the day.

Therefore, more people is equivalent to more pollution coming from cars, no more space

to welcome the new generation and the biggest issue, there wont be any more trees to

exterminate carbon dioxide or natural resources such as soil. That very soil that we use for

foundations for homes, schools, and planting trees will be gone due to the amount of space that is

taken up by human life. Sustainability addresses the ability of societies to maintain and improve

quality of life while preserving both the quality and availability of its natural resources. As the
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worlds population increases, engineers face ever-evolving challenges with regard to issues of

sustainability and the health of our natural environment.

The difference is I went to my engineering professor and asked him What in your

opinion is the biggest problem the country is facing today?. He replied, Cars and other forms

of transportation producing too much pollution for our ozone layer to handle, the increasingly it

thins out the less we are protected from the Suns UV rays that cause cancer and other health

problems. Everyday there is new research being conducted to use natural resources for fuel, such

as the Toyota Prius, a hybrid car that can rely on rather electric or gas as fuel.. (University,

Carnegie Mellon)

So, to begin this argument there must be an understanding of what is truly happening

even if people cant see it or know its happening. Three of the most important things are in

jeopardy, Freshwater, Food Production and Deforestation, due to overpopulation. The most

important thing about overpopulation is to acknowledge it and understand what it is and how its

affecting the Earth.

Freshwater availability is a problem in most developing nations, and the per capita

availability of freshwater has decreased by one-third over the past 50 years. Although the supply

of freshwater is not infinite, the human population is increasing by 1 billion people every 12

years. Therefore, the increasing population is making developing countries suffer, even when its

not in their own country. In the US, multiple exports by the thousands are transported day by day.

It may not be water, but its the resources that America demands to sustain their population while

so many developing countries are suffering.

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Food production and distribution is also problematic when more arable land is needed for

growing food. The amount of arable land on Earth is limited, leading farmers to begin cultivating

dry hillsides. Erosion and loss of nutrients, which both contribute to soil degradation, are the

result. As farmers begin to use more pesticides and chemical fertilizers to try to increase yields,

those chemicals can create water pollution. Going back to the fresh water availability, if theres

pollution in the water how are people supposed to live? How are they supposed to water their

crops or have their livestock live? Water keeps the food production going and without it, the

cycle would be corrupt.

Deforestation is also the result of the need to find more arable land. The use of wood for

fuel and the expansion of residential areas into forested areas lead to forest destruction and loss

of biodiversity when the natural habitats of many wildlife species are destroyed. Overpopulation

leads to increased need for fuel sources, including fossil fuels, which contribute to the pollution

of the environment. With me going into the civil engineer industry, this is a real problem for any

engineering company, that uses that land to help people get around and help people live

efficiently and effectively, so that it can be achievable in maximum productivity with minimum

wasted effort or expense.

So why dont more people realize that they can buy a car and essentially get gas for free,

but its not gas its electric powered, and research shows that people dont believe electric

powered cars are as reliable as gas powered. Since if running on electric a battery or wire could

fry and that person could be left stranded. How could you convince someone in this generation

that buying this car would help the environment, rather buying the top of the line Camaro that

gets thirteen miles per gallon and is triple the price?

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The denial of the crucial importance of this issue is astounding. It is as if most people are

saying: Do not disturb our comfort, do not increase our anxiety by raising difficulties, do not

make us rethink our beliefs. It is time to tone down the squabbles and to develop a

comprehensive strategy to address overpopulation. We humans have the intelligence and

consciousness to deal with this serious problem, but, all too often, we delay acting until we find

ourselves during a catastrophe.

This paper favors the precautionary principle and the belief that it is in the general

interest of humanity to act with anticipatory intelligence to avert potential disasters. According to

the Center for Biological Diversity, "The largest single threat to the ecology and biodiversity of

the planet in the decades to come will be global climate disruption due to the buildup of human-

generated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. (Center for Biological Diversity) People around

the world are beginning to address the problem by reducing their carbon footprint through less

consumption and better technology. But unsustainable human population growth can overwhelm

those efforts, leading us to conclude that we not only need smaller footprints, but fewer feet."

Every national academy of science of every major country in the world agrees. Every

professional scientific society in every field related to the field of climate endorses it. 97-98

percent of all scientists that are most active in publishing in the field of climate science agree

with it.

The pattern of human population growth in the 20th century was more bacterial than

primate. When Homo sapiens passed the six-billion mark we had already exceeded by perhaps as

much as 100 times the biomass of any large animal species that ever existed on the land. We and

the rest of life cannot afford another 100 years like that. (Overpopulation."
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Everythingconnects.org) The impact on both the physical world and other life forms has been

devastating and will continue far into the future

Next is different articles that support that overpopulation is a very real situation that we

need to fix quickly, this demonstrating the evidence that is provided through different sources.

This article is in support that Overpopulation is one of the biggest ecological issues to the date.

The author states that we would have all the advantages of modern technology but little, if any,

environmental deterioration (Cassils 173). Meaning that people live in a technical world but

they believe that it has no consequence. It demonstrates on how critical overpopulation is.

Cassils continues to talk about how scientist are trying to create a solution to

overpopulation and how maybe they could invent different products that could help human life

but as well as the environment. Together this would draw together some of the leading minds on

the population/resource issue for the purpose of initiating a process to bridge the gap between

scientific concerns and public policy.

In conclusion, overpopulation is a real problem and more people need to be aware of how

dire it is. Each paragraph is an argument of each aspect of information formed into concise ideas

of how to convince an audience to become more aware of the situation. The causes and effects of

overpopulation covers such a vast array of ideas that it is impossible for one to cover every

important detail of this ever-growing environmental concern.

In this semi-extensive research, I have only taken the opportunity to provide the basic

facts that are necessary in understanding that the rapid growth of our population needs our
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immediate attention. In conclusion, the worlds population will continue to grow as long as birth

rate exceeds death rate.

As far as resources are concerned, it is apparent that the era of cheap energy, adequate

amounts of food, and necessary open spaces is coming to an end. Regardless of whether we

admit it or not, our attempts to stabilize population, or our failure to do so, will have a

devastating effect on our lives, and our home: Mother Earth.

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Sources:

Cassils, J. Anthony. "Overpopulation, Sustainable Development, and Security: Developing an

Integrated Strategy." Population and Environment 25.3 (2003): 171-94. SpringerLink. Web. 15

Feb. 2017. <http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FB%3APOEN.0000032321.00906.70>.

"How does overpopulation affect the environment?" Reference. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

<https://www.reference.com/science/overpopulation-affect-environment-d9682fa68c716199>.

"Overpopulation." Everythingconnects.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

<http://www.everythingconnects.org/overpopulation-effects.html>.

University, Carnegie Mellon. "Environmental Engineering, Sustainability, and Science Research

Overview-Civil and Environmental Engineering - Carnegie Mellon University." Environmental

Engineering, Sustainability, and Science Research Overview-Civil and Environmental

Engineering - Carnegie Mellon University. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

<https://www.cmu.edu/cee/research/eess-research.html>.