Crystina Bakus share her insights from an article she recently read on one of the menacing global problems-- Overpopulation.
I chose this article specifically because of how serious an issue overpopulation is. The world is already over 7 billion people, yet all around the world we still have the problem of food, shelter, clean water and energy to sustain the population. This article breaks down several points such as air quality, water quality, food, shelter, and the rights that people have to live.
In the food paragraph, the article states that one billion people, one out of every seven people alive, go to bed hungry. To me this is astonishing. I have never been so poor that I had to go to bed without a meal. I am very fortunate enough to be able to eat when I am hungry. I can’t imagine living in conditions where you don’t know if you are going to be able to eat, let alone what quality the food is. I wonder if people in developed countries such as the USA or the UK had this problem, how the world would be different. If we would have already ended the world food crisis if people in higher power felt the same affects as the less fortunate. Another shocking fact that the article states is that every day, 25,000 people die of malnutrition and hunger-related diseases; and that almost 18,000 of them are children under 5 years old. This is scary to think about. I know that we have food insecurities, wondering about GMO’s, and where our food comes from, how we are pushing for organic foods, but the fact that there are still people today in our modern world that suffer from malnutrition and hunger diseases is sad. We should be able to take care of our own species.
Another global problem is water shortages. Without water we can’t even have food to stop the world hunger crisis. The article said that about one billion people lack access to sufficient water for consumption, agriculture and sanitation. This is frightening. I understand how people in lesser developed countries could have problems with getting water to towns, but one would think that with all our inventions, and ability to purify water, and transport it in so many ways, we could offer help to the rest of the world and solve the water crisis, before it is too late and wars begin to happen. Along with fresh drinking water, the world’s ocean water is also having problems. We are straining our Oceans' ability to breed the fish we eat, to sequester carbon, and to replenish the air. Now even some of the fish people didn't consider suitable for eating, are too rare to fish commercially or recreationally.
Another area that the article talked about was the world’s topsoil. Since my specialization is soil sustainability this interested me. The article talks about how the earth's topsoil is becoming limited. Topsoil is now limited to only a few inches below the ground, much less than what it was before. This limits the amount of nutrients; water movement and proper aeration that is required for most large scale farming. With this depletion of natural minerals in the soil, farmers have had to add pesticides, herbicides, and many different fertilizers in order to meet the required bushels per acre. Even factors such as water, air and mechanical erosion affect the topsoil loss and nutrient depletion.
This article brings up a lot of issues that the world is facing today. These problems are not just affecting one country; they are everywhere, in every city, town, and community. Before we decide to add a couple more million, or billion of people to the world, the world should really try and work together to try and make the world a more secure, and healthy place where everyone can be self-sustaining, and not go to bed hungry.
Article reference: http://www.howmany.org/environmental_and_social_ills.php
I chose this article specifically because of how serious an issue overpopulation is. The world is already over 7 billion people, yet all around the world we still have the problem of food, shelter, clean water and energy to sustain the population. This article breaks down several points such as air quality, water quality, food, shelter, and the rights that people have to live.
In the food paragraph, the article states that one billion people, one out of every seven people alive, go to bed hungry. To me this is astonishing. I have never been so poor that I had to go to bed without a meal. I am very fortunate enough to be able to eat when I am hungry. I can’t imagine living in conditions where you don’t know if you are going to be able to eat, let alone what quality the food is. I wonder if people in developed countries such as the USA or the UK had this problem, how the world would be different. If we would have already ended the world food crisis if people in higher power felt the same affects as the less fortunate. Another shocking fact that the article states is that every day, 25,000 people die of malnutrition and hunger-related diseases; and that almost 18,000 of them are children under 5 years old. This is scary to think about. I know that we have food insecurities, wondering about GMO’s, and where our food comes from, how we are pushing for organic foods, but the fact that there are still people today in our modern world that suffer from malnutrition and hunger diseases is sad. We should be able to take care of our own species.
Another global problem is water shortages. Without water we can’t even have food to stop the world hunger crisis. The article said that about one billion people lack access to sufficient water for consumption, agriculture and sanitation. This is frightening. I understand how people in lesser developed countries could have problems with getting water to towns, but one would think that with all our inventions, and ability to purify water, and transport it in so many ways, we could offer help to the rest of the world and solve the water crisis, before it is too late and wars begin to happen. Along with fresh drinking water, the world’s ocean water is also having problems. We are straining our Oceans' ability to breed the fish we eat, to sequester carbon, and to replenish the air. Now even some of the fish people didn't consider suitable for eating, are too rare to fish commercially or recreationally.
Another area that the article talked about was the world’s topsoil. Since my specialization is soil sustainability this interested me. The article talks about how the earth's topsoil is becoming limited. Topsoil is now limited to only a few inches below the ground, much less than what it was before. This limits the amount of nutrients; water movement and proper aeration that is required for most large scale farming. With this depletion of natural minerals in the soil, farmers have had to add pesticides, herbicides, and many different fertilizers in order to meet the required bushels per acre. Even factors such as water, air and mechanical erosion affect the topsoil loss and nutrient depletion.
This article brings up a lot of issues that the world is facing today. These problems are not just affecting one country; they are everywhere, in every city, town, and community. Before we decide to add a couple more million, or billion of people to the world, the world should really try and work together to try and make the world a more secure, and healthy place where everyone can be self-sustaining, and not go to bed hungry.
Article reference: http://www.howmany.org/environmental_and_social_ills.php
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