THE HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH

Introduction
The global human population is almost seven billion and studies indicate that it is escalating at a high rate of approximately seventy eight million per annum. With the present 1.16 percent population growth rate per year, it is anticipated that within the next sixty years, the world population will increase to about 14 billion. This implies that the globe population will keep on increasing if conscious, mankind measures, such as population control will not be put in place. That said, I strongly support the pessimists argument for human population control.

As the world population continues to realize geometrical growth, a remarkable pressure is being subjected on energy, water, arable land and other biological resources to offer sufficient supply of food. According to the United Nation, almost 2 billion individuals are currently malnourished, showing a combination of inadequate food, low incomes and insufficient food distribution. Over ninety nine percent of the globes food supply emanates from the land, whilst less than one percent from the aquatic habitats, including oceans. Thus, continued sufficient food production and supply are directly reliant on energy, fertile land, fresh water and management of biodiversity. However, as human population augments, the necessities for all these resources as well increase. Besides, the need for agricultural land is currently responsible for more than seventy percent of the total world deforestation and this has further allowed environmental degradation.

Similarly, waterborne diseases, such as cholera continue to rob individuals of health, livelihood and nutrients. Third world countries have experienced a number of such cases, and are all as result of increased population. For instance, ninety percent of illnesses occurring in third world countries emanate from contaminated water. Globally, approximately four billion cases of illness are contracted through water and about six million people die each year due to waterborne diseases. Whats more, malnutrition and disease are currently becoming major problems in the world, especially in developing countries. Amplified population growth together with lack of or inefficient methods for family planning has been ascribed as responsible for all these problems.

Though, optimists against population control have cited improved technology as an effective way of managing population growth, this can never provide unlimited flow of essential natural resources needed to sustain the agricultural production and ever surging population. For example, fertilizers improve the productivity of eroded soils, but humans lack the ability to make topsoil. Fishing has never increased regardless of enhanced speed and size of fishing vessels. In contrast, fishing has become lower than never before, as the present population has led to overfishing (Chowdhury, 2008).

In conclusion, future strategies should be based on careful management and conservation of water, land and biological resources required for food production. Conservation and management of these vital resources will demand for synchronized efforts a long with incentives from countries and individuals. This is because the exhaustion of these limited resources cannot at any moment be replaced by improved human technology. Furthermore, more environmental friendly technologies should be developed and practiced to support continued agricultural productivity. Even so, none of these strategies can be achieved unless population control in realized. Optimists notion against human population control is archaic, baseless and does not consider the worldwide negative impacts of overpopulation.

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