More people, even less to go around

on
I was thinking about population growth the other day. (My wife has told me to stop thinking too much but I think she has ulterior motives - thats another story...) The world's population is currently growing by 211,090 people every day and in 2010 there will be 6.8 billion people on this earth. That figure is set to grow to 9.4 million people in 2050. With our already scarce natural resources, how will the earth be able to sustain all of these people and what will the effects of overpopulation be?

Well firstly, its not 100% sure that this growth prediction is correct. If you look at the graph above Europe has seen a population decline (due to low fertility rates) and other continents may experience this too due to any number of things like natural disasters or disease.

But secondly, if the predictions are correct then there are a lot of problems that we could face. A lack of fresh water for drinking and sewage will lead to disease. A growing population needs more natural energy resources, most probably fossil fuels which are rapidly declining. There will be more pollution around which will cause health problems for all.

Currently 8 million hectares of forest are lost each year and ecosystems are being destroyed around the world that sustain global atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide balances. Extinction of numerous species of animals will occur. A large increase in the world's population will consequently increase the effect of global warming.

As the population expands, land will not be as freely available as it currently is. The first to go will be arable land which will then reduce the amount of capacity we have to grow crops that are more sustainable.

There will be conflict over scarce resources and overcrowding, leading to increased levels of warfare and crime. People will steal to survive and countries will attack each other for ownership of natural resources. This has been happening with oil already.

Blimey, it doesn't bear thinking about does it. Well, maybe the missus is right, maybe I shouldn't think about it too much. I guess the answer lies at home. We should all do our bit to help conserve resources, spread the word and then forget about it. Easier said than done, I'm afraid.