WORLD POPULATION: CAN THE EARTH SUPPORT?

Last July the world announced that 7billion person was born. This has generated a lot of question of where the world has come and where it’s heading. Let’s take a look at some of the factors that might have contributed to the rapid increase in human population and the policies and regulations that facilitate the same.

In the last century, the world has experienced an increase in life expectancy. People had a life expectancy below 50.  America today has a life expectancy of about 75 years with a variation between male and females. Other countries have a higher and some with lower that. One of the major causes of high human population is healthcare. Human health has improved significantly in the last century. People can go to hospitals for infections before they progress to critical levels. Also, preventive healthcare can spot potential diseases before they even take root. Drugs are more efficient today with advancement every day. Clean water and sewage system has also kept humans in good health.  Today, more is known about disease causing organism than in the past. More powerful microscope, equipments and diagnostic kits have been invented. Therefore, with improved healthcare people have had a longer life expectancy than in the past.  Some countries like Japan have older population than there are youth and young adults that means they are not even able to replace the parents that gave birth to them. This is causing a decline in their population.

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Another major contributor of high human population is nutrition. People are more aware of what they eat these days than ever before. This has increased their overall health. In North American and Europe, nutritious food is available throughout the year. People therefore are able to plan their diet without any worries. However, that cannot be said of other places in the world where starvation is a serious threat. We now know that certain populations are more vulnerable to certain diseases that are basically brought by what we eat including certain cancers. They has also helped in some people avoiding certain food for the sake of their health. Other types of food boost immunity and strengthen the body. There is a saying today that “we are what we eat.” Weight is a serious issue today with more processed food being available in the market. More and more people are hitting the gym to make sure weight does not add to their problems. These are some of the things that were not available or embraced in the past.
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Standards of living have improved considerably in the last century. We have improved sewage system, access to clean water, general cleanliness and sanitation. These were some of the challenges that people faced in the past with some diseases related to them killing thousands of people. Cholera, plague has had a fair share of deaths in past and in places without clean water or environment.

Increased agricultural production with advanced seeds and machinery has also boosted human population. The farms ensure the food is available throughout the year that is more nutritious. Most people live I urban areas because the farms can support their food requirements. This gives more time for procreation and other activities.

With all these factors contributing to high population growth, what is the best way forward? Methods of reducing escalating human population are a hot issue today. Churches are against contraceptives, abortions and some people advocate for freedom of choice. What is the solution to the problem? is it really a problem? Can the world support the population with its rapidly increasing rate?

Wars kill thousands of people each year, diseases, accidents, starvation. Some countries have negative population growth others have policies that limit the number of children one can have. Will the world solve the problem without intervention into human populations? In the first world more people are education live comfortable lives and have high living standards. Therefore families are getting smaller and smaller as they have improved healthcare and low mortality rate. Other countries will follow the same trend when the conditions improve. The need for bigger families was a survival technique and when survival is more certain, and then families get smaller. Bigger families were a source of labor, with more mechanization the need becomes obsolete hence smaller families.

There is fear that the world population is going to double within the next few years, and that the world will not be able to support it. Is the fear justifiable or is it for nothing? We know food production is improving with better varieties and better farming methods some do not even require soil will these advancements be enough or are we doomed? Some books have provided facts that the earth cannot support 15 billion people based on some reasonable calculations and hypothesis. Do we want to test the waters or should we implement adequate measures? Contraceptives, family planning, anyone?

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