World Issues: Population

With 6,300 deaths an hour and 15,000 births an hour for 24 hours a day, the earth's population is rapidly increasing. There has not been much recent attention around this subject, but with such a rapid increase in numbers, if a blind eye is turned problems can occur. The population as a whole could be beneficial or ultimately one of the world's greatest disasters. There are many factors that play a part in population growth and sustainability. The exponential evolution of the human species is one of the main drivers of the population explosion. There are many examples of the effect this boom has on the Earth and its environment. There are a number of possible solutions that can be identified to assist with a strategy to strike a harmonious balance between human population and the earth's scarce resources. Increasing population results in increasing use of scarce resources that could eventually run out. This ultimately could be the factor that ends life on earth as we know it.
To begin, a clear understanding is necessary on the primary causes of population growth. Since the Earth's population has reached the one billion milestone in 1800, it has multiplied at staggering amounts compared to the growth rate prior 1800. “The human population is increasing at approximately 9,600 people an hour” (Roger Martin, guardian.co.uk). Every country is growing, developing and adding more people to their population. Compounding this issue, more than half of the population lives in cities and urban areas (Celia Dagger, UN). The trend is towards the urbanization of families into city settings in order to gain and sustain a lifestyle with access to life-sustaining necessities and resources. As the Earth's population continues to boom especially in these urban areas, it is recognized that very little planning has occurred for the consequences of urbanization. This population intensification has created a substantial drain of life-sustaining resources especially in populated areas....