Causes And Effects Of Overpopulation

Overpopulation occurs when the number of existing human population overreach the carrying capacity. We listed the cause and effects shown in the documentaries Don’t Panic and Racing Extinction. History:

From 10,000 BC when the people begins to do farming, the population is 10 million. After more than thousands of years, more food, building of empires in China, Egypt and Europe, the population continue to increase but at a slow pace.

In 1800s, the population grow slowly but the count achieved the 1 billion population mark. As the Industrial Revolution approach, the population grows faster because of higher wages, more food production, tapped water, better sanitation and medical progress. After another century, 1900, the year the population

The average number of chidren is 6 or more but the population doesn’t increase because 4 of the child die before they grow up. The three most densely jammed countries in 1963 are China, India and Bangladesh. The average number of children is 5. They have been experiencing a fast population growth in these years. Only four children survives out of the five children. In 2012, the average is 2.5. At present, year 2016, many countries use family planning. The average child number is 2 which is the most normal family situation today. The death rate of developed countries is higher than the developing countries regardless of a higher life expectancy in developed countries. This is because there is a large number of older

¾ of the planet is covered with water. Only 2.5% of these is freshwater and the rest is made up of saltwater life zones. According to the World Resources Institute, "Freshwater ecosystems – the diverse communities found in lakes, rivers, and wetlands – may be the most endangered of all. Some 34 percent of fish species, mostly from fresh water, are threatened with extinction, according to the latest tally of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which tracks threats to the world’s biodiversity. Freshwater ecosystems have lost a greater proportion of their species and habitat than ecosystems on land or in the oceans; in addition, they are probably in greater danger of further losses from dams, pollution, overfishing, and other threats. In extent, freshwater ecosystems are quite limited, covering only about 1 percent of the Earth’s surface. Yet, they are highly diverse and contain a disproportionately large number of the world’s species." Freshwater life zones that provide important natural resources and natural services to human is being damaged and degraded by humans.

• Increased habitat loss. Because of increasing human population, we have to extend the use of land into certain areas. Humans have moved to places that was once not susceptible for living. Many rainforest is being converted into an urbanized land.

• Environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources. We consume resources faster than it can be replenish. Because of overpopulation,