There are several problems that affect the world today: war, crime, pollution, and several others. Overpopulation is a serious dilemma that is growing every year, every minute, and every second. It is the root of most, if not all, of the world’s problems. It is the greatest global crisis facing humanity in the twenty-first century. Over population is the major global problem because of several reasons. Most of the problems we have today, such as ocean depletion, food shortages, water shortages, air pollution, water pollution, and global arming are the effects of over population.
The more people there are, the more resources consumed and the more waste created. A child born today in the United States for instance will produce fifty-two tons of garbage and consume 11 million gallons of water by the age of seventy-five. Freshwater, drinkable water, is the most critical natural resource to humans. As time goes by, the world’s population expands more rapidly, but there is no more freshwater on the Earth than there was two thousand years ago, when the population was three percent of its current size.
Over population has also increased industrial development, which contributes to massive urbanization and rising of living standards. The increase in industry shrinks the amount of freshwater available because they are constantly being polluted. The rising in living standards causes people to consume more which creates more waste and raises life expectancy, which causes more people to live at the same time. Another problem that arises from overpopulation is the changing of the climate. Mankind is increasing the greenhouse gas levels by burning fossil fuels and eforesting the earth.
As the population increases, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases rise rapidly which affect the ability of the outgoing energy to pass through the atmosphere, which effectively heats the Earth. Air pollution is created from the burning of fossil fuels in cars, trucks, planes, and homes. The smoke and fumes rise into the atmosphere and combine with the moisture in the air to form acid rain. As it rains, it eats away on things they settle on and contaminates lakes, drinkable water, which affect plants and animals.
Overpopulation also causes conflict. If many people live very closely together, there is a greater chance of conflict, which results in higher crime and even sometimes war. This is why overpopulation is the major global problem. Another predicament is the acid rain created by air pollution, which in turn, is created by the increasing population. Acid rain’s spread and damage involves weather, soil, and the life cycles of plants and animals on the land. Overpopulation is the number one problem confronting the human race.