The Damaging Impact of Overpopulation on the Environment
6.5 billion…This is not a whole lot of bacteria, but when it comes to humans, it is a very formidable number. The human population has been increasing at an extremely high rate in the last century and unfortunately, not much has been done to slow down this process. Undoubtedly, overpopulation is a global issue. It is global because it pertains to all of humanity, but global also means that it affects the whole world, i.e. the environment. Almost all human activities impact negatively the environment in one form or another, and as human population expands, the damaging effects on the environment multiply. Here are some of the most imminent environmental problems that results
…show more content…
The situation is even worse when it comes to ocean exploitation and pollution. Over fishing changes the balance in coastal ecosystems and decreases fish populations. Sometimes it might even lead to extinction of certain marine species. Over fishing also damages coral reefs, because it allows algae to overgrow them. It turns out that the ocean is "the ultimate garbage dump "* because eventually all of the sewage, sediment from forest clearing, fertilizer and pesticide run-off flow into it. It is important to preserve the ocean, not only because it is an important source of food, but also because it plays a major role in climate regulation. The circulation of cold and warm water protects the earth from extreme temperature fluctuations. In addition, oceans absorbs between 30 and 40% of the CO2 given off as a result of human activity, thus keeping global warming at stake.
3. Soil Degradation. Population growth results increases the demand for food production. Since the arable land in many of the overpopulated regions is limited, farmers begin to cultivate dry, hilly, nutrient-poor areas that are not very suitable for farming. Exploiting such lands makes them easily susceptible to erosion and loss of nutrients. For example, in search for farmland in Indonesia, peasants have been planting their crops on steep slopes. As a result, almost one half of Java's land is now in
The Ocean has many ecosystems and animals that live and survive in there. We depend on some of the natural resources the ocean provides. We are hurting this by dangerous fishing and overfishing or overexploitation of the fish. The ocean has a great diversity
People are polluting the oceans which not only affects us but also affects the beautiful underwater habitats and interesting sea creatures. Two billion people within 30 miles of the coast create 100 metric tons of coastal plastic waste (Doc.1). This plastic waste can get caught around sea animals, injuring them or even killing them (OI). Oils spills can really hurt marine life (Doc.2). Some creatures could eat it or get covered in it. If the fish eats the oil and then someone or something eats the fish they could get extremely ill. When there are excess nutrients in the water algal blooms occur, which is when algae has too many nutrients and reproduces in large numbers, this can also hurt people (OI). For these reasons and many more we should
Modern fishing methods have first and foremost created serious problems for ocean ecosystems. Scholastic Scope states, “The populations of almost all fish species that we eat have shrunken, some drastically, as a result of overfishing, or catching fish faster than they can reproduce” (Dignan 14). Sadly, fish cannot reproduce fast enough to sustain their populations when different fishing techniques drain their ecosystem’s health. Because humans are relatively new organisms, fish, a much older species, have not adapted to modern fishing techniques and overfishing in the sea. Therefore, oceans are at risk because fish cannot compete with newer, more efficient fishing techniques produced by humans. Climate change is furthermore another major threat to oceans. As published by Scholastic Scope, “Warming ocean waters, rising sea levels, and violent storms disrupt the lives of many species and affect fragile marine ecosystems” (Dignan 14). Although climate change may now be a controversial issue, its footprint and effects have no doubt left their mark. Powerful and destructive climate change has also been the culprit of extinction for many other animals such as the marine animals during the Permian-Triassic extinction event. Since things often repeat itself in history, the ocean could have a Holocene extinction event, which would completely
Aside from giving the world oxygen, the oceans also stabilize the climate (which is ruining the ocean itself). Fossil fuels are being burned more and more and since “the ocean has absorbed 90 percent of the excess heat [created by fossil fuels]”(Johnson), seawater is being evaporated more easily, which is leading to more harsh rains and hurricanes. It is also hurting the fish and other species that survive in cooler areas. Not only is the ocean continuously being hurt, the wildlife within it is also being put at
Earth's oceans are dying. “About 80% of the ocean around the world is polluted with chemicals industrial and residential waste, all of which comes from the land” (“Marine Problems…”). Pollution is mainly coming from the people. Marine pollution should be stopped because it is the cause of many problems and if something is done about it, people will see an increase in sea life and healthier waters. It makes its way into the ocean and kills marine life. Ocean pollution is affecting the way of fisherman and their everyday lives. It is also very bad on the community because pollution is very bad on tourism. Ocean pollution should be stopped because it is poorly affecting marine life, it is not good for fishermen, and is very bad on tourism.
Ocean pollution is caused by many things,plastic,humans, and oil spills, we are trying to stop this. So many people just put the plastic in the ocean and people are trying to stop them. Two billion people within 30 miles of the coast create 100m of coastal plastic waste. We can help by reducing plastic in waste stream, and try to stop pollution. Another way we can help is by recycling (Doc.1). We cause pollution to by dumping trash and garbage onto beaches. We have to help protect oceans by monitoring the water to see if people can go swimming (Doc.2). The oceans have to stay healthy because they are a habitat to animals (OI). Another reason we have to keep oceans healthy because they are a big food source for us (OI). In
Oceans become regulated while trying to benefit future generations. These efforts are not enough with the amount of brine being produced. Because of the brine, the ocean’s ecosystem are having future consequences (Koontz and Hatfield). The ocean is already seen as some as a waste pool, having the brine add on to it only makes it worse. The carbon dioxide levels in the ocean are another terribly high level. The ocean is prone to acidification from the amounts of carbon dioxide going into it at an alarming rate (Koontz and Hatfield). There are countless impacts that are not okay from
The ocean aids in controlling our climate, and also helps to prevent global warming. According to www.CNN.com ” The ocean plays a major role in controlling our climate” this evidence is supported by these reason’s because When the ocean temperatures increases it causes global warming. The second reason why we should continue ocean exploration is because of pollution.
Oceans cover approximately 75% of Earth 's surface and are vital to this planet and the people who inhabit it. Oceans provide food, natural resources, and recreation for nearly everyone in this world. Unfortunately Oceans have been receiving mass amount of pollutants including oil spills, toxic waste dumping, and industrial dumping. These pollutants will have negative impacts on the wildlife in the ocean, as we are seeing already with the Coral Reefs, and soon enough it will begin to affect our lives as well.
Society already has a problem with over fishing that greatly changes the ecosystem of the ocean. The oceans have depleted a large amount of fish which is significantly caused by this. With climate change it has greatly reduced the habitat of these creatures. According to an article “Loss of oxygen in the oceans is one of the serious side effects of a warming atmosphere, and a major threat to marine life” (Ayush 2016). I believe that this is a huge problem that many citizens or nations are not aware of. The ocean is home to a diverse amount of life that lives in a balanced system. Humans are known for changing their environment and the ocean is one of the environments that has been greatly altered. According to one of our books “If these preliminary research results are correct, increasing ocean acidity could disrupt ocean food webs and global food supplies” (Miller & Spoolman 2011). I think society needs to focus more on regulating issues at hand. There’s only increasing information to back climate change and more information is being released on daily
Everything in this world we use comes from the ocean in some way. The air we breathe, the water we drink, even the products we use day to day, would not be possible without the ocean. That's why the issue of ocean pollution is so important and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. We depend on the ocean for so much in our life, without it we would surely become extinct. People seem to think that since the ocean is so large and vast, we can dump as much waste as we'd like into it and it will never have an effect on us. However, since we've been polluting the ocean as far back as Roman times, the evidence of ocean pollution becoming a major problem is all too clear.
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how overpopulation causes social problems. To do so you must take many things into consideration, such as different views of racial problems and conflicting definitions of a social problem. Social problems can be defined in many different ways. They effect everyone and some of us encounter problems everyday as a result of our race, religion, gender, or low income. Others experience problems from technological change or declining neighborhoods, others are affected directly by crime and violence in their own neighborhood, and sometimes definitions of social problems are changed by society because of changes around you. Finally in
There are many kinds of environment: the physical environment often thought of as nature, psychological environments built out of human interactions, and political environments rife with manipulation and posturing. While there are some obvious effects that large human populations would have on the natural environment, there are also less evident psychological and political ramifications. Thus, overpopulation is today's most pressing environmental issue.
In the past few years the oceans have been absorbing more carbon dioxide and heat from the atmosphere. When fossil fuels are burned, the carbon dioxide that is put out into the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans. These carbon dioxide levels have also produced excess heat that is also being absorbed by the ocean. This has caused there to be an increase in temperature of 0.18° Fahrenheit every ten years between the years of 1970 and 2010. This has resulted in things like coral bleaching, migration of sea life, the overflow of water in wetlands and ocean acidification. (Fujita, 2013) All of these issues go hand in hand with one another. For example, when coral bleaching happens, it results in the death of corals that feed the sea life. This then causes fish and other animals to migrate to the poles where the Arctic is melting. When the sea levels rise, this causes wetlands to “drown” and according to reports, “the sea has been rising too fast for wetlands to keep their blades above water.” (Fujita, 2013)
Water takes up a larger percentage of the surface of our Earth than does land. The earth’s oceans are vital aspects to our environment and it is necessary that we take care of them. On another note, global warming is an issue that is having effects on almost all aspects of our environment. Global warming itself means a gradual increase in the temperature of our Earth’s atmosphere over large periods of time. There is evidence that global warming has occurred in the atmosphere, however, now we are beginning to see its effects in the world’s oceans, as well. Though some may not see the connection that it has with the oceans, it has had quite a profound effect on our Earth’s oceans. As I mentioned before, oceans are environments that must