This mã sản phẩm essay is about overpopulation in cities. You specifically have khổng lồ talk about the problems of overpopulation, và suggest some solutions to this problem.
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Note that this question specifically asks you what governments & individuals can do.
Here is the question:
Overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems.
Identify one or two serious ones và suggest ways that governments và individuals can tackle these problems.
Organising a Problems & Solutions Essay
Note that this overpopulation essay question specifically asks you what governments & individuals can do.
You MUST, therefore, write about what both of these can do in order lớn fully answer the question.
Note as well that you must talk about serious problems.
The easiest way to lớn organize a problems and solutions essay is as follows:
Body 1: Problems
Body 2: Solutions
In this essay, a separate paragraph has been written about government and individual solutions, so it is organized as follows:
Body 1: Problems
Body 2: Solutions - Government
Body 3: Solutions - Individuals
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Overpopulation of urban areas has led to lớn numerous problems.
Identify one or two serious ones and suggest ways that governments và individuals can tackle these problems.
Give reasons for your answer và include any relevantexamples from your own experience or knowledge.
Write at least 250 words.
Many countries of the world are currently experiencing problems caused by rapidly growing populations in urban areas, và both governments and individuals have a duty lớn find ways lớn overcome these problems.
Overpopulation can lead khổng lồ overcrowding & poor quality housing in many large cities. Poorly heated or damp housing could cause significant health problems, resulting in illness, such as bronchitis or pneumonia. Another serious consequence of overcrowding is a rising crime rate as poor living conditions may lead young people in particular lớn take desperate measures & turn lớn crime or drugs.
In terms of solutions, I believe the government should be largely responsible. Firstly, it is vital that the state provides essential housing & healthcare for all its citizens. Secondly, setting up community projects khổng lồ help foster more community spirit và help keep young people off the street is a good idea. For example, youth clubs or evening classes for teenagers would keep them occupied. Finally, more effective policing of inner đô thị areas would also be beneficial.
Naturally, individuals should also try to address these problems. One way is khổng lồ put pressure on the government to ensure they tackle the problems by, for instance, forming action groups khổng lồ lobby the government & request intervention & adequate funding. They could also form Neighbourhood Watch areas to try and help reduce the high levels of crime.
Therefore, it is clear that the problems caused by overpopulation in urban areas are very serious. Yet if governments và individuals cốt truyện a collective responsibility, then it may well become possible lớn offer some solutions.
This article is written by Vinayak Gupta from Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow. The article tries lớn correlate overpopulation and its negative impact on the environment.
Introduction
Earth is trang chủ to millions of species. Among the millions of species, there is a superior species called humans. We are humans! & it is kind of ironic that we are known as superior species since humans are solely responsible for harming và polluting the environment. Recently I witnessed the degradation of the environment in the size of cutting down of the forest to carve a way for an expressway that was to lớn pass from there. It happens every day, every one of us witnesses the degradation of the environment in one size or another but we choose lớn overlook it because it does not affect us directly. According khổng lồ The Global Climate Report of 2019 published by the National Oceanic và Atmospheric Administration, the average temperature since the 19th century has risen by 1.1 -degree celsius. It might not sound like a huge change but it has some huge effects on the environment and on our future. If the average temperature continues lớn rise at this pace due lớn the melting of the ice, sea levels will rise. It will result in submerging và flooding of many new world cities. One of the probable and major causes of degradation of the environment is the rising population and by this time it’s overpopulation. The current world population stands close to 7.6 billion. In 1800 the population was meagre 1 billion and there was almost no threat to the environment. There is not one but umpteen numbers of reasons why overpopulation is the source of degradation of the environment. In this article, we will be discussing some of those factors and will try khổng lồ look into the details of what’s the relation between overpopulation và the environment.
Causes of overpopulation
There was a time when the cities were not so densely populated, the skies were blue, people could actually stargaze from their homes in the cities at night & the rivers flowing were not toxic.
It is every now & then that old people become nostalgic telling us about how the times were different in their days & how peaceful it was. There were actually people swimming in the rivers which are now polluted by factory waste, there was no need for air conditioners và whatnot.
In recent times everything has changed. In my lifespan of trăng tròn years I myself have witnessed my house being the only house in the area, now being clustered by other houses. Most of us must have seen the borders of our cities being extended due khổng lồ the inhabitation of humans. There has been an explosion of population lately và there are many causes and reasons for the same, some of which are mentioned below-
Increase in life expectancy
With the advancement of science & new technologies being discovered every day khổng lồ fight diseases, life expectancy has almost doubled since the pre-modern world average life expectancy of 30 years. Now an average person lives up to the ripe age of 70 years. It is a significant reason that there has been an explosion in the population resulting in overpopulation. But it is not the only reason behind the increased population.
The decrease in infant mortality rate
In the 18th and 19th century due lớn lack of knowledge, technology, and vaccinations, newborn infants could not live long enough khổng lồ see the world on his/her own feet. There prevailed many diseases & general lack of awareness due lớn which infants could not live long enough.
According khổng lồ the report titled Child & Infant Mortality published in the year 2013, the world has made tremendous progress in curbing the infant mortality death rate. Mortality rate had been brought to half from 43% to 22.5% since the 1800s till 1950 & from 1950 lớn 2015, the mortality rate has been brought down khổng lồ 4.5%. The drastic decrease rate of decrease in infant mortality rate has resulted in the rise of the population of the world at a great speed.
Prevailing Uneducation
It is most often seen that the overpopulation prevails more in underdeveloped nations comparative khổng lồ the developed nations. It is often because of the fact that undeveloped nations lack proper education about reproduction & preventive measures of reproduction, due lớn this lack of proper education about precautions, there’s a steep rise in the population of the world especially in underdeveloped nations.
In underdeveloped countries, people are mostly not aware of preventive measures lớn avoid pregnancies. As a result, there could be seen families that have more kids than they can afford khổng lồ feed. It also results in a reduction in the standard of life. Many times, it is the government that fails to create awareness and education about prevailing overpopulation và ways to curb it. If people would be well informed about the consequences of having overpopulation they might start using preventive measures.
Poverty
Poverty is a huge cause of overpopulation. Poverty alone might not result in the rise of the population but when it is accompanied by a lack of proper education it can become a formula for a sure short boom in the population Poor uneducated households may give birth to a child considering that another thành viên of the family would only result in more hands that could earn. This could often lead khổng lồ a negative impact on both, economy and environment. This puts a lot of bít tất tay on the already booming population & the already degrading environment to meet the needs of the people.
Facts about the population around the worldEarth is the trang chủ to different kinds of people & populations. Earth inhabits all kinds of people of different races, religions, castes, creed, & belief. It should not come as a surprise that the population around the world is not equally divided but scattered in different numbers in different countries. There are countries that are densely populated & have more people per square kilometre. The more the population is, the more people would be per square kilometre.
India is the second-most populous country only after China. India has a whopping total population of 135 crore people. According to the report of worldometer, the population mật độ trùng lặp từ khóa of India stands at 464 people per square kilometre which is almost 12 times that of U. S. A. It should not come as a surprise that the vị trí cao nhất 3 most populated countries of the world i.e- China, India, & USA are also the đứng top 3 most polluting countries of the world. According khổng lồ the report of the United States Environmental Protection Agency published on the World Economic forums website, these đứng top 3 most populous countries account for 52% of the total world carbon emission.
Clear relation could be drawn from the above facts that overpopulation leads khổng lồ degradation of the environment at leaps & bounds.
Environmental effects of overpopulationIt is not novel lớn us that overpopulation does have a negative impact on the environment. The harmful effect of overpopulation is not limited lớn harming the environment in a single or only one way. There are multiple ways through which overpopulation affects the environment. Some of them are discussed below-
Farming impacts
We all know that humans need food in order khổng lồ survive and for getting food humans are dependent on farming for a very long time. With the advancement of time & with the increasing population, demand for food has risen. There were more mouths lớn feed than there was food and to overcome this difficulty, farmers with the support of the government started cutting the forest in order lớn increase their hold on land that was fit for farming. As a result of this practice, forests started lớn shrink at a great pace thereby damaging the environment và natural habitat of animals at the same time.
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Farming impacts are not limited to lớn cutting down of the forests only, farmers in different parts of the world burn stubble after the harvest of the crops. It downright results in a large amount of smoke and pollution mixing in the environment which contains toxic chemicals. One infamous example of this is the burning of stubble in the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, & Rajasthan. Burning of stubble in the harvest season in these states results in the Indian capital New Delhi becoming the gas chamber. People in the capital face respiratory problems due khổng lồ the high toxic content of the smoke that comes from these neighbouring states.
Deforestation
Due lớn population rising at leaps và bounds, it was becoming impossible for the superior species to build houses lớn live in, it was becoming hard for superior species khổng lồ pass through the forest in order to lớn travel from one place to lớn another. So they arrived at the conclusion of cutting down the forest altogether lớn build houses, roads and to increase farming capacity.
The drawback of deforestation is not limited to cutting down the trees which provide us with fresh oxygen but sadly, it also results in wild animals becoming homeless because their natural habitat was captured by humans and turned either into roads, houses, or farms.
Eutrophication
Eutrophication is the process that happens in a water toàn thân like a lake or any river. When too many nutrients are added in the system of a lake or the river through the fertilizers or any other human activity, it is called eutrophication. The nutrients are the food for algae which results in an exponential growth of algae. The algae present on the surface of the water makes it impossible for the plants beneath the algae to lớn photosynthesize, & that ultimately results in loss of oxygen in the water. As a result of this, the ecosystem of the water body becomes disrupted thereby leading lớn loss of life in the water body. The diversity of the water body decreases due lớn this & due to the high sedimentation process, the lifespan of the lake or the river also decreases significantly.
Loss of freshwater
Due khổng lồ overpopulation và our constant need for factory-made products, there has occurred a loss of fresh water in the rivers và oceans. Factories discharge all its waste material in the rivers & lakes which results in loss of freshwater. Pollution in water bodies is not only limited to the source of factory waste. Domestic sources due to lớn overpopulation also play a significant part in contributing khổng lồ the pollution and loss of freshwater in water bodies.
There’s an example of the holy river of India which is river Ganga. It originates in the Himalayas và its water is considered to lớn be the holiest by Hindus. The fact Ganga being the holiest river could not prove useful in preventing its exploitation. According to lớn the report of the World Health Organisation, 80% of the total pollution load on the holy river is contributed by domestic activities. Earlier the river used khổng lồ be crystal clear and a great source of fresh water, now it becomes polluted as soon as it enters the plains into the cities.
Global warming và climate change
Another negative impact that overpopulation has had on the environment is clearly visible in the form of global warming and climate change. Scientists all across the world are worried about the changing global weather cycle & constant rise in the average world temperature.
There have been many agreements signed by different countries to lớn control global warming and climate change. One of the major agreements that have been signed by top polluting countries is the Paris Climate Agreement in the year 2016. According to the agreement, the signatory countries are expected to lớn keep their carbon emission in check so as the global average temperature is limited to an increase of 1.5 degrees celsius.
It is yet to lớn see if these agreements prove fruitful in lieu of rising populations và rising demands of the human population.
Extinction of species
Climate change, global warming, and overpopulation have terrifying effects on other species. Terrifying to the levels of the whole species being extinct from the face of the earth. The previous five extinction in the span of 450 million years has occurred due to lớn natural causes like volcano eruption or meteorites. Scientists are afraid that the sixth extinction would be caused by climate change và global warming.
According to lớn a paper published in a science journal, current predictions suggest that anywhere between 0-54% of the species may become extinct due khổng lồ global climate change.
Coral reefs of australia which is a great tourist attraction is already under the threat of being extinct. These are not only species on the verge of being extinct, but there are also several species that are under threat lượt thích Asian elephants, giraffes, whales, và sharks, etc.
Increased habitat loss
Due lớn the population burst, humans needed more home, more space to spend their lives. This only meant cutting down the forest, captivating the natural habitat of animals, & disrupting their ecosystem. Humans are the most greedy species that there is. Due lớn its greediness, humans have done more harm than it has done benefit.
With the increasing population, needs were increased too & this only resulted in increased habitat loss khổng lồ other species.
Depletion of natural resources
It is only natural that a large number of resources would be used to lớn fulfil the demand of a population that is huge in number. It is already an established fact in economics that there are limited resources và the wants are unlimited. As the population increases, the burden on natural resources increases too.
There are some natural resources that are abundant in nature like air, sunlight, & water while there are also natural resources that are scarce and have limited supply lượt thích fossil fuels, coal, and minerals. Due lớn overpopulation và excessive demand for this limited amount of resources they are sure lớn run out sooner or later.
Increased emergence of new epidemics and pandemics
There is a strong correlation between the emergence of new epidemics & pandemics & overpopulation. According lớn Dr Peter Daszak who is an expert on disease ecology in his 2008 paper published in Journal Nature Research said that we can predict very confident that with the increasing population every year we can see more & more diseases emerging.
The case of novel coronavirus is the best example of how overpopulation results in the increased emergence of new epidemics and pandemics. As the population increases, their interaction with animals & their ecosystem increase too. With the growing globalization và international trade và travel, the chances of an increase in the emergence of new epidemics và pandemics rise significantly. It becomes hard lớn contain the spread of viruses due lớn the population load.
Elevation in the crime rate
Overpopulation, lack of resources, & unlimited wants ultimately make a man resort khổng lồ crime in order khổng lồ maintain a standard of living. This leads to lớn an elevation in the crime rate.
Population spurt has forced village people lớn move to the cities lớn make their ends meet. Sometimes what happens is that due to lớn unemployment people resort to lớn unconventional ways khổng lồ earn money. A large population is the reason behind unemployment và unemployment is the reason behind elevation in the crime rate.
Solutions to overpopulationOverpopulation is the problem that did not arise overnight và its solution cannot come up in a single day. Controlling overpopulation is a long term process và requires a lot of planning. The government of one’s country has a huge role in checking overpopulation.
It’s a responsibility of the government to lớn generate awareness amongst the people và work towards:
Family planning.Women empowerment.Some kind of incentive to people.Educate people about birth control methods.Reduction in poverty.For a long time, women’s education & empowerment were overlooked in the process of curbing overpopulation but according lớn a research report Three Platforms for Girls’ Education in Climate Strategies published in 2017, there’s a correlation between higher levels of education in women and lower infertility rates. Investment in girl’s education is indirectly an investment towards saving the climate by curbing population growth on the planet.
People should also adopt smart family planning techniques in order khổng lồ contribute to lớn the solution of overpopulation. They should be aware that having more children is not contributing lớn earth in any way. People should be responsible and take the threat of overpopulation and its negative impact seriously.
ConclusionOverpopulation và a degrading environment bring us lớn many questions, it also puts our existence in question. One question that should hit us hard is that are we really ready for sixth extinction? Are we really doing justice lớn the environment? Are we really giving to nature what we are getting from it? Till when will the earth be able lớn bear the burden of our exploitation.
All these questions are yet to lớn be answered by us & the coming generation (only if they get to lớn see the environment as we are able to). As a fellow human being who resides on earth, it is our duty to check the problem of overpopulation và we should exercise the utmost discretion not to lớn further degrade the environment.
Our small steps could make big changes in the environment. Closing the running tap during brushing teeth is one of them. As a superior race, it is our duty & responsibility khổng lồ make even the damages we have already done.
References Mark, C. U. (2015) Accelerating extinction risk from climate change. Science, Vol. 348 (6234), 571-573
