Effects of and Solutions for Human Overpopulation

Human overpopulation is an animal rights issue as well as an environmental issue and a human rights issue. Human activities, including mining, transportation, pollution, agriculture, development, and logging, take habitat away from wild animals as well as kill animals directly. These activities also contribute to climate change, which threatens even the most remote wild habitats on this planet and our own survival. According to a survey of the faculty at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in April of 2009, overpopulation is the worlds worst environmental problem. Dr. Charles A. Hall went so far as to say, â€Å"Overpopulation is the only problem.† Definition Overpopulation occurs when a population has exceeded its carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals of a species that can exist in a habitat indefinitely without threatening other species in that habitat. It would be difficult to argue that humans are not threatening other species. Current Estimates and Projections According to the U.S. Census, there were six billion people in the world in 1999. On October 31, 2011, we hit seven billion. Although growth is slowing, our population continues to grow and will reach nine billion by 2048. Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich, authors of â€Å"The Population Explosion,† explain: The entire planet and virtually every nation is already vastly overpopulated. Africa is overpopulated now because, among other indications, its soils and forests are rapidly being depleted—and that implies that its carrying capacity for human beings will be lower in the future than it is now. The United States is overpopulated because it is depleting its soil and water resources and contributing mightily to the destruction of global environmental systems. Europe, Japan, the Soviet Union, and other rich nations are overpopulated because of their massive contributions to the carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere, among many other reasons. More than 80% of the world’s old growth forests have been destroyed, wetlands are being drained for real estate development, and demands for biofuels take much-needed arable land away from crop production. Life on earth is currently experiencing its sixth major extinction, and we are losing an estimated 30,000 species per year. The most famous major extinction was the fifth one, which occurred about 65 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs. The major extinction that we are now facing is the first that is caused not by an asteroid collision or other natural causes, but by a single species—humans. Effects of Conservation Consuming less may be a way for us to live within the carrying capacity of the planet, but as Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich explain, â€Å"Overpopulation is defined by the animals that occupy the turf, behaving as they naturally behave, not by a hypothetical group that might be substituted for them.† We should not use the hope or the plan to reduce our consumption as an argument that humans are not overpopulated. While reducing our consumption is important, worldwide, per capita energy consumption increased from 1990 to 2005, so the trend does not look good. Lesson from Easter Island The effects of human overpopulation have been documented in the history of Easter Island, where a human population with finite resources was nearly wiped out when their consumption increased beyond what the island could sustain. An island once lush with diverse plant and animal species and fertile volcanic soil became nearly uninhabitable 1,300 years later. The population peak on the island has been estimated between 7,000 and 20,000 people. Trees were cut down for firewood, canoes, and wooden sleds for transporting the carved stone heads for which the island is known. Because of deforestation, the islanders lacked the resources necessary to make ropes and seaworthy canoes. Fishing from shore was not as effective as fishing out on the ocean. Also, without canoes, the Islanders had nowhere to go. They wiped out sea birds, land birds, lizards, and snails. Deforestation also led to erosion, which made it difficult to grow crops. Without adequate food, the population crashed. A rich and complex society that erected now-iconic stone monuments was reduced to living in caves and resorted to cannibalism. How did they let this happen? Author Jared Diamond speculates The forest the islanders depended on for rollers and rope didnt simply disappear one day-it vanished slowly, over decades... In the meantime, any islander who tried to warn about the dangers of progressive deforestation would have been overridden by vested interests of carvers, bureaucrats, and chiefs, whose jobs depended on continued deforestation. Our Pacific Northwest loggers are only the latest in a long line of loggers to cry, Jobs over trees! Potential Solutions The situation is urgent. Lester Brown, President of Worldwatch,  stated in 1998, The question is not whether population growth will slow in the developing countries, but whether it will slow because societies quickly shift to smaller families or because ecological collapse and social disintegration caused death rates to rise. The most important thing we as individuals can do is choose to have fewer children. While cutting back on your personal consumption of resources is laudable and may reduce your environmental footprint by 5%, 25%, or maybe even 50%, having a child will double your footprint, and having two children will triple your footprint. It is virtually impossible to compensate for reproducing by consuming less yourself. Although most of the population growth over the next few decades  will take place in Asia and Africa, global overpopulation is as much a problem for â€Å"developed† countries as it is for third world countries. Americans constitute only five percent of the world’s population, but consume 26% of the world’s energy. Because we consume so much more than most people around the world, we can have the most impact when we choose to have fewer children or no children. Internationally, the United Nations Population Fund works for gender equality, access to birth control, and the education of women. According to the  UNFPA, â€Å"Some 200 million women who would like to use contraceptives lack access to them.† Women should be educated not only about family  planning but also generally. World Watch has found, â€Å"In every society where data are available, the more education women have the fewer children they bear.† Similarly, the Center for Biological  Diversity  campaigns for the empowerment of women, education of all people, universal access to birth control and a societal commitment to ensuring that all species are given a chance to live and thrive. Additionally, raising public awareness is essential. While many environmental organizations focus on small steps with which few can disagree, the topic of human overpopulation is much more controversial. Some claim that there is no problem, while others might see it as solely a third world problem. As with any other animal rights issue, raising public awareness will empower individuals to make informed choices. Potential Human Rights Violations The solution to human overpopulation cannot include human rights violations.  China’s  one-child  policy, though arguably successful in curbing population growth, has led to  human rights violations  ranging from forced sterilizations to forced abortions and infanticide. Some population control proponents advocate offering financial incentives for people not to reproduce, but this incentive would target the poorest segment of society, resulting in racially and economically disproportionate population control. These unjust results cannot be part of a viable solution to human overpopulation.

Film Analysis Of Two Cars One Night - 1704 Words

The films Two cars one night and Boy directed by Taika Waititi are based in New Zealand. Two cars one night is a short film and the idea for the movie Boy was derived from it. Taika Waititi uses the film aspects of light and dark lighting and symbolism to portray the themes and his style of directing through his movie Boy and his short film two cars one night. Waititi uses the lens of a child to portray what is happening throughout the movie plot to show the lasting moments in childhood. As a director Taika Waititi expresses his concerns of viewing through the lens of innocence or a child. He explains that what being creative is about having fun and looking at life through like a sort of the lens of a child s eye through a ted talk. As it†¦show more content†¦The lighting in this point in the film almost camouflages the car as it is pitch black at nighttime. It enables the audience to only see the car s window and the faces inside the car. This gives the audience a feeling o f mystery as they’re trying to work out who is inside the car. Waititi uses this aspect as well in his other film, Two Cars One Night. He uses the lightning to control the audience s emotions around who in what cars. By weaving the dark lightning around. Set in 1984 The short film, Two cars one night utilizes the filming aspect of light and dark lighting to the contrast between the two cars with children in a pub car park. The long shot exhibited in the scene gives the picture of the two cars in the car parking lot while the adults are inside the pub. It shows the aspect of safety and danger for the children as they wait for their parents to come out from inside of the bar and pub. It also signifies the familiar and unknown as the children explore with their eyes what is around them. Taika uses the aspect of light and dark light to symbolize danger and create tension within this scene because as an audience we associate nighttime with being unsafe for children, and he uses the dark light and children in this scene to create a sense of danger. An example of this is when the car the two Boys are in is captured sitting still while the surrounding everything is moving, such as the people and the dark night sky. It portrays the darknessSh ow MoreRelatedAnalyzing Two Forms Of Media1034 Words   |  5 PagesAnalysing Two Forms of Media First impressions are extremely vital. We form an opinion within the first 30 seconds of meeting someone and that plays a vital role in the relationships formed. Similarly with films, the audiences usually identifies with the genre within a few minutes of the screening. With that in mind, this analysis will focus upon decoding the opening sequence of two contrasting films in order to understand its tone and genre. 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Southwest Airlines Motivational Profile - 3108 Words

Southwest Airlines Motivational Profile A motivational profile can provide insights into whether a company is doing the right thing or requires improvements. Although nearly every company proclaims its goal is to deliver exceptional service, research confirms that the service quality of many corporations is below consumer expectations. Southwest Airlines has created a competitive advantage through valuing employees’ needs as a strategy that motivates them to provide better customer service (Hallowell, 1996). According to Czaplewski, Ferguson, and Milliman (2001), Southwest Airlines was one of only two companies to place in both the top-10 most admired organizations and best places to work. Even though there are specific steps†¦show more content†¦Financial Information for the Last Five Years Bankruptcy is the new solvency for America’s legacy carriers in the past five years. 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Setting Is Important To Every Story, But The Setting Used By Hemmingwa Essay Example For Students

Setting Is Important To Every Story, But The Setting Used By Hemmingwa Essay y in â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† adds so much to the meaning of the story, providing an interesting read. His use of the setting to convey the idea of fertility and barrenness helps to generate an understanding of what the story is about, even though he never comes right out and says â€Å"It’s about abortion.†The language used at the beginning of the story is simple and straightforward, telling the reader that the place is the Valley of Ebro, which is in Spain. The reader is also aware that the couple is at a train station. The hills refereed to in the title can be seen in the distance, and resemble the swell of a womb, and white elephants, representing an idiom of something useless and unwanted, which in this case is the fetus growing inside the girl. The impression presented is that the characters are at a train station in the middle of a dry barren place, under the sun, with no shade or trees, reinforcing the idea of the lack of life. The character are themselves in the warm shadow of the building, separated from the world by a curtain, yet still in nature, where life is. Use of the train station as the location what the story takes place is significant because of the confusing conversation that dominate the bulk of the story. The conversation between the man and woman is much like the train tracks, running parallel, yet never meeting. The man and woman are talking, but neither is hearing what is being said. The train station also represents the importance of time to the situation. The train they are waiting to catch will only be stopping for a couple of minutes, suggesting that it is an express train, representing the short amount of time that the girl has to change her mind about having the abortion. The hills are central to the story, for it is through them the reader can find an understanding in the confusion of the conversation. When the girl refers to them as looking like â€Å"white elephants†, the man says he has never seen one, indicating that he has never been a father. The rich description that Hemmingway uses to establish setting in â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† leads to an understanding of the overall story line, which is that the girl is pregnant and thinking of getting an abortion. As she sits staring at the hills in the distance, she begins to question her decision to rid herself of the baby, whom the man thinks of as a white elephant, cumbersome, and unwanted. The setting helps the reader to understand the importance of time, and provides some phallic symbols to suggest the sexual undertones of the relationship between the girl and the man.