One of the key trends where population growth is concerned, is that it seems to be increasing exponentially, with more children being born per minute than a decade ago. Thanks to the various advances in the field of medicine, our average lifespan has increased. Earlier on, natural diseases and other calamities served a natural purpose by culling a certain percentage of our population but due to the various advances and strides, we have made both in the field of fetal treatment and vaccination, which has resulted in saving countless lives. One of the unexpected results of such a move is the impact on population growth which has trebled over the last two decades.
Of course, one could ask why we should be concerned about population growth and the fact is that we should be extremely worried about the same. The resources, that we consider essential to life are limited – be it potable water or energy. Both of these are limited and one of the negatives of population growth is that it will only be a matter of a few generations before demand fast outstrips the supply. As it is, more than half the world population, or about 3 billion live on less than two USD a day and have little or no access to adequate drinking water, health facilities or for that matter, adequate nourishment. And if our population keeps on growing unchecked at the same pace, it is not a question of ‘if’ but when, we run out of space, in more ways than one.
As of to date, there are several locations, across the world, starting with Ethiopia where famine is endemic and more of a way of life than an aberration. And if our population continues with the same exponential growth curve, it is only a matter of time before the whole world goes hungry. And of course, such a scenario would be a global disaster, leading to death and destruction all around. To put it in perspective, such a situation may even lead to an outbreak of hostilities over water resources or access to energy resources. In fact, the Gulf war was fought on the basis of the same and it Is not that unrealistic to imagine the same scenario taking place again.
This is not to imply that we should cull our population but that it is high time we took effective measures to both protect the public at large, our current resources and take initiatives to help educate the public about the dangers of overpopulation. At the same time, governments all over should start thinking outside the box and explore new sources for both potable water and energy – both of which are bare essentials, that we require to maintain our quality of life. At the end of the day, we are responsible for our population growth and for managing the limited resources that we currently have access to, which is why we need to take effective action today to prevent the dangers of overpopulation from overwhelming our way of life itself.
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