population

ARTICLES:
Who will feed the young? - 18/3/06
Japan's population may halve by 2100, says govt
Brake time for world's population

It has been said that taken as a whole, the problem with world population, usually manifested in the shortage of resources is not due to population growth as such but to the inequitable distribution of wealth and resources. What are your views?

There has been increasing pressure and strain on Mother Earth's resources and we often see it manifested in the form of erratic and severe weather conditions that inflict devastation on many areas worldwide. Analysts have attributed the recent shortage of resources to the population boom in the past few centuries. From one billion in 1820, it has soared to a whopping 6.3 billion today, a colossal increase in just a mere 200 over years. In my opinion, this unprecedented population growth has indeed created strains on the resources as with more people, it is natural that they need to use more energy, drink more water, and more resources will have to be consumed to meet the needs of the people. However, one should also not negate the possibility that the inequitable distribution of resources between affluent and penurious countries has translated the population growth to undue strain in the environment, especially for poor countries and on the citizens for industrialised nations.

P: Population growth strains world resources.
R: Rising human populations threaten our environment and prosperity. Rising populations increase energy use, combined with increased consumption, leads to rapid deforestation, land degradation, depletion of fisheries, and many more.
E: On average, each household in Britain produces one tonne of waste a year. Coupled with the fact that Britain has a population of 58.8 million, this means that in a year, Britain alone produces 58.8 million tonnes of waste a year. Moreover, there are 100s of countries all around the world and the people in these countries also produce a sizeable amount of waste yearly as well. The tremendous amount of waste generated from the large world population puts a tremendous strain on the environment. When the waste is incinerated, waste gases produced pollute the air, when rubbish is buried in landfills, many land areas cannot be utilised for other uses.
R: More people will inevitably cause more pollution as more factories have to be built to meet consumer demand, more waste gases produced, and there are some unethical companies also causing water pollution by dumping their industrial effluent indiscriminately. Many other kinds of pollution are likely to ensue as population grows.

P: Unequal distribution of resources causes problems with resources in poorer countries.
R:These countries are often poor and saddled with political rife and unrest. They have little resources except perhaps some natural resources like forests and land. However, these resources are also being quickly depleted. Because of the unequal distribution of resources, poor countries like Cuba with a low total fertility rate of 1.66, do not experience the similar economic prosperity as Denmark with a TFR of 1.7 =population is not the only issue affecting the resources and the quality of living of the people.
E: 17 countries that experience widespread instability and epidemics experience total fertility rates of 6 or higher. The great proportion of population growth that occurs in impoverished countries where the people experience a too mediocre standard of living that they even lack the basic impetus to protect the environment which is a transient issue to them. As most of these countries lack the ability to protect their environment, there can only be more strain on resources which will lead analysts to say that the problem with the resources is due to population growth which in actual fact, if richer countries were faced with this situation, they would be more likely to be able to cope better.


P: In richer countries, there is strain of resources as the greying population strains the countries' financial reserves.
R: More elder people, less younger people to make payments to sustain the social security system in countries. The inequitable distribution of the human resource, much more in poorer countries, and lesser in developed countries , contribute to this problem.
E: Japan, by 2100, the population may halve. The trend could severely hurt Japan's global competitiveness, result in tax shortfalls and an overburdened pension system. A declining population means lesser people to support the pension system and increasing strain on the working population which is a valuable human resource to Japan as well.