overpopulation

overpopulation

The world’s population is growing larger every day and with the population already around 6.7 billion, people are starting to wonder what the future will have in store.   In this paper we will explore the question: To what extent is the growing population a problem?   In my opinion it could become a problem depending on a lot of different things.   One of the main things is whether the population will stabilize or not.   This essay will start off by covering the history of population, then looking at why it could be a problem and after that continue on to why it might not be a problem.
Anthropologists believe human species date back to over 3 million years ago.   We know that at least a thousand years ago humans lived as hunters and gatherers. This meant that their population stayed small, probably no more than 5 million people and stable. When there were too many people or inefficient resources the weaker ones, generally the old and very young people died or were left behind.   When agriculture as well as animal domestication was introduced communities were able to support more people due to more resources. Without agriculture people would still be living as hunters and gatherers.   The population reached 300 million by A.D. 1 and continued to grow at a moderate rate. When the industrial age began in the 18th century there were less famines and epidemics in some areas, which meant living conditions improved. The population started to quickly increase. The population increased from 300 million in A.D 1 to 1 billion in 1800.   After World War II population growth accelerated and the LEDC population started to increase quickly . This happened because the gaps between the MEDC’s and the LEDC’s were getting bigger. People in the MEDC’s were living long health lives and the people in the LEDC’s lived poorer, shorter lives.   So over the years the population’s growth has accelerated and it keeps doubling. The population is still growing but different people have...