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WeSchool "Knowledge Builder" -
The National Journal
Volume -1 | Issue -1 | 2013 | ISBN 978-1-62840-737-2
2013
http://weschool.rtmonline.in
IMPACT OF POPULATION EXPLOSION ON ENVIRONMENT
By
Rahul MIttal
Associate Professor / Tecnia Institute of Advanced Studies / rahul.rahlmus@gmail.com /
&
Dr. Chandi Gupta Mittal / Research Scholar / chandigm@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The rapid increase of human population is putting an incredible strain on our environment.
While developed countries continue to pollute the environment and deplete its resources,
developing countries are under increasing pressure to compete economically and their
industrial advancements are damaging as well. The demands that this growth places on
our global environment are threatening the future of sustainable life on earth. One of the
largest environmental effects of human population growth is the problem of global
warming. Some scientists fear that global warming will lead to rising sea levels and
extreme weather conditions in the future. In order to support the growing population,
forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Humans also continue to put a great
demand on the natural resources of our planet. Many non-renewable resources are being
depleted due to the unrestrained use of fuel and energy. Many parts of the world also
suffer from a shortage of food and water. The growth of population puts larger demands
on our already limited resources. The environment on earth is suffering from the growth of
global population. The depletion of resources and biodiversity, the production of waste,
and the destroying of natural habitat are serious problems that must be addressed in order
to ensure that life on earth will be sustainable throughout the next century.
Keywords: Industrial advancements, Land and soil degradation, global warming, Climate
change, Air and water pollution, Deforestation, Physical environment.
Introduction
The earth’s population in 1800 was 1 billion, having taken all of human history to reach
that mark. Only 2 centuries later, the global population is 6 billion, half of which lives in
cities. The impact that this population explosion has had on the environment has been just
as striking, as seen by changes in greenhouse gas emissions, rates of soil erosion, and the
extinction of species. Nature reserves currently comprise about 10% of land area globally,
but most are small, disconnected from other reserves, and subject to tremendous human
pressures. Population size is clearly an important factor in measuring environmental
impact. Other multipliers in this equation are level of affluence—measured as
consumption per person and unit of consumption, reflected in the technologies used to
supply energy, food, and other resources. The combined effects of population growth,
Published by: Modern Rohini Education Society (Regd.) | Paper Id: WKB-4028 1
WeSchool "Knowledge Builder" -
The National Journal
Volume -1 | Issue -1 | 2013 | ISBN 978-1-62840-737-2
2013
http://weschool.rtmonline.in
consumption, overuse, wastage and misuse of resources has strained the capacity of the
earth to sustain life. That’s why the study and control of human population is very
important today.
Impacts of Population Growth on the Physical Environment
Physical environment means – non living environment or the land, air, water, soil and
minerals. The utilization, overuse and misuse of physical resources increased manifold
due to the growth of human population. As it has been told earlier, more population means
more mouths to eat food which requires more agricultural production. More cultivable
land has been made available by clearing forests and by reclaiming wet lands, ponds and
green belts. Advanced agriculture requires utilization of more water, more fertilizers and
more pesticides. Application of fertilizers and pesticides makes the soil infertile. Clearing
of forests has its own serious impacts and the environment on the whole gets imbalanced.
More population means more space to construct houses and availability of more consumer
goods. It also requires more means of transport, more consumption of fossil fuels and
more pollution of air, land and water. Thus growth of population leads to pollution of air,
land and water. Different types of pollutions are causing a number of problems in the
physical environment that are further affecting the biological environment seriously.
Air and water pollution
As the population grows, more and more forests are cleared. The two most common
reasons for deforestation are to make houses for increased number of people to live in, and
to use wood as a fuel in the industries. As a result, the trees that help us in reducing the air
pollution through the process of photosynthesis are not able to do so any more. One of the
major issues that have lately been bothering environmentalists all over the world is global
warming. Like glass in a greenhouse, gases like carbon monoxide admit the sun's light but
tend to reflect back downward the heat that is radiated from the ground below, trapping
heat in the earth's atmosphere. This is called the greenhouse effect. Air pollution is not the
only environmental damage being done by the increasing population. Nowadays water
pollution is also one of the increasing problems due to the population explosion. Water is
considered the essence of life. As in the case of air pollution, the increasing population
calls for increasing numbers of factories. These factories lead to various kinds of
pollution, including water pollution. Also, India being an agrarian country, the water
pollution also comes from pesticides used for agriculture. As we can observe, the
increased population size is leading to increased pollution, which in turn is leading to a
more hostile environment for human beings themselves.
Deforestation
Forests are an important natural resource of India. They have moderate influence against
floods and thus they protect the soil erosion. Forests also play an important role in
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WeSchool "Knowledge Builder" -
The National Journal
Volume -1 | Issue -1 | 2013 | ISBN 978-1-62840-737-2
2013
http://weschool.rtmonline.in
enhancing the quality of environment by influencing the ecological balance and life
support system (checking soil erosion, maintaining soil fertility, conserving water,
regulating water cycles and floods, balancing carbon dioxide and oxygen content in
atmosphere etc. India has a forest cover of 76.52 million square kms. of recorded forest
area, while only 63.34 million square kms. can be classified as actual forest cover. In the
year 1997, as compared to 1993, the total forest cover has decreased by 6710 Sq. Kms.
The states, which have shown significant decline in the forest covers, are Andhra Pradesh
and Madhya Pradesh. Continuing deforestation, therefore, has brought us face to face with
a major ecological and socio-economic crisis.
Depletion of ozone layer
The ozone layer protects the Earth from the ultraviolet rays sent down by the sun. The
Ozone layer has been gradually ruined by the effect of the CFCs. These CFCs were used
as solvents, refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and to blow foam plastics. For this reason,
the use of CFCs in aerosols has been banned everywhere. Other chemicals, such as
bromine halocarbons, as well as nitrous oxides from fertilizers, may also attack the ozone
layer. Nitrogen oxides and methane are also compounds which adversely affect the
stratosphere’s ozone. The concentration of CFCs has been increased as the human
population has grown, and the thickness of the Ozone layer has been lesser to the extent
that a hole in the layer has been formed. Scientists have found that there are other
emissions derived from human activities, which have contributed to the depletion of the
ozone layer. Antarctica was an early victim of ozone destruction. A massive hole in the
ozone layer right above Antarctica now threatens not only that continent, but many others
that could be the victims of Antarctica's melting icecaps.
Extinction of species
Today, human activities are causing a massive extinction of species, the full implications
of which are barely understood. More than 1.1 billion people live in areas that
conservationists consider the richest in non-human species and the most threatened by
human activities. While these areas comprise about 12 percent of the planet's land surface,
they hold nearly 20 percent of its human population. The population in these biodiversity
hotspots is growing at a collective rate of 1.8 percent annually, compared to the world's
population's annual growth rate of 1.3 percent. Modern agricultural practices strip the
Earth of its thin layer of topsoil through water and wind erosion, destroying this precious
micro ecosystem that takes centuries to form and supports all life on land. Many species
are of immense value to humans as sources of food, medicines, fuel and building
materials. Between 10,000 and 20,000 plant species are used in medicines worldwide. The
diversity of nature helps meet the recreational, emotional, cultural, spiritual and aesthetic
needs of people.
Land/soil degradation
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WeSchool "Knowledge Builder" -
The National Journal
Volume -1 | Issue -1 | 2013 | ISBN 978-1-62840-737-2
2013
http://weschool.rtmonline.in
The land serves as storage for water and nutrients required for plants and other living
micro-macro-organisms. The demand for food, energy and other human requirements
depends upon the preservation and improvement of the productivity of land. The loss of
arable land has been caused by a number of factors, many or most of which are tied to
human development. The primary causes are deforestation, overexploitation for fuelwood,
overgrazing, agricultural activities and industrialization. On the global basis, the soil
degradation is caused primarily by overgrazing (35%), agricultural activities (28%),
deforestation (30%), over exploitation of land to produce fuel-wood (7%), and
industrialization (4%). In order to combat land degradation, several efforts have been
made at the national and regional levels to develop monitoring and data collection
methodologies and to formulate appropriate policies, programs and projects. At the
national level, such measures include watershed management, soil and water conservation,
sand dune stabilization, reclamation of waterlogged and saline land, forest and range
management and the replenishment of soil fertility in arable lands by use of green manures
and cultivation of appropriate crops.
Global warming and climate change
Global climate change is identified as one of the greatest threats to the planet.
Governments and scientists alike have agreed that the problem is real and serious. There is
a worldwide consensus among climate scientists that global average temperature has
raised about 1F (0.4C –0.8C) in the past 140 years. The 1990s were the hottest decade of
the entire millennium and the last 5 years were among the seven hottest on record. Spring
arrives approximately 15 days earlier than it did 30 years ago. Climate, if it changes at all,
evolves so slowly that the difference cannot be seen in a human lifetime. Looking to times
long past, scientists recognized that massive ice sheets had once covered a good part of the
Northern Hemisphere. The Ice Age was tens of thousands of years in the past, however,
and it had been an aberration. The IPCC projects the temperature in the Middle East to
increase by 1 – 2C by 2030 to 2050.
Conclusion
The Earth's environment is finite and can be destroyed if we do not start population
control. Measures need to be taken now to correct the current situation which includes the
increase of deforestation and desertification, the decrease of farmland, more water
pollution, the deteriorating ozone layer, and the greenhouse effect. It should be known that
population control will not end all the problems mentioned above, but they would
definitely allow more time for them to be fixed. Also, population control helps alienate
environment problems. The alternative, letting the population grow indefinitely could only
hurt the environment. Overpopulation is a negative solution for everyone; plants, animals,
land, water, and humans.
References
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WeSchool "Knowledge Builder" -
The National Journal
Volume -1 | Issue -1 | 2013 | ISBN 978-1-62840-737-2
2013
http://weschool.rtmonline.in
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