The worlds getting bigger each day, but are we reaching its limits? That’s a question that doesn’t get discussed much when talking about the sustainability of the planet. But how did this all start? What is the problem and is there a solution for such a problem?
Let’s start out during the 1800’s.
Humanity was trying to get off the ground during that time. People were having children at such high rates but only a few would make it to adulthood due to many factors. Food and water quality weren’t as safe due to poor sanitation and even the rich were at risk of getting sick from diseases. Medicine was still very primitive and most resulted in early deaths to the easily preventable causes of today. But Thanks to the industrial revolution, we ended up with a huge boom in population. (Roser, M., Ritchie, H., & Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2013, May 9) World population growth)
During the 1800 women would have about 5-7 kids but due to the harsh conditions and lifestyles, not all would survive to reach adulthood. But thanks to the enhancement in medical technology during the Industrial revolution. Today the more children survive to adulthood and population is still growing to this day. Today Children live if they have the resources provided by loving parents and the advancements in medicine protecting them from the monstrous pathogens of the past. ( Roser, M., Ritchie, H., & Dadonaite, B. (2013, May 10). Child & Infant Mortality.)
References: (https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-growth) https://ourworldindata.org/child-mortality#child-mortality-around-the-world-since-1800
But what is the current problem?
Overpopulation is a concern of today. More people are living their lives thanks to the extended lifespan compared the 1800 hundreds. There is currently less of a need to have so many children thanks to advances of civilization but now there’s the question about how this would affect our current eco-system.
Current CO2 emissions at all time high with current population the demand for more resources would also go up as well. Production of cars and need of crops for food would need to be expanded taking more space. Basically we would need more of everything to keep up with the population. We are going to need a Bigger Pie to share with all the population but not one made purely of Carbon based energy. If all of this unchecked this in the end put us in situation which we can’t take ourselves out of. Such as poor air quality in highly populated areas increasing respiratory illnesses for both humans and animals. (Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2017, April 17). Air Pollution.)
Reference: https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution#death-rates-from-air-pollution
So, What is The Solution?
So, what is the solution? Controlling the population rate isn’t as simple as turning off a light switch or swapping to a hybrid car. It’s people we are talking about, Human being like you and me. Do we put a restriction on having children? Or do we try and solve the problem with what we can now? The first option doesn’t should pleasing as it restricts human rights and would end up like how the prohibition of alcohol did. Just more problems rather than a solution
Here is what I believe is the solution. Better manners for the future meaning Education and investment into new, environmentally friendly energy production. Education would help the younger generation realize the costs of having kids and think smart before becoming a parent. At the same time teaching them how to be more efficient when it comes to using energy. Empowering women would result in smart family planning and a much steadier population increase. Investing in ways to improve the process of renewable energy is a must as we can’t rely on petrol to keep up with the population’s needs and wants. Making a bigger pie to share with the world. One of the multiple energy sources means more power to keep everyone’s lights on and shrink the need for fossil fuels
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Now Let’s Bring up something interesting. Watch this video First of course.
Now let us talk about what is the topic of this video. It brings up a challenge that I never thought of. Two sides of people who want to save the planet but tend to fight against each other even though their goals are similar. Wizards (technology Based) Vs Prophets (Ecology based). One side wants to use Technology and infrastructure to solve the problem. While the other side wants to minimize the infrastructure and focus on using eco-friendly alternatives. Both are good but seem to argue with each other rather than working together. As the video mentions, the two sides tend to fight each other rather than accepting both the idea’s and working together. I think all ideas should be brought to the table and talked about in a fare debatable manner so that we could get all the advantages of while working out the disadvantages. Like how the video explained that Nuclear isn’t perfect because of the waste but its a good bridge while we improve renewable and other energy sources. Leading us to a better future for the human race and the planet.
Thank you for taking your time and I hope you learned something and pass it on. knowledge is power. Use it to help shape a better future for all of us humans and animals that sit on the only planet we have.
And here is one fun interesting video on the topic by youtuber, Kurzgesagt. If things seem a little too depressing.
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