Why isn't overpopulation considered as detrimental as global warming. Don't too many people hurt the earth?

Answer 1

Over population and global warming are synergistic.

High populations of people burn more fossil fuels and so make global warming worse. There are a number of other ways that high populations also contribute to global warming such as global deforestation.

Global warming causes many changes to the weather. Changes in weather disrupt farming and cause damage in inhabited areas. Disrupting farming reduces food output. Do you see where this is going?

Answer 2

The answer lies in what perspective you observe from. Everything that happens on (and off) the planet, is natural. Just like a lion devouring a zebra, we may have our heart strings torn, because it seems so brutal. Isn't the natural behaviour of mankind, just as much part of nature as anything else? Everything is cyclical. Even if the world becomes too overpopulated with man, there are 'natural' checks and balances. Diseases are an internal check. It is nice to preserve nature, but who is to say that we aren't only abnormally prolonging 'nature' in the way that we think it 'should' be. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for conservation, and I believe that the less of an adverse effect man has on 'our' perception of what nature is, is better. So my answer to 'overpopulation' being as detrimental as global warming, would be 'yes', but only because global warming isn't detrimental, it's natural. The pendulum will continue to swing. Was the ice age a result of global cooling?

Answer 3

You should read Michael Crightons "State of Fear." It has some interesting scientific evidence that questions the impact/extent of global warming, and it considers population & city growth.

That being said, it's a very tricky issue...because the more people there are, the of a natural effect they have as well as an indirect industrial impact

The book discusses how "global warming" may be more affected by overall long-term weather trends over the last 6,000 yrs rather than the human effect - either from industry or from overpopulation.

Answer 4

First of all, I agree that there are many myths regarding overpopulation and it's adverse affects, especially in respect to starvation and poverty. The world does have plenty of resources, however, access to these resources is denied by the most elite nations. Areas where there are high birth rates tend to be located in the poorest of all places. The people have many children to ensure that some of them survive. They have no means of survival because their lands are taken from them by the wealthy and multinational corporations to feed the appetites of the wealthiest countries. In other words, population isn't the problem, poverty (no access to resources) is. I have recently read a very informative book on the matter for a college course and will let you know what it is if anyone here would like to know.
These overpopulated places also cause far less damage to the environment than their wealthy counterparts (industrialized nations like the U.S.). The reason is because they aren't industrialized. They send very little carbon dioxide into the air which is the major contributing factor to global warming. By and large, they have far less vehicles, use far less appliances and other modern technologies that are causing the global warming crisis. I forget the exact numbers but the U.S., while it only has a small fraction of the world's population (5% roughly), contributes more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than any other nation (approx. 25%). So it turns out that population isn't the largest factor in adverse environmental affects, human activity is.
I recently took a college course called "weather, climate and environment" in which we discussed in great detail the issue of global warming. There are very very few scientists at this time that think that global warming is a natural process and doesn't pose a serious threat to our current climate. The fact is that carbon dioxide, while it is a natural part of the atmosphere, is a greenhouse gas that traps incoming solar radiation on earth. The more carbon dioxide, the less solar radiation makes it's way back into space and out of our atmosphere. To me it seems logical to assume that adding more and more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere will cause the earth to warm. Here is one relevant website that has info http://www.globalwarming.org/science_archive.htm
During the class, we had a guest speaker who was an expert on hurricanes. While she said the there is no evidence that we will see more tropical storms as the climate heats up, the intensity of these storms will be much more severe. The hurricanes that hit Louisiana are one example. The reason: A warmer climate means warmer waters. Hurricanes/tropical storms intensify in warm water (dissipate in cold waters). They also intensify over warm air and land surfaces (dissipate over colder). So, if the earth is heating up and I don't doubt that it is, that means very scary things for our climate and safety. Read Climate Scientist Dave Reay's book "Climate Change Begins at Home" for an interesting look at how much carbon dioxide our daily activities put into the atmosphere and what individuals can do. It also has some scary projections for the future of our warming climate.
I know i've been rambling on but getting more to the point, I think overpopulation isn't as big of a problem because it causes less widespread affects. Also, because it's not really as big a problem like most people make it out to be. Notice I said as big a problem. That doesn't mean that it has no affects. But poverty is the main culprit. Relieve the poverty and lack of food and resources and you would see the poorest countries where population growth is high with a reduced birth rate. Furthermore, while poverty is the problem and not overpopulation, there is much more time to solve that problem than there is to solve the global warming issue. Our atmosphere is filling up with more and more carbon dioxide and the results will be catastophic, yet even the most informed scientists have no idea exactly what the results will be on our climate just that they will be negative. We could see millions of lives lost and livelihoods lost (this is already happening in some places- the ice caps all over the world are quickly disappearing along with ways of life and loss of animal life). Global warming is far more dangerous to fool around with than the poverty issue because no-one is safe from it's affects. It will also make the poverty issue worse. If climate change causes widespread dieases, for example, which there are predictions that this may be the case, the poorest people won't have the abiltity to pay for medicine necessary and will be more likely to get sick because they are already living in such poor, unsanitary conditions. We need to solve the poverty isssue, but global warming is a serious threat to humanity now and very few scientists today disagree.

Answer 5

As a Muslim I totally can not believe that. Allah has written the rizq (provisions) of every human being. You see a "dead" seed, yet it grows and thousands more like it grow. Allah is the Provider and Sustainer.

We Muslims do not see the world as a piece of pie. We know that the Creator creates from nothing, just as He created us, and He gives according to His will. This life is a test. Allah tests us with what He gives us. Are we generous? Are we thoughtful? Are we sharing with what we have? Do we feed the indignant? It is all a test.

Allah takes care of populations. There are enough world catastrophes to speak for that. Our real world problem is a lack of global education. The world needs to learn more about hygeine, gluttony, and how to share the earth in harmony. I was driving yesterday and watched a woman throw a cig. out the window. Did I ever fume! I was like, "Hey, you just polluted my earth. I live here. I dare you do that." I think that is the mentality we all need to take. We need to educate each other and admonish those who don't give a darn. They are messing up OUR earth. We all live here.

I own a really neat company that works with Africa bringing in raw materials that are farmed and manufatured by small companies there. See how we make a difference www.sheaterraorganics.com.

Tammie Mom to 11 responsibly taught and education children.

Answer 6

That is spoken from people who believe in the "Population Myth", if we could control our selves (our cunsumtion) then the problem wouldn't arrise so drasticly...
Also, with the technological advancements we can have huge populations without hurting the Earth, we just choose NOT to do anything so thus we HURT EARTH.

The Population Myth is most used by racists to further their agendas (I am not calling you a racist, I am stating what it is most used to argue for). This is also why parts of the environmental/animal rights movement(s) needs to work on their "Whiteness" so to speak.

To clearly answer you Q: B/c it is not a REAL problem like Global Warming and Climate Change is...

Answer 7

Every 14 years, we are adding ONE BILLION people to the world’s population! According to ZPG – The Population Connection, a non-profit membership organization, “Increasing population growth puts enormous pressure on the environment. Every day, we use more resources, damage more of the earth, and generate more waste. This makes it increasingly difficult to meet people’s needs and improve our quality of life.”
Too many people think that this is only a problem in developing countries with a population explosion. The truth is, the United States is at risk too.

We have 77 people per square mile. Our population was 284.5 million in 2001, and by 2025 it is projected to reach 346 million. With the number of families living in poverty, it is unimaginable what life will be like in 25 years, even in the richest country on the planet.
Also, consider what goods US citizens demand compared to those in areas of the world where there is limited access to birth control. It is better for the planet to have 5 children in a third world country than 5 adults in the US who continue to use up resources. For example, hardwoods for "that little addition to the house" , or the cell batteries that our landfills are brimming with.

People are simply uneducated about global overpopulation. I bet the same people who recycle would choose population control if they only had the information at hand. This doesn't mean that we have to deny ourselves parenting and families. Children in all areas of the world are waiting for great parents just like you!
Maybe your largest contribution to the world could be choosing a child in need over one who does not yet exist.
So, to answer the question, it is absolutely harmful to our planet. It's ironic to me that people are concerned about global warming without being concerned about who created it. It's a simple matter of getting to the real root of the problem. I believe people feel like their hands are tied until a scientist presents them with a solution.
Thanks for asking this very important question!

Answer 8

The issue of over population can be factored into the changes that are constantly happening to the planet. However, it is within the ability of mankind to make our planet a place where all living beings have a healthy planet to live on.
The media distorts much of what our western civilization hears and believes. So much information is discarded because it isn't sensational enough.....

Every person can help to change the world environment and the way life exists on the planet. Population isn't as much of a problem as the ways in which we consume the available energy sources.

Answer 9

For more than a decade, both the mass media and editorial staff of major scientific journals have repressed contrarian and skeptical views regarding climate change. In 1995, a reporter for National Public Radio began his interview with me by asking if I believed that warming was due to human activities. When I told him the evidence was inconclusive, he snorted "no one is interested in that point of view," and hung up on me.
The public has no appreciation for how distorted the information is they receive. We are told that recent years are the "warmest on record," but are left ignorant of the fact that the beginning of the instrumental record coincides with the end of the Little Ice Age, or that temperatures for much of human history were warmer. We are informed that a computer model predicts drastic warming in the future. But we are not told that the model which predicts this warming is the most extreme of thirty such models, or that it is impossible to verify any computer model, all of which contain significant uncertainties and none of which actually portray past or present temperatures accurately.
We are warned that global warming will result in sea level rises, but not that warmer temperatures will have many beneficial effects, such as longer growing seasons at high latitudes. Every natural disaster that occurs, even tsunamis caused by earthquakes, is blamed on global warming. The litany of doom mongering is endless, but it is all based on either outright fraud or a dishonest and selective presentation of the facts.
So, I choose to cut the knot of global warming. This rash of ignorant conceit, hysterical nonsense, and rabid demagoguery is a fanatical assault on knowledge, civilization, and human enlightenment.

Answer 10

Ask China. They have population controls and it still doesn't work. Too many people cause a lot of harm to the earth. Housing, food, clothing are just a few. Not to mention the ones such as too much wieght on the planet. Where are all the dead people going?