Do you think the world is over-populated?

Question

There's never been so many people alive at the same time before. There's never been so much pollution.

People in many of the countries with the biggest populations (such as India and China) have ongoing shortages of food, clean water, shelter. In the West we're facing shortages of bottled fresh water, building materials, some medications, and so on because we're shipping them ours.

Do you think the situation will get better or worse? What's the best solution?

I'm an only child and I've chosen to not have children, so I don't feel I'm contributing to the over-population.

Answer 1

The world is already grossly overpopulated. I think there will be wars over fresh water and food and the like in the near future.
I'm an only child as well and like you will have no children and it makes me sick to find empty shelves constantly here where bottles of water, medical supplies or building supplies would be if they hadn't been shipped to another country.
I also hate to be told by a pharmacist when I need antibiotics that there's a nation-wide shortage of what I've been prescribed because it's all been shipped to another country, so I get to have less effective antibiotics and have to have three or four prescriptions instead of one prescription for tonsillitis.
I pay my taxes, I contribute to society, I pay employees, I'm environmentally conscious, and I get to do without because someone has decided to be a human pez dispenser in another country and pop out ten kids. I don't like their choice much and they say it effects no one but it effects me, as well as other people and the environment.
Also, more people have lived when in the past they wouldn't have: seat belts, bike helmets, fewer predatory animals, vaccinations, medications, surgeries including organ transplants, more.
It's what I think, and yes I know I'll get a lot of thumbs down for being forthright.

Answer 2

The decision you made is good for you and you should be proud of yourself.

However this is not the same choice someone else is also entitled to make for themselves.

From the minute that the first two people stepped on the face of the earth more people are being born.

There's never been a time when no babies were born....it's never going to happen....we're going to continue to populate the earth until the end of time.

That's a fact that you can take to the bank.

Answer 3

The main indicator of the success of a species is it's reproductive success, according to biologists. Once a species starts to shrink, it is on it's way out. So far we have been a very successful species. Will we be victims of our success or will we be smart enough to overcome our problems and control our numbers so that we can survive for a long time to come? The sad thing is that it seems that it is those of us who can least afford it who are reproducing the fastest. I have no children, just spayed and neutered pets. My parents had 5 children but only 2 of us have kids (3 each) so 5 children turned out 6 grand-children. Slow growth is better in my opinion..

Answer 4

Yes, the world is grossly over-populated.
The situation is going to get worse.
Nature will one day take care of the situation because Earth will eventually be unable to sustain too many people and some will have to die off. People are ignorant and have children without a clue as to how they will care for those kids and mooch off the government (USA for instance and tax payers are paying all those people mooching).
FYI I do not have children and won't be having any so I have not contributed to the over-population.

Answer 5

first question. first answer -- yes, the world is over-populated. population by itself is an excellent idea -- but to bring kids to this world and not be able to nourish and care for them -- it beats the purpose of humanity and our "raison d'etre" -- the main reason why we are on this planet. I hate government or other main bodies -- control of the population or over-population phenomenon. in many cultures -- the birth of a child means "help" for the families -- whether it is a girl or a boy --is another dilemma in some cultures. we or people have to be educated on the wrongs and rights of giving life to a new child -- there must be commitment and purpose. it is an excellent question but the answer is limitless.

Answer 6

The world will collaspe when the population reaches 8 billion according to demographers. No one has come up with a solution to overpopulation, and its unlikley that anyone will be able to for quite some. As to whether or not I think the world is overpopulated, I think we're getting there, fast.

Answer 7

The situation will only get worse as modern medicine becomes more advanced. For instance babys who wouldn't of survived in the 1800 will to day and humans can live longer because we have IVs and feeding tubes so there for you have a generation gap.

Answer 8

Birth control & forced sterilization for drug addicts, felons, etc. I am an only child also & we had one child. (That's -1). I'm so tired of seeing the stuff on TV about the starving children when the people who give them food & meds will NOT give them birth control. Do they think it's better for them to have a lot of children & watch them die?

Answer 9

is getting bigger and bigger... and we cant rid of that... all we have to do is maybe educate people that need family planning especially for poor people who has a lot of kids