How do we solve overpopulation? what should people do?

Question

Im doing a speech explaining the existing problem of overpopulation of the planet. What should people do besides having less kids? How do we actually solve this problem?

Answer 1

Overpopulation is a problem that the human race will have to contend with from this point further. Even if we master aquaculture and build millions of desalinization plants so that water and food will be plentiful we will outstrip our resources in no time. In the short run we must colonize the ocean floor, and in the long run move out at a rapid pace into the solar system. not only do we have the moon and mars but we also have the asteroid belt that will make a marvelous colony. this may seem like science fiction now bot look at the side of the coin, famine, war, disease. Whats your choice.

Answer 2

Increase capitalism and democracy. People of more developed countries are having less children per female. Of the reason is that health care and child birthing improves which almost guarantees that the children will grow to be become adults as opposed to dying early. Couples that are living in a capitalist and democratized country are also more busy living a life and working than not working and having too much time to have children; just consider what happens nine months after a city has a blackout or has a blizzard and no one can go anywhere... birthrates go up. Promoting higher education towards children and impressing on them the importance of higher expectations on them makes younger people think that they should allow more time to improve themselves than settling for a low level job and then getting pregnant sooner than later.
In summary, improving the intelligence of a country's citizens so the population understands the problems of overpopulation.

Answer 3

I'd say examine China's example. Their one child per family policy has been very controversial but actually successful. There have been other countries that have also had successful population policies at some point or another. One country (I forget which) for example gave people government-funded housing if they had one child, but if they had a second child they had to be moved to a smaller house.

Though honestly I think forced sterilisation is how we could actually solve this problem. And campaigns to promote abortion (alot of people have unwanted children because they have the wrong idea about abortion).

Also, immigration is bad for the population problem, because it prevents the natural population decline that would happen in developed countries due to their decreasing birthrates. Decreasing population is bad for the economy, so for money's sake developed countries compensate for a lower birthrate by encouraging immigration. If no one was allowed to immigrate to developed countries, their populations would slowly decline, as would the overall environmental damage they cause... The world especially has a hard time supporting large populations that consume as much as the developed world does.

Sadly, most people hate and oppose any measures to control population...

Answer 4

As I proposed in my book, I'd solve overpopulation by employing the one method people respond to most eagerly - economic incentives. Using the U.S. as an example, minor changes to the tax code are all that's needed. The current tax code actually rewards people for having more children by offering a significant deduction for each. Instead, I'd lower the base tax rates for all and then impose small tax penalties - either for each child or for each child beyond the second, and the penalties would not apply only when that child is living at home; they would be permanent and last your lifetime. Also, the penalties would be progressive based on income so that the wealthy would have as much incentive to have a reasonably-sized family as the poor. All people should be free to have as many children as they like. But economic incentives should be used to influence that decision. Pete Murphy Author, "Five Short Blasts"

Answer 5

Give up sex! :-)

At least stop promoting sex as it is done now almost everywhere these days.
Stop all illicit sex and punish rape with a life sentence.

Then promote voluntarily restricted family size. But even that is not working as you can see in China.

However, that also would cut into the profits of many "entrepreneurs" and "hurt the economy". Less population means fewer consumers to bleed!

On the other hand, if we keep going the way we are now we will control the world population with all our wars and killing each other.

The real problem is humanity's unwillingness to share. Looking out for number 1 is more important than to "love your neighbour"!

True?

Answer 6

the world is overpopulated now, the USA is not overpopulated for the land to person ratio, so we have plenty of room to grow which is good for the economy of course, there are a few solutions

-restrict the amount of kids one has
-let the situation play out when there isn't enough food and water to feed the population people will starve
-release deadly virus

though if you live in the USA you could make your speech about how industrialized countries tend to have slow population growth patterns over underdeveloped countries

Answer 7

If you believe the world is overpopulated, the only solution is to have less kids. Of course, in the United States restricting the number of children a person could have would cause many legal battles, nevermind the moral and ethical issues.

Answer 8

The earth is not over populated, it is mismanaged. All the people cluster in certain areas and deplete the resources for that area while leaving miles and miles of land that is not suited for agriculture or natural domain untouched. We build on prime farmland while millions of acres of wasteland are left empty. Food sits in warehouses for years at a time in one area while people in another area starve.

All the above is mismanagement.

You can control population growth several ways. China did it with the one child per household rule. With disastrous results, I might add. Perhaps we should try education and safe, reliable birth control available at cheap prices while telling the anti birth control people to go play elsewhere.

Answer 9

Some years ago an individual postulated that drinking water might be laced with birth control of some sort, and those wishing to have children, purchase, or pitition for an anti-controle... of corse, he was sumarily stormed by disagreement, but his logic is viable,...at least that way, population controle would not have been gender focused.

Answer 10

Do what the Japanese do for America. Limit the amount of children per household. One you have reached that limit of children, then by law, you have to become sterilized. Both men and women. If you break this law, and have another child, then this child will be given up to the government for adoption.
If you live in a upper income you can have 1 more child than the law requires.