Impact of overpopulation in the United States

            Overpopulation is a condition that is viewed today as a significant challenge in both developed and developing nations. A rapid rise in population occurs as a result of an increase in fertility rates and a decline in mortality rates. From the 1400s, when there was a plague of Bubonic, the population has been increasing rapidly all through to 21 century (Uniyal, Paliwal, Kaphaliya, and Sharma). Many activities took place from the period of the epidemic to the time of 21 century, which did not have any influence on the population, such as various natural calamities, wars, and human-made hazards. Developing nations are likely to experience more population growth or a rapid rise in population than in developed countries.  An increase in population has a significant impact on people’s lives. The purpose of this research paper is to mainly discuss the effect of overpopulation in the United States, which is a developed country.                          

Overpopulation leads to a decline of available natural resources since each place on earth has a limitation of food to produce at one particular period (Singh, Singh, and Srivastava).  The limited natural resources in the United States have been overexploited due increase in population. When there is a rise in population, the number of individuals depending on the limited resources will increase, thereby causing an increase in the dependency ratio over available resources.  Overpopulation has been one of the major causes of environmental degradation in the United States.  The constant increase in population has contributed to a rise in demand for goods like oil, natural gas, and coal.

Overpopulation leads to overexploitation of these resources, and this leads to environmental pollution through harmful emissions. The extent of environmental pollution is likely to continue to increase as more industries are established, and more people more cars are being purchased by the increased population, thereby raising the number of emissions into the environment. The industrial emissions and vehicle effluents are the primary cause of global warming on earth. Climate change is an issue of concern worldwide; it occurs as due to effects of global warming, and it leads to various problems such as melting of the polar ice and an increase in sea level (Singh, Singh, and Srivastava).  

Overpopulation is one of the leading causes of war and conflicts in a country. An increase in population will lead to a strain of limited available resources that people need to use, and these resources play a significant role in the development of society and the country (Norton and Mercier). One of the essential resources under the conflict as a result of overpopulation is water. Therefore, the government needs to find a solution to this problem to avoid war or disputes that might arise if the issue is not adequately addressed.  Wars and conflicts in the nation will lead to other problems such as starvation and poverty that will affect mostly children and women.

Many cities in the United States are overcrowded as result of high population.  The size of land occupied by individuals does not change as the population rises, and therefore, overpopulation cause overcrowding.  The issue of congestion in urban centers is likely to cause people to engage in bad behavior activities such as pickpocketing and other criminal activities.  Overcrowding poses a threat to the health of many people since it can result in airborne illness and other contagious diseases that put the lives of the entire population at risk. Overpopulation leads to an increase in demand for goods and services consumed daily. An increase in population leads to a fall in the supply of products, thereby making the businesses to increase the prices of commodities.  High prices of essential goods increase the cost of living where people will be required to incur more charges to survive and provide for their families.  

An increase in population in the United States has led to a rise in the rate of unemployment. The number of unemployed individuals is so many such that the jobs available in the market cannot sufficiently meet the high demand.  The nation employs very few people for available job opportunities, and this increases the rate of unemployment in the United States.  The prevailing economic situation forces individuals without jobs or any form of employment to engage in criminal activities in order to survive and feed their families (Singh, Singh, and Srivastava). For instance, such people engage in drug trafficking activities, theft, robbery, and cyber-crimes so that they get money to be able to meet their basic needs.

As the population increases, the government is likely to establish more restrictions, which will make people have less freedom in the coming years. Overpopulation will require lawmakers to develop and implement policies and laws that will regulate or prohibit how individuals interact with one another. Therefore, the government will continue developing more rules and regulations as the population continues to multiply to restrict human interactions. Such restrictions in a country will automatically pose a threat to democracy.

Overpopulation will require humans to adopt intensive farming methods in orde4r to provide enough food to feed everyone. Every farmer will be required to produce maximum outputs from a small farm. As people strive to get maximum farm produce, they might be forced to engage in unhealthy farm approaches such as genetically modified organisms and excessive use of chemicals in their farms (Singh, Singh, and Srivastava). The use of harmful methods in farming will pose a high risk to the health of people in the country, and it is likely to cause a lot of complications in the country. An increase in population will lead to global warming and climate change. The high population will lead to overproduction, thereby increasing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. As greenhouse gases get accumulated in the atmosphere, the ozone layer gets more affected, leading to global warming, which results in climate change. The effects of climate adversely influence the people on earth and the environment.

An increase in population has been attributed to the rise in criminal activities in the United States. Essential commodities such as food and water are scarce as a result of overpopulation. High population causes people to compete over scarce necessities, and this causes more people to engage in crime and drug-related deals (Singh, Singh, and Srivastava). A country needs to have a balanced population growth that allows people to meet their basic needs with the aim of lowering the rate of crime. 

As the population increases, people will require more land to settle and carry out their agricultural activities. Overpopulation will force people to clear forest and vegetation in order to get more space to settle and farm (Singh, Singh, and Srivastava). Clearing of vegetation and felling of forest cover will lead to problems of desertification and deforestation. Such activities will also push animals out of their natural habitats. Therefore, wildlife animals will not be able to adapt to a different environment, and this might lead to the extinction of some wildlife animals.

Overpopulation has contributed to the lack of adequate facilities in the United States. For example, there are inadequate housing facilities to accommodate the increasing population in the United States.  An increase in demand for housing facilities has led to a rise in prices for real estate properties. Housing prices too expensive and unaffordable for the majority of the people, and this has been the leading cause of the increase of homeless people and street families. Overpopulation leads objectives strain on a few medical facilities; hence very few people can acquire quality care from the healthcare providers, considering that the larger population does not have medical coverage.

Several strategies can be adopted to find a realistic solution to the problem of overpopulation globally. The current generation can focus on sustainable utilization of the available natural resources (Uniyal, Paliwal, Kaphaliya, and Sharma). Education can be used as an appropriate tool to inform people of the need to have a certain number of children. Sex education can also be introduced in schools since this will be a suitable platform to impact children on matters of population. The government, non-governmental organizations, and community-based organizations can help to create awareness and disseminate on issues of family planning.  The awareness program should focus on educating people on the best contraceptives to use or family planning technique to use to prevent any unwanted pregnancy. Also, they should inform people about all shortcomings that occur as a result of overpopulation. The government can develop and implement a policy that exempts tax a family with a particular specific number of children but impose a tax on a family that exceeds the set number of children to control population growth.

In conclusion, overpopulation is a big problem that has adverse impacts on people and the environment. Some of the harmful effects of the population in the United States comprise depletion of natural resources, inadequate agricultural produce, desertification and deforestation, environmental pollution, global warming, overcrowding, and climate change. The government needs to implement the best strategies that will help to control the rate of population growth. Some of the strategies that would be effective if adopted in a country include encouraging people to adopt family planning, creating awareness through various initiatives, tax exemptions on concession, and advocating for better education.

Works Cited

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Murdock, S. H., M. E. Cline, M. Zey, D. Perez, and P. W. Jeanty. “Effects of Population Change on the Size and Characteristics of the Labor Force of the United States.” Population Change in the United States (2015): 43-62. Web. <10.1007/978-94-017-7288-4_3>.

Siegler, M. V. “Population and Population Growth.” An Economic History of the United States (2017): 127-148. Web. <10.1057/978-1-137-39396-8_7>.

Uniyal, S., R. Paliwal, B. Kaphaliya, and R. K. Sharma. “Human Overpopulation.” Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies (2017): 1-11. Web. <10.4018/978-1-5225-1683-5.ch001>.