Overpopulation is an undesirable condition whereby the number of the current human population exceeds the carrying capacity of the planet. Over the last two decades, the United States population has exploded, and the number is expected to grow in the future. Overpopulation acts as a significant contributor to environmental issues and places a high demand on the available resources, thereby impacting the standards of living and global economies. The United States' experience is rapidly expanding population growth than any developed nation, and it's estimated that the population will increase to 340 million heads by 2050. The population growth rate has damaged the environment as developers have paved a million acres of land in various states like New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to create more room for roads, housings, and other structures
Florida is another state that has been dramatically affected by overpopulation. It adds 900 new people to its population on a single day, and half comprises total immigrants. It is considered to be equivalent to adding people of Orlando to the state every year. If the trend continues, it implies that a million acres of farm and open space in the Florida State will be depleted for development purposes by 2070. As well California State has experienced high growth rate as it represents the American dream for both immigrants and Americans to the United States, given that it has a conducive environment like warm weather, Silicon Valley, and cities that stick to the imagination like Los Angeles it has attracted people thereby leading to rapid population growth. California tends to be a diverse stat since no ethnic group is the majority, and it consists of a higher percentage of foreign residents in the United States. Various causes are associated with rapid population growth in the country.
Immigration Factor
The population growth issue in the United States has been significantly driven by the existing federal government policy on immigration. The foreign-born citizens and their descendants are a significant driver of the US population growth and ethnic change since the implementation of the law that rewrote the international immigration policy in 1965. Historically there exist high migration rates for global citizens. Overcrowding in various cities has been mitigated by the immigration of the foreign-born population is concentrated in the country's largest metro areas. In recent decades The Unites States population growth has been dramatically propelled by immigrants, and the trend will continue to exist. The unchecked immigration into various states may lead to overpopulation to the extent that the nations no longer have the required resources to cater for the population.
Poverty Cause
Poverty is considered a pervasive human condition of an individual unable to obtain a basic level of water, food, and shelter. Poverty exists in many nations with varying degrees and unlikely to disappear. The United States is regarded as the richest globally, yet many of its citizens live in extreme poverty. It can be measured in two ways that are desperate and absolute poverty. Lack of resources with high death rates resulting in high birth rates leads to impoverished locations that occur to a boom in population. According to the current population report, 46.2% of million citizens are impoverished that consists of 15% of the country's population, among them children and younger people (Wallace, 2018). The face of poverty is evident by pictures of families in various rural areas in the Southwest and South regions of the nation. The state includes Mississippi, Kentucky, West Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia. The parts have a history of poverty-related to many factors influencing it like agricultural economies and educational challenges thereby contributing to rapid population growth
Medical Advances
Drastic improvement in technology has led to a decline in the mortality rates for many deadly diseases. Dangerous ailments like smallpox and measles have been eradicated due to medical technology in the United States. Reduced child mortality rates play a significant role in the population growth rate in the country. Deaths of children under four years account for a more substantial number of death in pre-transition societies, and child survival implies that it will contribute to overall population momentum as the surviving children will eventually reproduce t multiply the existing population. There has been a drastic decline in mortality rates, and a rise in the birth rate due to medical technological advances, better measures in the treatment of critical ailments, better solutions to infertility challenges and safer pregnancies. Medical advancement has also led to an overall increased life expectancy of people. Sound prenatal good, education, and development programs have improved the chances of survival of the baby and mother during birth.
Intensive Farming Practices
The intensive modern farming practices that include the use of genetically modified foods have played a significant role in the increase in population growth and will continue to be experienced in the future.
Family Planning Challenge
Ignorance of purpose means that family planning consequences play a crucial role in population growth in the country. The primary concept of voluntary fertility control is accepted when presented, but its communication is not sufficient. Low literacy, especially among women, is experienced. Also, the lack of communication between wife and husband and, therefore, it leads to unwanted pregnancies, which contribute to population growth. Access to safe contraception is considered a fundamental right to nay women as it is essential in improving the health of women. However, despite the increase in family planning methods in the USA, there is still a significant unmet need for birth control methods. Many factors are responsible for women not using contraceptives, such as availability of health services, women's level of education, financial and social situation, and cultural factors. As a result, they do not limit the number of children, which leads to an increase in the population rate.
Effects of Population Growth
Population growth is considered to be the most pressing environmental issue in the world by silently aggravating existing forces behind ecological pollution, global warming, habitat loss, and even consumption of natural resources like fresh water and arable landscape.
Loss of Fresh Water
Water is an essential aspect of the daily life of the world population since, for instance, food and clothing and everything human interacts with involves water. 75% of the Earth is covered in water sources like rivers, ponds, lakes, and groundwater. Most freshwater has become polluted due to overpopulation, leaving less than 1% freshwater due to the higher demand for fresh water supplies. The increased demand for water will have a severe impact on food production in the Southwest United States. For instance, water-intensive crops in California like almonds use a high percentage of fresh water, thereby being a more significant challenge due to overpopulation (McConnell, 2017). Various Freshwater ecosystems have been affected since they have lost a more substantial proportion of their species.
Habitat Loss and Mass Extinction
Overpopulation is seen as one of the significant pressing challenges faced in the community and country at large. Due to overcrowding in various cities, arable land has been converted to suburban development, and air pollution is experienced d due to increased population in multiple states. Habitats have been extensively destroyed, and therefore the entire ecosystem has been threatened. Overpopulation encourages industrialization processes, which has facilitated mass extinction in many countries. Population pressure has created a considerable incentive for the development of land that includes forests, resulting in deforestation, which destroys ecosystems and leads to animal migration that tend to threaten animal security due to exposure to targets like poachers.
Deforestation has led to mass extinction and loss of animal habitat spearheaded by population growth. The developed states have experienced the effects of overpopulation like mass extinction and loss of habitat. For example, Florida's population has risen annually. To accommodate the people, almost all wetlands and habitats were cleared for human use; therefore, the ecosystem has been threatened in the state. Also, the conversion of the natural region to shopping centres, offices, and homes has threatened America's native animal species. For instance, the overpopulation impact has affected California animals. A perfect example relates to illegal cut logging in the Butterfly reserve in Mexico that led to migration.
Intensive farming practices
Intensive farming practices tend to produce cheaper and sufficient food, which has helped the growing human population. In some instances, it may prevent the existing land surrounding from being shifted to agricultural land. Still, the practices have become a significant threat to the environment through global warming and the emergence of parasites, thereby creating deforestation. Intensive farming practices tend to kill any beneficial plants, deplete the soil, create a clogged water system, increase flooding, decrease the existing biodiversity, and destroy the natural habitats.
Increased Climate Change Global Warming
The growth of population is a significant cause of climate change, given that many human beings use fossil fuels to power the mechanized lifestyle in daily activities. Many people in the current world demand gas, coal, and oil, which is drilled from the underground when burned; carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere and traps the fresh air. It is a significant threat to the existing biodiversity and ecology due to human-generated gases as a result of increased human activities. The United States has a high population, and a million inhabitants tend to produce a significant proportion of greenhouse gases at a per capita rate (Goldstein & Mohnen, 2018). The gas emission is a result of high population growth, significant growth, and rising consumption, and a lack of political will to end to curb fossil emission addiction. Half of the country's population stays in car-depends areas, therefore, resulting in carbon emissions in the transport sector due to driving miles each year.
Intensive human activities have caused climate change as it is complicated to separate the economy from ecological systems. For example, agricultural production plays a unique role in the environment in technological farming, like the use of fertilizers has led to the death of coastal waters. People around the globe have tried to address the problem by reducing carbon, but the continued increase in population growth has put pressure on the efforts.
Increased Crime Rates
Overpopulation is considered to drive necessities like water food, and therefore resources become scarce in any country. It implies that the population results to pressure on the existing resources that lead to increased crime rates for people to survive in a harsh environment (Walker, 2016). Many people engage in criminal activities like theft and drug trafficking in order to acquire their basic needs.
Conclusion
Overpopulation is a more significant challenge experienced in many countries in the world, and it occurs when organisms exceed the carrying capacity. Population growth is a principal issue that has a pressing effect on environmental issues. It is caused by various factors like poverty, medical advancement, immigration, reduced use of contraceptives, and intensive farming practices.
