Is population growth affect on our environment Research Paper

Is population growth affect on our environment - Research Paper Example It is worth noting that between the years 1960 and 1999, the earth’s population increased from three billion to around six billion people. Between the years 1960 and 1999, the earth’s population increased from three billion to around six billion people. The increase reflected an important era in humanity. This is because life expectancy increased, child mortality rates dropped, and individuals were on average healthier and nourished than any period in history. However, several changes in the global environment began to happen. Pollution increased, resource depletion persisted, and the risk of rising sea levels was obvious (Rand 1). Population growth has a number of features, which include urbanization, changing demographics, and persistent international migration. All these features are thought to affect the environment in a negative manner. In the feature urbanization, majority of the people will live in the cities. It is estimated that by 2035, close to 60% of the glo bal population will be living in the urban areas. Most of the cities in the developing nations are already experiencing problems in offering basic services such as waste treatment and transport. It is thought that the new urban residents will largely inhabit regions that defy nature such as the low-lying regions in the coast, and this will be a significant environmental risk (Collodi and M’Cormack 1). In the feature changing demographics, it is estimated that the overall world population is ageing despite the fact that the current population is very young (majority of the people in the world are below the age of 28). Majority of these people (the ageing population) are found in the developed nations, however, by 2050 a third of the population in the developing nations is estimated to be over the age of 60 years, and close to 80 percent of them will be living in the developing nations. On the other hand, some of the developing nations and regions will experience an increasingl y young population. Both trends indicate a decreasing working population, considerably changing the balance between economically inactive and active members (Collodi and M’Cormack 1). In the feature persistent international migration, the number of individuals living outside their nation of origin will likely to grow or increase to 230 million from the present 175 million by the year 2050. Migration will mostly happen between the developing nations and will grow in response to the environmental pressures, natural disasters, and extreme poverty. The aforementioned features will be motivated by the impacts of climate change, uneven distribution of resources, environmental changes, the consequences of disease, the incapability of the authorities to respond, and climate change (Collodi and M’Cormack 1). The accessibility and flow of energy, water, and food will be very important. Resource challenges will increase in regions where population growth has the greatest conseque nce, relative to economic growth and local resources (Collodi and M’Cormack 1). It is expected that by 2035 that the Sub-Saharan Africa population will grow by around 81% and that 15 percent of them will likely to be under-nourished. Competition for all forms of resources will increase and the threat of humanitarian catastrophe will also increase in most of the vulnerable areas because of climate change (C