Overpopulation

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the problem of overpopulation and its consequences. The paper bases its discussion on the theory that the earth is a system with only a finite amount of energy available for human use. The paper concludes that the only legitimate solution to the problems of overpopulation and limited energy is to begin implementing alternative energy sources and more localized economies.

From the Paper:

"In the United States, unfortunately, society has been organized in such a fashion as to all but require the spending of vast amounts of energy merely to feed our population. Agriculture, in particular, is highly dependent upon the availability of fossil fuels: they are required for fertilizers, to operate virtually all farm equipment, and--perhaps most importantly--to distribute agricultural products to our growing population. If you add this energy requirement to those spent by the average American each year for personal transportation, electricity, heating, and air conditioning, then each child born in the United States is the equivalent to approximately ten children born in the rest of the world--excepting Western Europe and Japan. Obviously, this poses serious problems for the future of the United States in a future of limited energy resources. The sad result is that as growth rates continue in the Untied States, American society is been sped closer to the brink of catastrophe--what ecologists term a populational spike and die-off."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dodson, Stanley et al. Ecology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
• Heinberg, Richard. The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers, 2003.
• Klare, Michael T. Resource Wars: the New Landscape of Global Conflict. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2001.
• Meek, Ronald L. Marx and Engels on the Population Bomb. Berkeley: Ramparts Press, 1971.

More papers on Overpopulation:

• Essay # 84581 : "Overpopulation and Famine"
• Comparison Essay # 127903 : "Overpopulation from Hardin to Singer"
• Term Paper # 128656 : "World Overpopulation"
• Argumentative Essay # 98711 : "The Effects of Overpopulation"

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