Overpopulation, the root cause of all societal problems and yet politically incorrect to discuss

3 min readDec 18, 2018

The biological diversity organisation attributes global climate disruption to the build-up of human-generated carbon footprints caused by unsustainable human population growth. The increasing frequency of droughts, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels and melting glaciers has endangered animal species and destroyed biodiversity. Human overpopulation is a major driving force behind the loss of ecosystems, such as rainforests, coral reefs, wetlands and Arctic ice.

Despite natural and unnatural deaths, accidents, sexual crimes, tragedies and mass murders, the National Geographic reported new projections of escalating growth in human populations. Contributing factors include better medical care resulting in longer life expectancy, lack of family planning by developing nations and fertility treatments that aid birth rates.

Civil wars, occupations and insurgencies with no resolution to conflict remain as the US National Library of Medicine presents the bottom line that rapid population growth threatens international stability. Natural water resources are depleting, deteriorating its quality and causing water pollution. Increased competitiveness for resources has led to elevated crime rates due to drug cartels and felonies.

The Huffington Post reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed that the United States incurred the highest levels of municipal solid waste generation so far in the 21st century in 2012. The demand for landfills space despite space limitations leading to the dumping of waste into waters and other bio-nuclear hazards are directly proportionate to population increase. Toxicity from landfills also penetrates groundwater supply. This also leads to an increase in civil and international conflicts over existing water supplies.

According to a report by the Guardian, the National Academy of Sciences states that even a world conflict or a lethal pandemic would leave unsustainable population figures. Despite being the continent most ravaged by epidemics such as AIDs and Ebola viruses, Africa experiences staggering population growths.

Overconsumption has caused visible strains on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. The rapid increase in the atmosphere of methane from rearing livestock for the meat consumption industry and greenhouse gas emissions from burning of fossil fuels lead to global warming, a pre-cursor to climate change. Overpopulation fuels demand for these resources and nations, companies, or households ride into global economic debt.

The Economic History Society of the UK states that in the long run, high birth rates lead to poverty-stricken countries, as economic growth must outpace population growth to ensure steady average income levels. These countries face rising income disparities and wage inequality.

The shift to renewable resources and a decline in traditional energy sources such as coal has resulted in decline of jobs for professions relating to these outdated energy sources such as coal mining. Such entire industry sector shifts results in poverty for struggling workers, until a reskilling framework is provided to adapt them to changing economies.

A heavy population concentration requires infrastructure reform. Singapore is the world’s most densely populated country with 7,909 people per square kilometre of land area in 2016, according to Statista. The city faces growing challenges with accommodation, amenities and transport demands.

Uneven population distribution around the world is pushing mass immigrations contributing to growing discord, racism and differences among communities. Developing countries with massive population growth such as India are facing a massive brain drain of its skilled population.

The topic, however, is considered taboo possibly due to conservative sentiments that encourage population growth. The Washington Post reported that foreign aid policies setting contraceptive targets in exchange for aid were condemned as violating human rights and abolished. In order to stabilize global population growth, it is imperative that the issue is addressed on a global scale to counteract its effects with long-term viable solutions.