The earth’s capacity
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The earth’s capacity
Individuals initially regarded the earth as a space that contains infinite capacity for any kind of population. As the world progressed, human beings attained fears of overpopulation. Human overpopulation occurs when a given population exceeds the carrying capacity of the respective region. Some earlier intellectuals warned of overpopulation as a threat to food supply that can sustain human beings. In as much as the current world population is increasing at a high rate, the earth can only sustain 20 billion people.
The threat of inhabitable places means that the capacity for world population is limited. The earth contains certain places that have extreme conditions. For instance, certain regions are extremely cold while certain areas are exceedingly hot. These extreme temperatures cannot sustain life because human bodies cannot easily adapt to such conditions. Existence of natural disasters, such as hurricane, limits the possibility of increasing population in given areas. It is crucial to highlight that a major part of the earth contains water. Some regions exist in excluded zones that constrain the possibility of transport for sharing of resources. This provides a limitation to possibility of open spaces that additional individuals could occupy.
The earth contains dwindling resources that cannot allow for additional population. It is essential to highlight that the survival of the human population relies on the distribution of resources that prop human life. As individuals overexploit resources for wealth and sustenance, the amount and quality of such resources dwindle. It is notable that technology possesses its limits in harnessing and modifying resources for incessant use in the earth. This presents a worrying scenario as world resources reach the peak of their utilization. For instance, soil, as a means towards agriculture, possesses fertility that decline on continuous usage. As farmers turn to fertilizers, the soil reaches its capacity for handling excessive chemicals (Moore, 2009). Sources of energy, such as oil, share excess usage in the world thereby threatening their existence in the future.
Climate change is a threat to possibilities of additional population on the earth. Climate change is a phenomenon that affects elements for human survival in the world. It is crucial to highlight that climate change entails unpredictable weather patterns that will affect the production of food. As temperature surge, through global warming, there will be additional diseases and conditions (Swedin, 2005). These conditions will increase the mortality rate and limit conception in mothers. Global warming is a challenging phenomenon because the number of industries continues surging in the world. Climate change will also constrain the harnessing of resources such as oil and hydroelectric power. This is a scenario that limits the production of materials that support human existence.
It is evident that the earth can only sustain 10 billion people in spite of the idea that human population is increasing at a considerable rate. The existence of the earth’s inhabitable places suggests that there could be limited space for additional individuals in the world. Certain places share extreme conditions and disasters that limit the possibility for life. A major part of the earth’s space consists of water thereby professing a limited space for additional individuals. The earth contains dwindling resources that are only able to support fewer people. Climate change manifests as a significant challenge to human life since it affects the production of food and create inhabitable conditions in the earth. These factors suggest that the earth can only sustain 20 billion people.
References
Moore, P. (2009). Agricultural and urban areas. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing.
Swedin, E. (2005). Science in the contemporary world: an encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
