(ThyBlackMan.com) It is no longer a secret that the global population is ever-increasing year after year. This exponential rate is staggering, but many often turn a blind eye to it. In many respects, it is much easier to do that than to face the facts, but as some point humanity will have to make some changes if it wants to improve the world we live in. The truth is that population is still getting faster and faster, and we will need to do something about it fast if we want to survive. So what are the challenges of overpopulation and why is it a problem?
Food
Arguably the most vital question that needs answering is the matter of how we are supposed to feed an ever-growing population. Given that there are now over seven billion people on the planet Earth, what can we do to ensure that everyone can be fed sustainably and sensibly, given that we do not magically have more space to grow
crops on and so forth? One answer is posited by the Global Salmon Initiative over at GSM, who hope to provide sustainable solutions for feeding populations in the years to come. But it is also likely that we will need to rethink the way that we consume, grow and produce foods, and this is the kind of revolution which might take many years to bring to fruition. See WF for more on this.
Space
Something that is not felt so much yet, but will be more and more, is the question of crowding. As more and more people inhabit the Earth, we will need to find new ways of ensuring that there is literally room for everybody. This might well be one of the most difficult aspects of the whole situation, and it might be that a re-designing of cities or further usage of green space will be necessary. But we will also need to find the balance here, and try not to demolish the natural world in the process of building more housing.
Health
There are a huge number of health concerns related to overcrowding, and this too will have to begin to be the focus here. Overpopulation is bad for almost every aspect of one’s individual health, physical and mental, and it is definitely going to be challenging trying to undo or limit this kind of damage as much as possible. If you are curious as to how this will be possible, it will probably take a significant shift in the way that we approach medicine as a species, and the way in which we take care of ourselves and others within our communities.
Mental health in particular might be a serious issue, and one which we will need to focus on strongly. Depression and anxiety are likely to rise as the population rises, so learning to understand the nature of our minds as well as possible is going to prove to be vital. There is no doubt that this will be incredibly challenging to make a reality, but it will be necessary if the human race wishes to survive.
Staff Writer; Paul Ford