Effects of Population Growth on the Environment
Plants and animals bring about changes in their environment unintentionally. But, human beings blessed with superior intelligence are using it to change the environment according to their needs. A little alternation here and there is desirable, but when it starts exceeding limits, it leads to various repercussions.
Rapid population growth interferes with orderly economic development. The resources are limited and are getting exhausted at a rapid rate. The Earth is the same and so are the resources, but the number of human beings are increasing day by day. The load on the environment is increasing. This has led to increase in pollution, diseases, unhealthy food etc.
Agriculture – People of earlier times and even today, use many domestic animals for different purposes like transportation, for products like milk, leather, meat etc. There has been a great increase in the population of these animals due to a phenomenal increase in the demand for the products they provide. This has led to overgrazing. Many forests were cleared to convert them into pastures for the domestic animals.
The methods of farming used in ancient times were not properly planned which in turn, harmed the once fertile forests. Intensive farming was one of the methods which exhausted the soil, made it loose and unfertile and unfit for any further use.
Many of the lands like the woodlands of North America and some parts of the Mediterranean region have been adversely affected due to these practices. The advent of Industrial Age dealt a massive blow to the already deteriorating conditions of the environment. Many of the green and fertile forests and lands were converted into plains with eroded soil and barren land.
Wood as a fuel – it has been used as a fuel for thousands of years, but soon it was unable to compete with the rate at which the demands of the people increased.
Then, fossil fuels were discovered to fulfill the unending demands of the people. Some of the fossil fuels which were used are coal, petroleum oil and petroleum gas.
Use of coal was started due to lack of timber. Coal is either burnt or converted into useful solid, gaseous and liquid products. It is mainly used to provide heat to the boilers of electric power plants. IN order to convert raw materials into iron and steel, coal was used. It provides a large amount of energy in the form of electricity, too. But along with a lot of benefits, coal also led to pollution. It released harmful pollutants like sulphur di-oxide, carbon dioxide which increased global warming and mercury into the air.
Oil and gas is extracted from mineral deposits under the earth’s surface. Gas is used for cooking, heating and many other purposes. The modern world of today seems to be impossible without petroleum. One of the major uses lies in the running of vehicles and industries which in turn polluted the atmosphere.
Various pollutants which are released in the environment defile the environment and have proven to be very dangerous for life on earth.
