What will happen when Earth is overpopulated?

The following inquiry came from an eighth-grader in Pennsylvania.

Q. In science class, we learned that one day there will be too many people to produce enough food and shelter for all of them. I asked my science teacher two questions that he wasn’t sure how to answer. What will happen when the world becomes overpopulated? Will there be limits in the future on how many children people are allowed to have? I would appreciate a response to share with my classmates and teacher.

A. Your questions are ones that people everywhere should be asking. Because of space constraints, my answers will be short, but you can find in-depth coverage of overpopulation issues in publications at a library or bookstore.

Use the Internet to find names of relevant publications as well as to conduct research on the topic. A good starting place for gathering information is www.populationconnection.org/site/PageServer. Founded in 1968 (as Zero Population Growth or ZPG), Population Connection’s mission statement begins with this sentence: “Overpopulation threatens the quality of life for people everywhere.”

The mission statement goes on to say that Population Connection is a “national grassroots population organization that … advocates progressive action to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by Earth’s resources.”

Earth already has too many human inhabitants, and the world’s population continues to increase. Many people do not want to acknowledge the problem, but a head-in-the-sand attitude will not change the inevitable consequences of overpopulation.

No animal species can exist without adequate food, water, shelter and other essential resources. Humans are not exempt from this rule.

So what happens when the human population exceeds the resources needed to sustain it? The same thing that happens to any overpopulated species: nature will reduce the population through famine, disease, intraspecies fighting or a combination thereof.

That reality is already playing out for people in some Third World countries. And don’t think it can’t happen here. It can – and will – unless we address the issue of overpopulation.

Because of cultural, political and religious attitudes, almost no world leader is willing to acknowledge the problem, much less take the necessary steps to resolve it.

The Chinese government did impose a limit on the number of children a couple could have. But people used various strategies to get around the restriction, and there were outcries from social rights groups around the globe asserting that couples’ rights were being violated because they were not allowed to decide how many children to have.

Though a thorough study would be necessary to determine the program’s level of success in controlling population expansion, one fact is indisputable: China’s natural resources cannot support a billion people. A one-child policy may not be the best approach for reducing the world’s population, but something needs to be done. Soon.

Will world politicians and religious leaders ever reach accord on appropriate and effective measures to control human population growth? No one can say for certain, but prevailing attitudes are not encouraging.

Many prominent authority figures dismiss the idea that overpopulation is a problem; some even promote programs to increase the population rather than encouraging people to limit the size of their families. You cannot solve a problem if you refuse to recognize that it exists. But you have only to look at the number of starving people in the world to realize that we do indeed have a problem. Not all the agricultural enterprises in the world can produce enough food to feed Earth’s 7 billion human inhabitants.

The underlying cause of almost every environmental problem in the world today is human overpopulation. Air pollution, water shortages, habitat loss, extinctions, invasive species: all are caused or exacerbated by having too many people in the world. We are unique among all animal species in having the ability to solve even a monumental problem like overpopulation. But if we do not solve it ourselves, nature will solve it for us. And we won’t like that solution.

25 Comments on "What will happen when Earth is overpopulated?"

ohanian on Sun, 10th Jun 2012 12:34 pm 



People are problem. More people equals more problems. Antarctica has no problems until humans arrived on it. Don’t believe me? Read the history books about conflict in Antarctica prior to the arrival of humans.

Bob Owens on Sun, 10th Jun 2012 3:31 pm 



For the past 50 years ever since the Green Revolution we have been able to feed everyone. We had 50 years to get our population under control. Did we do anything? No! And we never will. It is time to stop deluding ourselves with ideas that we can grow more food for everyone. We never will solve this problem because we don’t want to. The sooner Nature steps up to bat the better for us.

Kenz300 on Sun, 10th Jun 2012 4:00 pm 



Quote — “So what happens when the human population exceeds the resources needed to sustain it? The same thing that happens to any overpopulated species: nature will reduce the population through famine, disease, intraspecies fighting or a combination thereof.

That reality is already playing out for people in some Third World countries.
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Access to family planning services needs to be available to all that want it.

BillT on Mon, 11th Jun 2012 2:39 am 



War, famine, pestilence, death in it’s many forms is the result of over population of any species. Humans are not immune to natural laws, although they think they are. They are soon to be disabused of that idea, I think.

Riannah on Thu, 4th Feb 2016 1:46 pm 



i think that people would die

Sans on Fri, 28th Oct 2016 11:29 am 



I think that people would not have enough food to live and trees to get oxygen from

Ernet on Wed, 21st Dec 2016 1:51 pm 



I agree, we are very overpopulated, also so many nice and natural beauriful places will be destroyed to build more houses, farms, factories etc. Places like fields of green flowers, jungles, deserts etc.
Its just a senseless selfish growth, until everything is gone and destroyed.

onlooker on Wed, 21st Dec 2016 2:10 pm 



Not to sound fatalistic but seems food scarcity could lead to Soylent Green. What is it ? It’s people

ALEELEE on Wed, 8th Feb 2017 12:59 pm 



There are tons of reasons why overpopulation could effect earth, a lot of death from food scarcity, fighting, oxygen, sickness,and kid limits

Jigga on Tue, 13th Jun 2017 8:06 am 



someone should drop a few nukes on all the overpopulated countries that should reduce the population a bit

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Anna on Sat, 21st Oct 2017 11:24 am 



Sorry I’m not a very serious person, but I guess well just have to become martians

Cloggie on Sat, 21st Oct 2017 12:43 pm 



Sorry I’m not a very serious person, but I guess well just have to become martians

That’s a minority position here, also proposed by illustrious persons like Antius. Rest assured he considers himself a serious person.

No One Important on Fri, 16th Feb 2018 12:41 pm 



Overpopulation is a big thing; yet no one powerful is noticing it. We have to bring it up to our presidents, or anyone with power. People are killing our planet. We have ti stop it!

Bad Gos on Tue, 3rd Apr 2018 10:49 am 



WHAT THE FRICK!!! ThHIS IS BAD GUIS!

nick on Fri, 4th May 2018 2:59 pm 



NOVA is spam dont buy nova from georiga bene

nick on Fri, 4th May 2018 3:00 pm 



NOVA is spam dont buy nova from georiga bene

Tanner on Mon, 10th Sep 2018 3:34 pm 



We all are gonna have to pull a Thanos.

Jana on Tue, 18th Dec 2018 1:20 am 



i totally agree with everyone, i feel like the president or even someone who is powerful them him to get this noticed i see on the news all the time about guns , safety but NOTHING about how to change it or help protect our planet we all need to come together as one race and protect the only thing we got , something money cannot ever buy. We need to value home before its gone forever…

Paola ;) on Wed, 16th Jan 2019 9:53 pm 



“We all are gonna have to pull a Thanos” funniest shit I’ve read on the topic of overpopulation

slippykun on Wed, 30th Jan 2019 12:06 pm 



*crab rave intensifies*

Population Manager on Thu, 11th Apr 2019 4:10 am 



I HEREBY DECLARE THE OVER POPULATION THINGY SHALL BE A MAJOR WORLD PROBLEM! WE MUST NOW LIVE ON MARS AND BECOME MARTIANS!

GG on Thu, 6th Jun 2019 3:24 pm 



Drop the nukes on all the major city and then drop the nukes again

Sheila on Sat, 15th Jun 2019 3:12 pm 



Don’t you think the president and all of the powers that be don’t already know all of these things? Of course they all do. If you don’t understand that, then you need to research a bit. Start with “Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars.” This was an operations training manual for new agents for the government. Then read it’s equivalent, “Behold, A Pale Horse” by one William Cooper, whom the police killed at his own home sometime later after the book was published. Be sure that whatever you do, keep in mind the use of propaganda, as it is used to sway, and to control the masses. You who don’t take this whole affair seriously, get real. We cannot do what WALL-E did in the movie, and even if we could, who gets to go? You should think about it. Come on, do your part, people. Accept it. Be mature. Do your part. It’s a reality check for sure. If we want to survive, if we want our children to survive, and to not suffer the horrors to inevitably come if we do not act now, start doing something no matter how trivial it may seem. That is what it will take, EVERYONE doing their part. Either act now, or kiss your own butt goodbye while you still can.

Joman on Thu, 23rd Mar 2023 4:33 pm 



I say we snap everyone a way like thanos did, travel back in time snap the maway again, drop a fat boy on them like we did in WWII and tax everyone for everykid they have.