Overpopulation

Eric Orr
This graph represents the global population explosion we have experienced in the last 200 years.

On August 20, 1944 the U.S. Coast Guard introduced 29 reindeer to St. Matthew Island, a 128 square mile land mass located in the Bering Sea. On a predator-free range of bountiful vegetation, the herd increased its number to 1350 animals by 1957. At that time, field studies indicated the average weight of the reindeer exceeded that of a typical domesticated herd, which would normally outweigh its wild counterpart. In 1963, the population had exploded to 6000 reindeer. The animals showed a significant reduction in body mass, more closely resembling an archetypal wild herd. Researchers returned to the island in 1966 to discover that a massive die-off had left only 42 surviving reindeer. Further study revealed that the population crash was caused by starvation.

It is a natural inclination of an organism to take the path of least resistance when it comes to survival. As a highly evolved species humans have learned to bend the rules that would otherwise keep our numbers in check. Now in an era of industrialization and global markets, we face an ever-increasing population that draws from a static pool of resources. Each year about 77 million people, roughly the population of 10 New York Cities, are added to the Earth. The good news is that the rate of increase has slowed down from 2.1 percent in the 1960’s to 1.3 percent now. With a current population of 6.2 billion, this is still an alarming rate. The United Nations Population Division predicts that if existing trends continue, we will have between 7.9 and 10.9 billion humans inhabiting the Earth by the year 2050.

In the coming years water rights may well become the centerpiece of political conflict. More than half of the world’s usable water is currently being tapped for human use. Today, 505 million people live in countries that are considered water-scarce, and by 2025 the number is expected to be between 2.4 and 3.4 billion. A rapidly depleting water supply directly affects the quantity of food available to us globally, while it renders agricultural communities incapable of sustaining their economies. A quarter of all imported grain currently goes to countries that are experiencing stressed water supplies in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Ten countries share the water resources of the Nile River. Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia use the bulk of the water. Even if the Nile could be made available exclusively for Egypt’s use, they would still have to import grain to sustain their current population. Forty percent of Egypt’s grain is already imported, and the Egyptian population is expected to nearly double by 2050, while Sudan and Ethiopia will double and triple their populations respectively. By the time all 10 nations take their shares, there is little left as the Nile enters the Mediterranean Sea.

Ocean ecosystems are severely degraded as rivers are drained. In Central Asia the Amu Darya, which flows into the Aral Sea, is being heavily taxed of its water resources for irrigating cotton farms. As a result, the Aral Sea has dropped 40 feet since 1960, which has left the sea with 40 percent less volume and 66 percent less area. Towns that once lay along the coast are now 30 miles away. The fishery that until recently produced 60,000 tons of fish per year is now a watery wasteland. The high salt concentration of the disappearing sea has rendered the marine habitat fruitless.

As citizens of an affluent country like the U.S. it is often difficult for many of us to perceive the full weight of the social and ecological destruction that is occurring globally. The “American Dream” has essentially provided our nation with a detached sense of existence. Ominous statistics and foreboding accounts of far-off cataclysm are frequently received as tragic fairy tales. Closer to home is the Ogallala Aquifer in the Southern Great Plains, which provides water for irrigation and consumption in many western states. The Ogallala is slowly being depleted, as its relatively low rate of recharge cannot keep up with the demand for water. Irrigated agriculture in this region is gradually being replaced with dry land farming and many cities may soon face water shortage problems.

An even hotter topic in recent news is the vanishing wetlands at the mouth of the Mississippi River. For thousands of years little pieces of Louisiana coastal wetlands have crumbled into the gulf. Then when the Mississippi flooded every few years the wetlands were rebuilt with loads of silt from the vast expanse of earth upstream. So the Europeans came and built an extensive network of levees to prevent flooding and soil erosion to make more land inhabitable. And it worked. But now the coastal marshes are deprived of the silt needed for reconstruction. To make matters worse oil and gas companies have dredged and drilled the coastal area in an attempt to meet the growing need for fossil fuels. The mining canals have ruined banks and altered the flow of water in and out of the marshlands. Now there are 20,000 miles of pipeline that are quickly becoming exposed to the corrosive salt water as the wetlands sink at a rate of 25-35 square miles, approximately the size of Manhattan, per year. These coastal marshes provide habitat for millions of migrating birds and, aside from Alaska, generate more fish than any other state.

This satellite image indicates areas of dense population coupled with high power consumption. Note the intensity of the United States.

The immense human population has also drastically impacted forested areas throughout the world. In the early 20th century the Earth laid claim to 5 billion hectares of forestland. Now 2.9 billion hectares remain. Not included in this data are woodlands that do not take on new land use categories after being surrendered to clear cutting and burns.
This satellite image indicates areas of dense population coupled with high power consumption. Note the intensity of the United States.The increasing demand for cattle production, tillable land, and forest products is responsible for the huge loss. Imported forest products now exceed export levels in countries that have been heavily logged like the Philippines. Jobs and economies are destroyed by the depletion of forest resources, and water issues resurface when the effects of clear cutting are examined. A healthy rainforest retains ¾ of its water when moist air condenses into rain. The remaining ¼ makes its way to the sea by way of rivers. After being cleared for cattle production, ¾ of the water is lost to the sea. The surrounding landscape changes drastically as it begins to dry up. Diminishing forests also mean there is less vegetation to dispose of methane, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases.

It seems that the best solution to our population problem may be education. Teaching the virtues of birth control and restrained consumption is key. At this point change must occur not only on a grassroots level but also from the top down. Water stressed and water scarce countries must take measures to stabilize water supplies, incorporate sustainable agriculture practices, and encourage lower birthrates. Perhaps the biggest obstacle we face in this country is convincing the populous that overpopulation is indeed a serious threat. The natural world is the most powerful teaching aid we possess. When people experience nature, especially at a young age, they generally tend to feel more connected with it, and in turn, they begin to realize the importance of symbiosis. The notion of ecology becomes clearer and clearer. Communities grow stronger as their members recognize the vital need to work toward the common good of sustainability.

An estimated ten percent of all people who have ever lived on the Earth are alive today. As more people enter the global population, crowded cities become isolated “human preserves,” and our sense of being connected to the biosphere becomes more and more disjointed. In his 1997 interview with the Chattooga Conservancy, Dr. Eugene Odum said, “When people are numerous, they chop up the landscape into strips and patches…”. The modern western man is generally oblivious to his dependence upon the vast network of human corridors for most of his resources. An even more distant concept is the fact that these corridors sever the links between the ecosystems that sustain us. To most folks in our society, food is simply an abundant commodity easily obtained from the local supermarket, and “nature” is something we like to visit occasionally when we find the time to escape “reality.” A community with a fleeting local land ethic is an imperiled population. It is time to rethink priorities and temper our desires with the wisdom gleaned from a decimated herd of reindeer.