Environmental degradation. Urban jungles. Overcrowded cities. Forced sterilization. One-child policies. Resource wars. Extreme poverty. Hunger. Diseases. Exploitation. Human misery. These are just some of the impacts of overpopulation as the planet’s population tops seven billion human beings. At current rates of growth, experts suspect that Earth’s human population may level off around 10 billion people sometime around the 21st century. How did this happen? How did we get to this point, and is this sustainable? Most experts say no. They state that the living systems that sustain us are in trouble, in other words we are in trouble too. This is why it matters whether Earth’s population of seven billion plus continues to grow at rapid rates into the future. If we continue at the pace, the future of our planet may be very bleak indeed.

Overpopulation is an undesirable condition and situation where the number of existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of Earth. Overpopulation is caused by several different factors. Reduced mortality rate, better medical facilities, depletion of precious resources are few of the causes which results in overpopulation. Growing advances in technology with each coming year has affected humanity in many ways. One of these has been the ability to save lives and create better medical treatment for all. A s a direct result, this causes increased lifespan and the growth of the population. In the past fifty or so years, the growth of population has boomed and has turned into overpopulation. In the history of our species, the birth and death rate have always been able to balance each and maintain a population growth rate that is sustainable. 

In order to reduce the adverse impacts of overpopulation, mitigation measures, such as spreading awareness and education about overpopulation, enacting birth control measures and regulations, and providing universal access to birth control devices and family planning, must be taken. We need to help the developing countries spread awareness of this issue and educate them about family planning and birth control. This is very important because many women and men in the developing countries don't understand this concept and this increases the birth rates which is not what we really want right now. This petition will not only help them get the right education but also gather people who care about our surroundings and are willing to take action. This not only will bring us together but it will be easier to make a change happen. 

Thank you! 

Christy Chang