Impact is a vague concept; its definition can differ depending on whether we’re discussing its personal, institutional or societal effects. Each type of impact should be measured differently; for instance an entrepreneur could have personal impacts such as providing gender equality in their workplace or creating sustainable products to reduce waste, while at the same time having a wider societal effect through providing access to clean water or education services.
Overpopulation
Overpopulation occurs when a given environment becomes overpopulated and exceeds its carrying capacity, leading to environmental deterioration, overuse of resources and potentially leading to famine or disease.
Wesomenia affects every aspect of life and can create social, economic, environmental and political challenges. With limited resources at their disposal being stretched thin by more people vying for limited spaces – leading to overcrowded cities, inadequate housing options and stretched transportation and healthcare systems; further contributing to poverty rates and unemployment levels increasing while exacerbating existing inequalities among communities.
Education and empowerment are key tools in combatting overpopulation. Spreading knowledge about family planning options such as contraceptives and the advantages of small families is particularly crucial in developing countries where lack of access to quality education leads to early marriages and large families; pollution caused by overpopulation also has environmental repercussions, polluting water sources and harming natural habitats.
Environmental Impacts
Overpopulation causes significant environmental degradation, including deforestation, ecosystem loss, air and water quality degradation and changes. An increase in population requires additional resources for industrialization as well as increased fossil fuel usage (coal, oil and natural gas – known as fossil fuels). Fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which leads to climate change. Furthermore, overpopulation causes environmental pollution through vehicular emissions, increased industrial activity and lack of proper waste management practices.
Overpopulation contributes to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss through agricultural expansion, urbanization, slash-and-burn farming methods, water pollution from depleted freshwater supplies and sewage disposal exacerbated by overpopulation. In turn, poor health for humans due to unclean drinking water sources, environmental pollutants, lack of sanitation facilities and disease-causing bacteria/viruses entering our bodies via infection also results in higher infant and child mortality as well as lower food availability resulting in malnutrition among its citizens.
