A Comparison of the Insights on Overpopulation in the Media

In the British Broadcasting Company production of "Overpopulated," the speaker begins with how much the population of the world has grown over the last several thousands of years. He says that back in 10,000 BC the population of the whole world was only 1 million. Then it slowly increased to the 1800s when the population had first reached 1 billion. From there the world populace spiked to 7 billion in the 2000s. He observed that the most growth had happened in Asian countries such as Bangladesh.

In the early 1900s the average number of children per woman was 5 children with the life expectancy in the 30s or 40s. Now, women are having an average of 2 children per family and the life expectancy of those children is 70 years of age. This goes to show that the fewer number of children the longer life your child will have. There are still families that have more children, but the government is trying to change that by educating the children. Smarter families equals smaller, healthier families. The author stresses the point that the best thing that has happened to the world is two children families.

Many people are afraid of overpopulation as seen in the article by Thomas Robert Malthus, "An Essay on the Principle of Population." He is afraid of the poor of the world. These people he sees as simple having children to stay poor and impoverished just so they can have an easy source of welfare from the government. "Indeed, it seems difficult to suppose that a laborer's wife who has six children, and who is sometimes in absolute want of bread, should be able always to give them the food and attention necessary to support life" (Moseley et. al. pg. 60). Malthus proposes that the government remove the source of welfare from the poor, so that the "peasants" may actually work for their food in factories or on farms.

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The next article by Mortimore and Tiffen. "Population Growth and a Sustainable Environment," says more or less the same thing as the previous article discussed. That the population is rising and it is a danger to both the upper class and the earth. This article focuses mostly on the environmental problems caused by overpopulation. Problems such as soil erosion. The Soil Conservation Program was set up and much of the land was saved, as they saw it.

These three pieces of information do not match up in all respects. The two written articles both seem to be afraid of the rising population of the world. because the authors see it as something that is going to destroy the earth and the economy. The BBC production, however, does not seem to be worried about the growth of the population. In fact, they see it as a good thing. They are more for a controlled way of increase, like with the two child families. Who is right? I think it would have to be a combination of both small families and awareness of what humans are capable of doing to the plant.

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