Sustainable Population | Teen Ink

Sustainable Population

May 13, 2012
By Anonymous

There is a growing problem surrounding our world: unstable population growth. Many people predict by 2050 that we might not have a sustainable amount of resources to provide for future generations. There are many things us humans can do to help combat this severe problem.
One of them is to accept baby girls as much as baby boys. For example in India, girls are often found as liabilities, due to the effort and cost to find them a husband. Also, some of their families might give them up or even kill them in order to try to have a boy. Having a boy could be very important to them as it passes down the father’s name. However, India I taking measures as it is now illegal for a doctor to determine the sex of the child before birth. This will help put a stop to families trying to have multiple kids to have a boy.
Another measure we can take is to give women equal opportunities for jobs. This would allow women to become educated and empowered. This way, women could start to make their own decisions regarding birth control and family planning. Also, they would become educated about the many forms of contraception and be able to control their own lives. This is not the case in many countries like China or India, however. Marriages are often arranged at a young age, and most likely the man will blame the woman if she gives birth to a girl. The woman may be burned or beat because of this, and this is not right. Both partners deserve a voice when planning a family, it should never be forced. In addition, this would slow the rapid births of babies in underdeveloped nations because families are taking the time to plan everything out. In Africa, there are way too many babies being born, especially due to their lack of food. Countries like Kenya have promoted family planning which has caused the number of children a woman has from around 5 to 2.
Another way to maintain a stable population is to allow immigration, in order for the workforce to continue to grow. In countries like Japan, there is no immigration allowed. This is causing a problem as there will not be much of a workforce when the older people die off. Japan will eventually have to allow immigration in order to keep their economy and population stable.
Overpopulation is caused by the lack of education of many people, tradition, not being industrialized, and high infant mortality rates. The concerns regarding these issues include lack of food, lack of nonrenewable resources, and pollution. It shows that developed countries that allow immigration, promote education of women, and give women equal opportunities are flourishing. Everyone is responsible for this dire change as we all share the Earth, it is our responsibility to live in a sustainable manner and achieve stable population growth through primarily education.



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