REPLY TO THIS DISCUSSION POST AND HAS TO BE OVER 100 WORDS

FROM SKYWATER WHITE,

According to the world population clock, birth occurs every 9 seconds and death occurs every 11 seconds in the U.S (Census, 2021). In the world, the population increases by one every second (Census, 2021). Overpopulation does seem threatening. There are two sides to this argument, and I believe that overpopulation does not need immediate action. I believe this is due to natural disasters, modernization (Ruse, 2021), the decline in natural fertility (Overpopulation Project, 2020), and the ratio of elderly to young people (Ruse, 2021), which proves that overpopulation does not require immediate action. The Earth is billions of years old and is proven to have many natural disasters that control overpopulation. As women’s education becomes more prevalent in modernization, more women are postponing children or not having any (Ruse, 2021). The official statistics of the United Nations (UN) show that the natural fertility rate has begun to decline (Ruse, 2021). They also state that in some countries the elderly generation is higher than the young generations (Ruse, 2021). The younger generation replaces the elderly. These are the reasons why I do not think overpopulation needs immediate action.

            I live in Oregon, where there are lots of forests and mountains. In Oregon where I live, it is extremely green, and it rains a lot. We have many types of vegetation. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the climate in my ecosystem domain is humid, right before it hits the dry plains of Oregon (2021). The U.S. Forestry states that I live in the Marine division (2021). The province I live in is Cascade mixed forest- Coniferous forest Alpine meadow province (U.S. Forestry, 2021). 

            The results of my test shocked me. I could not believe that it would take four and a half Earths if everyone lived like me (Footprint Network, 2021). Which I sure, I am not the worst. It definitely has inspired me to try even harder to help save our planet. I found out that my footprint on the world is mostly due to gas. This affects everyone around the world because it maximizes global warming. Global warming is extremely threatening, especially with how much pollution we put out. The forests are important and should properly be maintained, maintained, so we do not have massive amounts of forest loss. At this point, I feel like there is little hope, but we can try to start the change now.

Word Count: 387.

References

Description of the Ecoregions of the United States. (n.d.). https://www.fs.fed.us/land/ecosysmgmt/index.html.

Footprint Calculator – Measure your Impact – Global Footprint Network. (n.d.). https://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/footprint-calculator/.

Project, O. R. (2020, July 28). Will global population peak below 10 billion? The Overpopulation Project. https://overpopulation-project.com/will-global-population-peak-below-10-billion/.

Ruse, A. (n.d.). The Myth of Overpopulation and the Folks Who Brought it to You. USCCB. https://www.usccb.org/committees/pro-life-activities/myth-overpopulation-and-folks-who-brought-it-you.

United States Population by Age and Sex. (n.d.). https://www.census.gov/popclock/data_tables.php?component=pyramid.