8 Billion People, is it good or bad?

On November 15th, 2022, we officially reached a world population of 8 billion. But is that a good thing? For years we have been worried about what overpopulation can do to our planet and resources. With the population growing by the second, should we be scared for the future? 

With the growing population, UN member Antonio Guterres stated, “It is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another." The UN has estimated that "the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 percent in 2020. The latest projections by the United Nations suggest that the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. It is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100."

Cons:

  • Food. How are we supposed to feed all of these new people? The world isn't growing, we only have so much land to farm or use for manufacturing. 
  • Diseases. Scientists have proven that more than half of the infectious diseases that humans contract can become deadlier because of climate change. More people, more pollution, more climate change. More people also means that diseases can be spread easier. 
  •  Temperatures. Rising temperatures due to climate change can also affect the population in a negative way. It can cause droughts, which cause food and water shortages. It can also cause long-term damage to individuals. 
  • Resources. The more people, the more resources that we need to use. 

Pros:

  • It can cause migration, allowing the population to spread out more evenly. 
  • Technology will get better to allow for an easier life. 

There weren't very many pros I could find for the 8 billion people. 

 

What do you think?

Is the increase good or bad?

Do you want more people?

 

 

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Replies

    • I agree, there is definitely pros, but I also feel that they cons outweigh the pros. That isn't a good thing at all. I think we need to start saving and conserving resources now. 

  • I think that 8 billion peopel could be good and bad. It could be good for more people to fill more jobs and more children. I think that it could be bad if we get over populated. I think that more babys could be fun but again risk of over population.

  • Reaching 8 billion people is not a good thing because of overpopulation, some people already are struggling and dying due to lack of food. If we keep increasing our population, we will need more food or people will die more. We don't need anymore people but I know it keep increasing until some sort of extincion event happens.

    • I agree, I feel like food shortages are just going to get worse as the population increases. There is only so much farmers can produce at a time, they can't just grow and grow. 

  • I think that the increase can be both good and bad. Agriculture technology is continuing to grow in order to be able to feed 8 million people, but there's only so much they can do. But the resources, temperature, and disease increases are definitely a huge concern. I think that the more the population grows, the more problems are going to occur, therefore, I think that our growing population is bad.

  • I think that it's crazy that the world's population has reached such a high number. This can be both a bad and a good thing depending on which perspective you look at it from. There are already so many problems with people without homes, starvation, etc. Adding more people just makes this problem even bigger. 

    • I completely agree, we need to fix problems before we can start adding more humans to the picture. Homelessness, starvation, clean water, and even basic needs are huge problems in today's society. 

  • I think it is bad because we barely had enough resources before we hit 8 billion. It will cause trouble later on. Especially with climate change and different problems that the world is facing currently. 

    • Yes, I feel like climate change is the biggest issue of the increasing population. Landfills are out of control, temperatures are rising, animals are going extinct, and the land isn't getting any bigger. 

  • I think that the population of 8 billion is bad. We were struggling as it is with global warming, pollution, and landfills, we don't need more people. We only have so much land, its not like we can just make more of it. If the population keeps growing then we will run out of room for farming, and other things such as big food producing plants.  

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