Approaches to Limiting Population Growth - The Social Environment
2 March 2016
The aggressive growth of the world’s population has increasingly become a concern over
the years, and how to control it is a constant topic for debate. According to the United States Census Bureau, there are more than 7.3 billion people living worldwide, as of 2016. China alone is home to more than 18 percent of the world’s population with its more than 7.3 billion inhabitants (United States Census Bureau). Furthermore, the top six most populous countries in the world account for nearly half the world’s population (United States Census Bureau). The United States Census Bureau also reveals that there is one birth that occurs in the United States every eight seconds and one international migrant that comes into the United States every 27 seconds. Furthermore, “...the United Nations estimates that the world population at the end of the century will be around 11 billion...” (Gais).
With so many dwellers condensed into cities and with the advancement of science and technology to help extend individuals’ lives, these statistics can mean a strain on the area’s resources including food and water, and even interrupted the natural orders of other living species way of life. Limiting the population growth can come in handy at times when a population is extremely condensed in the main urban areas, which may essentially exhaust resources over time. Three approaches to limiting population growth include empowering women through education, encouraging family planning initiatives and reforming policies. This essay will explore these three approaches to limiting population growth with an in-depth analysis and share some advantages and disadvantages in an effort to provide a solution to controlling population growth.
SOLUTION ONE: WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT Providing women with education can pose a solution to limiting population growth. Studies show that women with education have lower fertility rates than women without an education (Gais). For example, women in countries such as Mali and Chad that are African with no education have higher fertility rates in comparison to women from the Caribbean and Latin America and South Asia (Gais). The key to empowering women can be found in educating women about reproduction. Additionally, encouraging women to finish primary school and get at minimum a general education may also increase their chances of having a lower birth rate (Gais). SOLUTION TWO: FAMILY PLANNING
INITATIVES
Another solution to controlling the human population is by implementing family planning initiative. Family planning initiatives such as the ones provided through the USAIS programs help families to voluntarily consider advantages and disadvantages of having a specific amount of children while allowing individuals to come together strategically to plan a family (USAID). Additionally, universal access to contraceptive options for both male and females in a safe and effective manner can help reduce birth rates and control an ever-increasing population (Worldwatch Institute). There are several expenses associated with child rearing that many adults may not be aware exists. However, planning for a family in advance can help people make educated decisions.
Contraceptive Distribution. Distribution of contraceptives offers yet another solution to controlling human population that expands upon the family planning initiatives. Contraceptives have been around for centuries in different forms (Gibson). However, the modern day contraceptive of the rubberized male condom did not come into play until the mid-1840s when “...American manufacturing engineer Charles Goodyear patented the vulcanization of rubber...” (Gibson). Condoms became mass-produced but took decades to become popular in the United States as the first advertisement for condoms did not appear until 1861 when it was published in The New York Times for the Dr. Power’s French Preventatives brand (Gibson).
According to Healthline writer Jacquelyn Cafasso, condoms carry an effectiveness rate of approximately 80 percent against pregnancy when used correctly. Women can also explore birth control options to limit population growth including birth control pills, vaginal rings, birth control patches, intrauterine devices or IUDs, and Depo-Provera shots (Cafasso). Some methods of contraception are more effective than others. For example, abstinence, or the avoidance of sex, sterilization, IUDs and implants are all methods of contraception that have a 99 to 100 percent effective rate against pregnancy (Cafasso). In contrast, spermicides, sponges and fertility tracking have a moderately effective birth control rate of about 70 percent (Cafasso).
Although contraception offers a viable option to manage birth control, medical complications present itself as a disadvantage at times when using these forms of birth controls and contraceptives. For example, getting a birth control shot such as the Depo-Vera shot can lead to irregular spotting or bleeding while birth control pills are often associated with interfering with other medications (Cafasso). Additionally, there are some cases where people may be allergic to liquid or latex condoms (Cafasso). Furthermore, except condoms and cervical barriers, none of !3
these forms of birth controls prevent sexually transmitted diseases (Cafasso). However, to combat these situations, Cafasso suggests consulting with a medical doctor to verify the best form of birth control.
Advantages of Family Planning. Family planning carries several advantages. First, access to family planning services helps lower birth rates (Potts 209). According to researcher Malcolm Potts, lower birth rates can lead an advanced economic development, increase global stability and reduce conflict (209-10). Additionally, family planning initiatives allow for women empowerment through the spread of education (Potts 209). By educating women and their families and providing them with reasonable and affordable access to family planning information and birth control methods such as contraceptives and safe abortion options, more lives of infants and mothers at risk can be saved (Potts 209-210; USAID). USAID also reports that family planning programs help to lighten the effect that the changing force of the population by reducing its impact on state stability and natural resources. Family planning also offers the benefits of securing and progressing reproductive rights by allowing families and individuals to make the choice on how large or small their family will be; and contributions to economic advancement at the national, community and family levels by decreasing poverty (USAID). The Worldwatch Institute also suggests that family planning services can help to close the gap in unplanned pregnancies due to mistiming or parents that did not want to have a child. Disadvantages of Family Planning. The disadvantage with this initiative is that it is not always easily or readily available for families. For example, a person in a major city in the United States such as New York City may have a wide selection of resources for family planning whereas a person that is part of a tribe in the sub-Saharan desert may be limited to getting access to family planning initiatives. However, this situation can also be averted by expanded volunteer efforts from various organizations that bring the supplies and services needed to remote locations. USAID was one of the first programs to start a family initiative program on a global scale with its efforts to reduce birth rates dating back to 1965 via its War on Hunger program (Gais). According to Gais, USAID also made an effort to contribute to reducing the Costa Rican population back in 1966 when it was booming out of control by providing contraceptives. By continuing to promote family planning initiatives, USAID reports the potential of “... [preventing] up to 30 percent of the more than 287,000 maternal deaths that occur [every year]”. The organization focuses on implementing and executing family planning programs in developing countries such as countries in South Asia and Africa to provide access to these services (USAID).
SOLUTION THREE: POLICY REFORM Finally, reforming how governments and local municipalities treat the access to birth control methods and women’s empowerment through policy reform is another approach to limiting the population. The Worldwatch Institute suggests “ ...[ending] all policies that reward parents financially based on the number of children they have” and having government leaders commit to exercising human develop and rights to steady population growth. These strategies allow policymakers the option to effectively control birth rates in an efficient manner (Worldwatch Institute). Additionally, providing access to birth control methods rather than hindering them due to personal opinions can help to empower women to make effective choices for birth control.
CONCLUSION
Exploring limiting the world’s population by empowering women with education, encouraging family planning initiatives and reforming policies can pose as feasible solutions to help curtail the potential of exhausting the Earth’s natural resources. Approaching limiting population growth must be met with care and consideration. However, it is not an issue that can continue to be ignored since it directly impacts the depletion of Earth’s natural resources. Exploring limiting the world’s population by empowering women with education, encouraging family planning initiatives and distributing contraception can pose as feasible solutions to help curtail the potential of exhausting the Earth’s natural resources. Additionally, considering birth control options such as a birth control pill, IUDs, or Depo-Vera shot can also prove as a feasible solution to limiting the population. Finally, reforming policies can help drive women’s empowerment to gain access to birth control options and make better-informed decisions.
Resources Cafasso, Jacquelyn. “What Do You Want to Know About Birth Control?” Healthline.com. Healthline Media. 9 October 2014. Web. 1 March 2016. <http://www.healthline.com/ health/birth-control>. Gais, Hannah. "How Many People Is Too Many People?" US News & World Report. US News, 27 September 2013. Web. 29 February 2016. <http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/ world-report/2013/09/27/how-the-world-can-get-a-handle-on-population-growth>. Gibson, Megan. "The Long, Strange History of Birth Control." Time.com. TIME, INC. 2 February 2015. Web. 1 March 2016. < http://time.com/3692001/birth-control-history- djerassi/>. Potts, Malcolm. "Population and Environment in the Twenty-First Century." Population & Environment 28.4/5 (2007): 204-211. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 March 2016. United States Census Bureau. U.S. and World Population Clock. United States Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce. 1 March 2016. Web. 1 March 2016. <http:// www.census.gov/popclock/>. USAID. "Family Planning and Reproductive Health". USAID From the American People. USAID. 8 January 2016. Web. 29 February 2016. <https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/ global-health/family-planning>. Worldwatch Institute."Nine Population Strategies to Stop Short of 9 Billion" Worldwatch !7
Institute: Vision for a Sustainable World. Worldwatch Institute. 11 July 2012. Web. 29 February 2016. < http://www.worldwatch.org/nine-population-strategies-stop-short-9- billion>.
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